Notes from a traveller who always orders one more cup.
I travel a lot for work and for fun, and in every new city the first thing I look for is a decent cup of coffee. This is my small personal notebook: where I drank, what I liked, what I didn't. No sponsors, no ads, just opinions from someone who likes coffee a bit too much.
Scores are out of five cracked beans. They say more about my mood that morning than about anything objective.
Finns drink more coffee per person than almost anyone, and it shows. Filter coffee is the default, roasts are very light, and nobody looks at you strangely for asking where the beans are from. A bright, tea-like Kenyan on a grey rainy morning was the best cup of the month.
The old town is full of tourist cafés, but two streets away the tiny specialty bars do proper espresso with a clean, chocolatey finish. Cardamom buns are an unfair advantage.
Turkish coffee is less about taste notes and more about slowing down: tiny cup, thick foam, a glass of water and a piece of lokum. Let the grounds settle and don't drink the last sip.
Short, strong and dark. Not my usual style, but standing at the counter with a bica and a pastel de nata is a perfect five minutes. Specialty places are growing fast here too.
Between trips I brew a simple pour-over. My everyday recipe:
15 g coffee, medium-fine grind 250 g water at 94 °C 0:00 bloom with 40 g, wait 40 s 0:40 pour to 150 g 1:15 pour to 250 g ~3:00 done
Fresh beans matter more than any gadget. Buy small bags, use them within a month.