Croatian Coffee Culture and Cycling

Coffee in Croatia

I write this now sat in a café enjoying a large macchiato (flat white size), a small macchiato is a standard macchiato, espresso espresso, latte latte etc… There are café’s everywhere, in fact I can see two other cafes from the one I’m sat in and all are reasonably busy for a Wednesday morning in December.

This is why, if you’re into cycling and coffee culture, and enjoy café hoping, then Croatia is an ideal place to indulge. All cafés are geared up for outdoor seating whatever the weather and there are plenty of places to park your bike.

When cycling in certain locations across Europe you’ll struggle to find a café open outside of peak season, but not in Croatia. I’ve cycled through tiny villages, on Croatian Islands and always found a bar for an espresso. The coffee we drank cycling on Brac Island was delicious; the specialty coffee shop we visited when bike packing on Cres Island was one of the best.

For locals it’s not necessarily about the coffee but the café itself, a social hub, meeting place and a place for business. Hardly any cafés serve ‘coffee to go’, that’s just not the way. The café is a place to slow down, enjoy your coffee; it’s the place that lures you in to spend time, not just to grab a caffeine fix and run. Perfect for the weary cyclist.

Many people in Croatia own property and receive income from it, so lots of them have time on their hands. Cafés are watering holes, meeting places, where people gather and catch up.

http://www.croatiaweek.com

Coffee and Pastries

Another surprise to me was the abundance of pastries available from the Pekara (bakery) in Croatia and most cafés (unless they sell food) will allow you to take in pastries from the bakery, in fact it’s almost encouraged.

If you’re after something more specialist, e.g. your favourite alternative milk or other specialty coffee then you’ll find some of these café’s across Croatia, mainly in the larger towns or cities. D16 in Split is a good example.

All cafés serve Italian style espresso based drinks, so you won’t be troubled finding a good coffee. The only negative is that smoking is still allowed inside, again part of the culture, but with such a warm climate you’ll be outdoors most of the time.

…And finally, there are no coffee chains, all are independent and have their own unique identity and style… all the more reason to stop more frequently!

Enjoy.