Recently, I had the chance to visit Portugal with my partner. We met up with friends, explored a beautiful city full of history, and for me, it was my very first time in Portugal.
Our friends had already been to Porto and came well prepared with lists of things to do and see. I, on the other hand, wanted to take it a bit easier—though I did have my own short list after doing the “hard work” of reading blogs and asking mutual friends the golden question: “What’s really good in Lisbon?”
Lisbon turned out to have more than just a few coffee spots—it has a young and lively coffee scene, not unlike Cape Town’s. The difference, though, is that cafés in Lisbon are very clear about the kind of coffee they love, enjoy making, and want to share with others. The taste experiences match this well intentioned approach.
That clarity got me thinking, —quality coffee isn’t just about the beans or the brew recipe. It’s a conversation about a point of view. Because at the end of the day, the real question for each of us is: What does “quality coffee” mean to you?
Coffee is imperfect and ever-changing, and maybe that’s exactly what makes it so special. A café or roastery can tell you why they like to get behind a coffee—but in the end, it’s about whether that coffee resonates with you.
Take a classic example,
Brazil milk base coffee — notes of dark chocolate, almond nuts & sweet yellow fruit.
You buy it, drink it, and either love it enough to tell a friend or decide it’s not for you. For some, that cup can be a turning point in how they see coffee; for others, it might just feel ordinary. And that’s fine—because coffee isn’t one-size-fits-all.
That’s why cafés set up experiences like tasting rooms, public cuppings, and curated tasting flights: to guide people on a journey of flavour discovery. When someone realises for the first time that coffee can taste completely different from what they expected—well, that moment is magical.
Of course, every roaster has their preferences, shaped by the coffees they source and how they like to enjoy them. Whether they say it out loud or choose to romanticise this notion or not, there’s always a perspective behind what ends up on the menu.
So for me simply as a coffee enthusiast, the most interesting conversation in coffee right now comes down to:
• What informs your point of view?
• How do you define — Quality?
For me these questions matter to both,
Roasters choosing green coffee and to us, the coffee drinkers. After all, if coffee is “just” about caffeine, there are more cost effective ways to get it. So why do we pay about 2–7€ a cup globally for coffee, there has to be a reason that goes beyond the often absurd economics at play.
The answer is always personal. It’s shaped by taste, by experiences, by what resonates with us as individuals —and that’s what makes coffee such an exciting journey.
This cafe gets to decide what coffees they want to brew, share & sell from different roasters every few weeks, nothing new in this approach but everything different about how it is executed & lined up for each guest.
One of my favourite coffee experiences in Lisbon was at TACT.
The cafe is well thought out & the barista didn’t share my taste preference in coffee, but he was crystal clear about his vision for the coffees he served and why he had chosen that particular theme of taste experiences.
That honesty and passion made it one of my top two coffee experiences in Lisbon—because it wasn’t just a drink, it was his point of view in a cup.
Thank you, see you in 2026 most likely.
Interesting! Thank you for sharing this journey. Ollie.
I’ll hopefully see you back on Substack next week, thank you.