THE N MOMENT

UM CAFEZINHO POR FAVOR !

By Guillaume Jan Illustration Célia Callois

A TIME-WORN, PINK MARBLE COUNTERTOP, SIX STOOLS,TWO FANS, a crucifix nailed to the wall, an overflowing fresh-fruit basket and a stainless steel cylinder exuding the powerful smell of coffee. That’s the décor of this on a roll. You then might enjoy one or two at work to start lanchonete, a snack bar as can be found on nearly every the day off right, or when you take a break, or to close street corner in Rio. The vintage radio crackles with one of a deal. People also like having one to top off a good lunch. the most celebrated bossa nova hits of the Sixties, “Garota It’s often offered in the waiting room at the hairdresser’s or de Ipanema” (“The Girl from Ipanema”). It’s amusing to at boutiques and is considered a gesture of hospitality when hear it in this little eatery, for we happen to be in that very someone stops by for a visit. It’s consumed to stave off hunneighbourhood, the tony Ipanema district, a stone’s throw ger, boost the spirits, relax and unwind. “The cafezinho is from the legendary café in front of which passed Helô Pin- a crucial component of social life here,” proclaims Rogerio. heiro, the young woman who inspired the song. It’s Though widespread and inexpensive, the drink is not by eight o’clock, the sun is already high in the sky and three any means considered a lowly beverage: there are, for incustomers sip their first cafezinho of the day as they gaze, stance, “gourmet cafezinhos”, like those served in the lost in thought, at the ocean rumbling upon the beach at sumptuous Centro brasseries, even in the top-rated restauthe end of the street. rants of the trendy quarters of Rio. There, the ritual dons

The cafezinho (“small coffee” in Portuguese) is what one fussier finery, the stainless steel container giving way to an calls a traditional coffee in Brazil. It’s a bitter and somewhat elegant silver coffee pot with a long, swan’s-neck spout and acidic drink, served piping hot but very long after slow filter- ebony handle. In the blink of an eye, you are back in the ing. Cariocas sometimes add a spoonful or two of sugar, Brazil of the Belle Époque. The cafezinho, a legacy of the perhaps a dash of milk, even a little water. “It’s the same carioca culture, has kept pace with times and tastes and is coffee we were drinking in the early 19th century when the now subject to more meticulous selection. “Oh, the espresplantations started developing in the State of Rio, then in so craze is taking over here like it is everywhere else, the surrounding regions,” says Rogerio, the debonair man- of course, but the cafezinho will always have its place!” ager of this old-fashioned lanchonete. “People drink it anywhere, anytime, day or night.” And it’s true: anytime is the right time to stop for a cafezinho in Rio. In the It’s the eight o’clock, sun is already Rogerio assures us. “My customers couldn’t go without it.” With that, the elderly gentleman turns to take the order of a morning, you modest one or can two order it for reais, gulping a it high in the sky, young attire: lady “Um in workout cafezinho, down with a cheese bun or meat and three customers por favor!” n Nespresso will soon be sip their first cafezinho. paying tribute to coffee traditions. Brazil’s