Madrid: From Orange Cappuccino to Avocado Toast (Part 2/3)

Of Spain, being a southern European country, I didn’t expect many specialty coffee shops. Especially with a culture of eating dinner past midnight (even on weekdays) I thought a bloggable breakfast would be nonexistent. So maybe it’s their lack of sleep that has set foundation to appealing caffeine over a small hangover breakfast? Dunno . . . I’m just making things up. Whatever the reason might be, fact is that Madrid’s specialty coffee scene is great.

The cafés have personality. Despite appealing to main-stream expectations they’re still authentic. You can find some true cups of excellence as well as G&T cappuccinos. These are accompanied by homemade pastries, or small savory snacks, like the simple, yet very well executed tostadas.

Tostada con Tomate 

The most common tostada is the one con tomate. Tomato Toast. You get even the best ones for a pittance (2€). 

Now if you know me, you might be wondering why I am spending any of your or my time writing about tomatoes. This icky fruit in its raw state is literally the only one left on earth that I despise. However, like the liquorice connoisseur from Lakrids in Copenhagen told me, it’s just a matter of time, and your palate can get used to anything (just like alcohol or bitter coffee).

Well, two days before Madrid (in my layover in Bordeaux) I met an Israeli couchsurfer, who wanted to prove me that I could like tomatoes. He explained that a “tomato” and a “tomato with salt” tasted completely different. The latter tasted Umami. Aaaha. . . Anyways, I tried a morsel with loads of salt. I wasn’t repulsed. Still it was far from anything tasty.

Then, when I met coffee locals in Madrid, they persuaded me into another try. This time in the form of a tostada con tomate. I sure wasn’t the one ordering it, the coffee roaster friend did. Already the presentation of this basic dish was neat. You had to prepare it yourself. He peeled and rubbed the raw garlic clove onto the slice of artisan bread, and then spread the raw shredded tomato with olive oil and salt on top. I watched, just out of curiosity, but unwillingly ended up trying a bite.

It tasted . . .  fruity, sweet, refreshing – not bad at all.  

Obviously I didn’t plan this occurrence, and at the same time, meeting new people, I didn’t involve a serious photo shoot of the affair. But if you want proof, this was that scene:

Here we were, at HanSo, the corner café in Malasaña. I chose avocado toast with edamame and radishes. The Mexican coffee trader of Japanese origin was curious to taste their matcha cappuccino. Noelia, the creator of a specialty coffee app and map for Madrid (MAPA RUTA BARISTA), craved the simplest of avocado toasts. And Luis, the local specialty coffee roaster from La Llama didn’t hesitate to get the tostada con tomate. Story above.

My Saviour: The Avocado Toast in Madrid!

Nevertheless, I didn’t believe myself quiet yet and left the tomatoes for the locals on the rest of this trip. Every café also had other tostadas, my most common choice being the one with avocado. I can’t assure you that they used local avocados, but my conscience felt much better tasting them in Spain, than in northern Germany. There, like in Hamburg, the “avocado toast” seems like no-more than an Instagram hype (that yes, I picked up on too). Here, in Madrid, it felt like aguacate is an equal choice of topping next to hummus or icky, juicy tomatoes.

So I tasted my way around and had fun observing the slight differences and twists on each one. Some scarcely had three ingredients, while others were piled, but still dainty, creations. Three clear observations I made were:

1. Almost all were orderly smashed instead of fanned (thinking Copenhagen).
2. The bread was a rustic, artisan bread with hard crust and soft interior. No dark German rye bread like in Copenhagen, neither deflatable toast bread like in the US.
3. Next to it came a side of salt and a lemon wedge!

After tomato and avocado, another popular tostada in Madrid was with goat cheese and strawberries. However you could find multiple more creations, like with red-beet hummus and capers (Hola), yogurt banana and chia (Aroma & Bread) or dulce de leche and Maldon salt (Toma). All were simple, don’t expect decadent brunch piles like in Berlin, but accordingly they only cost around 4€.

The Specialty of Madrid’s Coffee Shops

So why am I only raving about the tostadas in this post about Madrid’s specialty coffee shops? You might not know, but usually, the main reason I go to this type of café, is because of their other menu items. I have come to experience that at third wave coffee shops, these are just as finely executed and special as their coffee is. Unfortunately this motto has proved me wrong on some recent travels. Success-driven cafés realize that “specialty coffee” or “flat white” is a popular term and misuse it. However Madrid was still authentic. Almost all the specialty coffee shops here were true to their work.

Some were strict on single origins. Other’s had Standart Magazines lying around with articles opposing this dogmatism. Many had unique cups, like these beautifully hand-pottered ones at Hola Coffee (see picture above). And almost all coffee shops served their specialty with a side of water. Of course it wasn’t just any water, but smooth and almost sweet tasting, filtered water.

From Fruity Flatties to Bubbly Booch

My coffee tæster sipped his flattie saying it was one “Törnqvist would be proud of”. Nevertheless Madrid’s third wave coffee shops weren’t shy to experiment. Espresso tonic, cold brew and cascara tea are unexceptional drinks here and which gives way and demand to other creations. Toma Café for example, serves orange cappuccino. If you like the Lindt Excellence orange chocolate, I think you’ll love this creation. It’s not too sweet and more refreshing than a normal espresso based drink. Other variants I saw were Bailey’s cappuccino or G&T cappuccino. You’ll have to check out Urbano Specialty Coffee, to taste those for me!

However the creativity continues far past signature coffee drinks. Matcha is a standard and Golden Latte is neither scarce. Those two are being overshadowed by creations like a salted caramel latte (Toma) or red velvet latte (HanSo).  And for the summer refreshments you will find anything from homemade kombucha or water-kefir, to Mexican horchata, as well as one-of-a-kind drinks like the sparkling Ginger Storm (Toma) or acidic pear Shrub (Hola Coffee).  

And if lastly all you want is a coffee, that will leave its mark, solely by being unique and tasteful on its own, then walk past the crowded tourist hotspots around Puerta de la Sol to unexpectedly find one of the finest coffee shops in Madrid: Zero Point. No wi-fi, no food fuss, but a small Cup of Excellence, which still tingled on our tongue long afterwards.

Which coffee shop is best for what?

Tomato Toast, Avocado Toast, Espresso Tonic, Shrub, Bailey’s Cappuccino, and Cups of Excellence – I like to give you general ideas of stuff. But more specifically: Which specific coffee shops do I recommend in Madrid? Twenty-Three were on my map, I got an impression of fourteen of them. If I were to live in Madrid, I would most likely return to these for the following reasons:

BREAKFAST: Toma, La Colectiva, Hola, HanSo, Urbano, (PumPum for the classic “hipster” spot)

LAPTOP WORK: HanSo, Toma, La Colectiva, Hola

A-NOON SNACKS: Hola, Toma, Plántate

PASTRIES: Waycup (cookies!), La Colectiva (gf and vegan), Hola (creative)

It seems I would go to Toma, Hola and La Colectiva a lot. However I think you’d also find me tasting my way through WAYCUP’s mouth-watering cookies, between the urban plants in Plántate, working at HanSo’s window sill spots, trying to improve my coffee taste buds at Zero Point or getting tipsy on a G&T cappuccino at URBANO (well probably not that one). Still there are a dozen more cafés, that are waiting to surprise me.

Optimally I would taste through all those and revisit my favorite finds before surely claiming anything about “favorite cafés in Madrid”. But to be practical, I’ll stick with my first impressions. Here they are!

Overview of my Madrid Posts:

• My First Visit to Madrid (Part 1/3) (my expectations, first impressions, and recommendation what to do on a short trip to Madrid)
• From Orange Cappuccinos to Avocado Toast (Part 2/3) (read above)
• My Favorite Cafés in Madrid (Part 3/3) (featuring my five favorite cafés in Madrid)

Madrid Map:

Sources I used for Specialty Coffee in Madrid:

• MAPA RUTA BARISTA: a local specialty coffee map
• “The Top Cafe” App: an app where you can leave coffee reviews and locate the next closest specialty coffee shop in Madrid
• Way To Coffee: coffee blogger from Berlin who writes specialty coffee shop reviews around the world
• European Coffee Trip: online magazine about specialty coffee in Europe
• Alexandra Müller Blog: blogger from Bordeaux who writes about vegan cafés, specialty coffee and artisan bakers (in French)
• Fräulein Anker Blog: a Hamburg based blogger who writes about specialty coffee and other local tips