05/06/2026
WHY IS SPANISH COFFEE SO BAD? THE QUESTION THAT ALWAYS STARTS AN ARGUMENT
Before anyone throws their café con leche at me, let’s make one thing clear. Valencia has a thriving coffee scene, packed with talented baristas, independent cafés and speciality coffee shops serving excellent coffee from around the world. However, that’s not the coffee we’re talking about here. We’re talking about the basic, everyday coffee served in many traditional bars, cafés and restaurants across Spain. It’s the coffee that millions of people drink every day and the coffee that many visitors describe as bitter, burnt or overly harsh.
Disclaimer, I actually love my morning cafe con leche in a local ''no frills'' bar. Its become my daily ritual that I cant live without. The chances are that the majority of these morning coffees are made with torrefacto beans, you can taste that unmistakable flavour!
The explanation often comes down to a roasting method called torrefacto. This process has been part of Spanish coffee culture for more than a century and was originally developed as a practical solution to a problem. During roasting, sugar is added to the coffee beans. The sugar caramelises and forms a dark coating around them, helping to preserve the coffee for longer and making it easier to store and transport. During periods when coffee was expensive and supplies were limited, particularly in the years following the Spanish Civil War, torrefacto became widely used throughout Spain.
The flavour produced by torrefacto coffee is very distinctive. People who enjoy it often describe it as strong, intense and full-bodied. Those who dislike it tend to describe it as burnt, smoky, bitter or harsh. The divide is often generational. Many older Spaniards grew up drinking torrefacto blends and still buy them today. These products remain available in supermarkets across Spain, either as pure torrefacto coffee or mixed with conventionally roasted beans. For many people, that flavour is simply what coffee is supposed to taste like because it is what they have known all their lives.
Visitors are often surprised by the difference. Someone arriving from Italy, the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Australia or North America may be expecting a smooth espresso and instead find themselves drinking something much stronger and more bitter than they anticipated. This can lead to the common complaint that Spanish coffee is somehow inferior, when in reality they are tasting a product shaped by a very different coffee tradition.
What makes this debate particularly interesting is that Spain now has two coffee cultures existing side by side. Traditional cafés continue to serve the style of coffee that generations have enjoyed, while speciality coffee shops are growing rapidly in popularity. In Valencia alone, there are now dozens of cafés focusing on bean quality, origin, roasting methods and more nuanced flavours. These businesses are attracting younger customers and coffee enthusiasts who want something quite different from the traditional torrefacto profile.
The question, then, isn’t really whether Spanish coffee is good or bad. Spain is perfectly capable of producing and serving excellent coffee. The real question is whether torrefacto still deserves such a prominent place in Spanish coffee culture. Some people see it as an important tradition that reflects the country’s history. Others believe it masks the natural flavour of the beans and belongs to another era.
Either way, it remains one of the most divisive subjects you can bring up over breakfast in Spain. Mention torrefacto in the wrong café and you’ll quickly discover that people have very strong opinions about what makes a proper cup of coffee.
So, let’s hear it. Do you enjoy traditional Spanish coffee, or do you think torrefacto should finally be left in the past?
Photo by Paul Streets of Valencia 🍊
