UEFA European Championship 2016 – Group F and their coffee
The final group to take to the European stage in France this summer, but no less important, Portugal, Iceland, Austria and Hungary will be vying for a place in the latter stages of the tournament much like any of the other teams.
But one of the smaller nations within this group consumes 9kg of coffee per person each year! That means every person drinks at least 2 cups per person, per day! Which to be fair doesn’t sound too much…
Group F
Portugal – ‘café’
Ronaldo and Co will be hoping to improve their fortunes in France, having been knocked out in the latter stages of tournaments becoming a feature or their appearances.
But although a relatively large nation, Portugal has a small population that has a vibrant cafe culture.
The Portuguese love espresso, but they have their own signature coffee known as the Galão. Similar to a latte or cappuccino, an espresso base is added to a large amount of frothed milk and served in a tall glass.
A personal favourite of my own is the Mazagran, that has been taken by the Portuguese after originating in Algeria. A Mazagran is a strong hot coffee, poured over ice and with lemon that is sweetened with sugar.
Iceland – ‘kaffi’
It turns out that they don’t drink iced coffee much in Iceland, which was a bit of a surprise, something else that might surprise you is that the small island nation is the 3rd largest coffee consumers in the world.
Not too bad when you consider that the population of the entire country is only 323,000! Which is about the same as Wakefield!
So not only are Iceland punching well above their weight in terms of football, they are doing it in the coffee consumption stakes too!
In Iceland they often add dried chicory root to their ground coffee; and is generally called “kaffibætir.”
Austria – ‘Kaffee’
The German speaking nation of Austria has a heritage of coffee houses in the capital Vienna, that rival almost any coffee drinking country on the continent.
The Wiener Kaffeehaus’ of Vienna shaped the coffee culture of the mountainous nation, with classic cafes having a typically Austrian look and feel that is unlike many other European coffee houses.
Austrian Coffee House Culture is so significant to Austrian culture that it has been listed as Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.
As for the coffee itself, the Kaisermelange is an Austrian signature coffee, consisting of espresso, egg yolk, honey and whipped cream.
Good luck to those crazy Austrians and their eggy honey coffee!
Hungary – ‘kávé’
The final nation that makes up Euro 2016, Hungary prefer to drink their coffee much like other Ottoman empire nations, unfiltered.
But the national drink of Ferenc Puskás home nation is actually a strong mocha with a kind of Italian espresso, which is called “kávé”.
Originally the Hungarians called coffee, which was brought to the nation by the Turks in 1579, “fekete leves” meaning “black soup”.
We think that is a such great name for coffee, we might even start using it more often…