If you find yourself in Spain with a hearty coffee addiction, you will feel like you’ve finally come home.

To begin with, the sheer number of coffee varieties will amaze and astound. I’m not talking about the double-shot-grande-no-foam types of choices, but a panoply of completely different ways to transform a simple espresso into something magnificent. Choices include:

• café solo (espresso – the simplest and sometimes most delicious choice)
• café cortado (espresso cortado, or “cut” with milk)
• café con leche (espresso with milk – similar to a latte, this is the typical breakfast drink in Spain)
• café bonbon (espresso with sweetened condensed milk)
• café del tiempo (espresso served over ice)

If for some terrible reason you must resign yourself to a decaffeinated coffee, never fear. Ask for a café descafeinado and when they ask you de máquina o de sobre (“from the machine or a packet”), make sure to request de máquina, and you might not even be able to tell the difference.