International Coffee Day
A celebration of coffee culture around the world ☕️
Have you ever heard of International Coffee Day? This annual celebration honors not only the versatility of coffee but also the hardworking people behind every cup we enjoy. Until recently, I had no idea this day even existed, but once I discovered it, I was curious: How do people around the world prefer their coffee? Are there regional specialties that deserve more recognition globally?
As I dived into my research, I found some of the most beloved coffee traditions worldwide—along with a few of the more questionable coffee trends of recent years. Let’s explore some of the world’s top coffee-drinking nations and their unique preferences.
Who Drinks the Most Coffee? ☕🌍
Some countries consistently rank among the world’s biggest coffee consumers, with only slight shifts in the order over time. Here are some of the top coffee-loving nations (in alphabetical order):
🇧🇪 Belgium | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 🇨🇦 Canada | 🇩🇰 Denmark | 🇫🇮 Finland | 🇩🇪 Germany | 🇮🇸 Iceland | 🇮🇹 Italy | 🇱🇧 Lebanon | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 🇳🇱 The Netherlands | 🇳🇴 Norway | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 🇨🇭 Switzerland
While every country has its own coffee culture, some clear trends emerge:
- Minimalist Approach: In Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Brazil, and Lebanon, coffee is typically enjoyed black or lightly sweetened, often brewed via drip or filter methods.
- Espresso Culture: Countries like Switzerland, Canada, Italy, and Belgium have a strong espresso tradition, with many preferring espresso-based drinks like macchiatos or Americanos.
- Milk & Foam Lovers: In Mexico, Iceland, and Germany, coffee culture leans towards milk-based drinks such as café lattes, cappuccinos, and macchiatos.
Check out some fascinating coffee recipes here ☕️
Café de Olla / Mexican Spiced Coffee
Ingredients:
1 – 1.5l water / 4-6 cups
6 tbsp ground coffee
2 cinnamon sticks (ceylon if possible)
2 cloves
45g brown sugar (the original would be 1 cone of panela / unrefined cane sugar)
optional: 1 slice of orange peel without the white, which is a little bitter
Preparation:
Add water, sugar, cinnamon, the optional orange peel and the cloves to a saucepan and put it on the stove on medium heat. As soon as the liquid begins to steam, turn off the heat, take the saucepan off the stove and add the ground coffee. Let it sit for a few minutes, pour the mixture though a sieve and enjoy!
Irish Coffee / Café Irlandés
Ingredients:
40 – 50ml / 4-5cl Irish Whiskey (maybe try 2cl first – for me, that was absolutely sufficient)
an equal amount of double or whipping cream
1 glass or cup brewed coffee
1 tbsp brown sugar / cane sugar, or to taste
Preparation:
Add some hot water to your glass while you do the other preparations. Whisk some cream in a bowl (not too thickly though) and set it aside. Add the sugar and a little bit of water to a saucepan and bring it to boil. Remove from the heat, add the whiskey and pour the mixture into the preheated glass. Then add the coffee and slowly pour the whipped cream over a spoon into the glass to ensure that it doesn’t sink into the coffee. Sprinkle some chocolate on top of the cream if you like. Enjoy!
Italian Affogato
Ingredients:
1 scoop of vanilla ice cream
ideally 1 espresso or simply a small and strong cup of coffee
optional: Amaretto
Preparation:
Add the vanilla ice to your cup, pour the Amaretto over the ice cream and finally add the hot coffee. Quick and easy but so so tasty.
Arabian Qahwa
Ingredients:
600ml water / ~ 2.5 cups
1 tbsp green coffee beans, lightly roasted and ground
1 tbsp crushed cardamom seeds
optional: a few saffron strands, to taste
optional: 1 tsp rose water
Preparation:
Bring the water to boil in a saucepan, add the coffee and let it simmer for a few minutes. Add the crushed cardamom seeds and the clove and leave it on the stove for another 4-5 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, add the optional rose water and saffron if you wish and set aside for a moment to settle.
Strain the coffee through a sieve and serve with dates, dried fruit, candied fruit or nuts.
Lebanese White "Coffee" / Café Blanco Libanés
Ingredients:
hot water
about 1 – 2 tsp orange blossom water, depending on the size of your cup (can be bought at mid east import stores)
optional: sugar or honey (or whatever sweetener you prefer), to taste
Preparation:
Pour 1-2 teaspoons of orange blossom water into your cup. Bring the water to a boil and add it to the cup. If you wish, you can now add a little bit of sugar or honey and stir to dissolve.
Vietnamese Egg Coffee / Café de Huevo
Ingredients:
espresso / strong coffee (~200ml water + 3 tbsp coffee)
2-3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk / evaporated milk
1 egg yolk
optional: some milk if you like foam on your coffee
optional: cocoa powder or cinnamon
Preparation:
Prepare the coffee and set it aside. Combine the egg yolk with the condensed milk and beat it until it becomes a little foamy. If you cannot find any sweetened condensed / evaporated milk, you can also use the unsweetened version and add some vanilla sugar. Once you have prepared the egg mixture, warm up the milk and foam it. Add the coffee to your glass, then gently spoon the egg mixture on the coffee, pour the foam on top of it if you like and finally, add some optional cocoa or cinnamon powder.
My personal favorite of these is the Italian Affogato because I have a rather sweet tooth anyway 😁 How do you prefer to drink your coffee?