Brasil is known for its coffee bean industry, having a great climate to produce rich flavor and a variety of bean options. When I came to Brasil, I was eager to sip and taste test its coffee, but I found that it was not easy not to find. Most of the coffee bean production in Brasil is exported leaving Nescafe as a staple and a few other grounds for experimentation. One thing that will always remain in Brasil is the unique preparation of your coffee and the experience of going to a café, where you get more than what you ordered.

In Brasil coffee shops like Starbucks and Pete’s Coffee are not very common, in fact the whole idea of “To-Go” is not very common so everything you decide to do you have to factor in that you should set aside time for it. At the café you can go up to the counter and place your order, and then either wait at a table to enjoy or stand at the counter and drink it there. I ordered a caffezinho and was waiting for my single shot of espresso at a table, and was truly amazed at the festive platter of goodies that was brought to me.

I received a long plate with individual compartments for all the items that were served along with the cafezinho. The espresso was hand made and was topped with the crème de café, which is a thin layer of froth that is so delicious I wanted to learn the Portuguese version of, “Mamma Mia!” I could feel my eyes grow larger as I happily observed the little bite of brownie next the espresso to sweeten your mouth after you drink the deliciously bitter beverage, and then continued on to see the tiny cup of água com gás which is sparkling water that is served to wash everything down at the end.

A platter like this encompasses the attitude in Brasil, that this coffee is not just here to shoot down and go, but is meant to be an experience of flavors and sensations in your mouth and is there to use the whole experience of drinking as a time to recharge rather than just running off the caffeine rush of shooting down the espresso.

The cafés in São Luis are always busy but I never saw one that was too crowded, providing a calm atmosphere to take a break. Whenever I ordered my cafezinho I only paid after I was done with my coffee and ready to leave, and I was never rushed.I was truly delighted when I continued on to test the cafezinhos at other cafés and found this was not a fluke experience but an across the board service with a foundation in enjoying the moment.

Fun Fact: In Portuguese when you add the ending –inho/a it makes the word refer to a smaller version or a little cute version, so a cafezinho is a little tiny cup of café or coffee. As someone who is used to huge mugs of coffee, cafezinhos really are cute, itsy-bitsy sips of delicious coffee.