https://coffeeinlisbon.com/ Lisbon and the country around it — neighbourhoods, cafés, day trips and the practicalities of visiting or staying, written by people who live with the hills. en © 2026 Tejo Lane Publishing Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/how-to-order-coffee-in-lisbon-without-overthinking-it/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/how-to-order-coffee-in-lisbon-without-overthinking-it/ The vocabulary is small, the coffee is cheap, and standing at the counter costs less than sitting down. Cafés & Coffee Inês Carvalho Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/practical/the-hills-are-the-transport-system/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/practical/the-hills-are-the-transport-system/ Lisbon is built on slopes, and understanding the vertical layer changes how you move around it. Practicalities Inês Carvalho Sun, 09 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/neighbourhoods/alfama-gra-a-and-the-difference-two-streets-make/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/neighbourhoods/alfama-gra-a-and-the-difference-two-streets-make/ Neighbourhoods here change character over very short distances, and the guidebook version is usually one street. Neighbourhoods Helena Sá Wed, 05 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/food/eating-in-a-tasca-without-a-reservation/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/food/eating-in-a-tasca-without-a-reservation/ The small family restaurants are the point, and using them well takes a little local knowledge. Eating Rui Bettencourt Fri, 31 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/daytrips/sintra-in-a-day-done-properly/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/daytrips/sintra-in-a-day-done-properly/ The day trip everyone takes, and the one most commonly ruined by trying to see everything. Day Trips Inês Carvalho Wed, 29 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/daytrips/the-coast-is-closer-than-people-think/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/daytrips/the-coast-is-closer-than-people-think/ A short train ride reaches the Atlantic, and the beaches vary enormously in shelter and character. Day Trips Nuno Aguiar Sat, 25 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/practical/what-catches-visitors-out/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/practical/what-catches-visitors-out/ A short list of practical things that are obvious to residents and consistently surprise everyone else. Practicalities Inês Carvalho Thu, 23 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/practical/the-tourist-tram-and-what-to-ride-instead/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/practical/the-tourist-tram-and-what-to-ride-instead/ One route is famous, crowded and pickpocketed. Several others do the same thing better. Practicalities Inês Carvalho Sun, 19 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/food/markets-and-which-ones-are-still-markets/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/food/markets-and-which-ones-are-still-markets/ Some are working food markets, some are food halls for visitors, and the distinction matters for what you get. Eating Clara Mendonça Thu, 16 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/living/staying-longer-the-admin-nobody-warns-you-about/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/living/staying-longer-the-admin-nobody-warns-you-about/ Beyond a few weeks the city becomes a place with paperwork, and the paperwork has its own rhythm. Living There Inês Carvalho Sun, 12 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/neighbourhoods/viewpoints-without-the-queue/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/neighbourhoods/viewpoints-without-the-queue/ The famous miradouros are famous for good reason and are not the only places with the view. Neighbourhoods Duarte Ferreira Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/daytrips/day-trips-by-train-that-are-not-sintra/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/daytrips/day-trips-by-train-that-are-not-sintra/ The regional network reaches several towns that are quieter, cheaper and genuinely different. Day Trips Inês Carvalho Mon, 06 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/roast-level-is-a-decision-about-acidity-not-about-strength/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/roast-level-is-a-decision-about-acidity-not-about-strength/ What happens inside a bean between light and dark, and why the local default sits at the dark end. Cafés & Coffee Helena Sá Fri, 03 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/why-the-same-beans-taste-different-in-two-cafes/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/why-the-same-beans-taste-different-in-two-cafes/ Identical coffee from the same roaster can land completely differently a hundred metres apart, and the reasons are mechanical. Cafés & Coffee Helena Sá Sat, 27 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/portuguese-espresso-is-not-a-smaller-italian-one/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/portuguese-espresso-is-not-a-smaller-italian-one/ The local cup shares a machine with Italy and very little else, from the bean up. Cafés & Coffee Helena Sá Wed, 24 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/what-steaming-actually-does-to-milk/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/what-steaming-actually-does-to-milk/ The texture in a good milk coffee is protein and air held in a fat structure, and there are precise ways to ruin it. Cafés & Coffee Inês Carvalho Mon, 22 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/grind-is-the-dial-that-moves-everything-else/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/grind-is-the-dial-that-moves-everything-else/ Every other brewing variable is downstream of how finely the coffee was ground, and most home problems start here. Cafés & Coffee Helena Sá Thu, 18 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/espresso-and-filter-are-two-answers-to-the-same-bean/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/espresso-and-filter-are-two-answers-to-the-same-bean/ Pressure, ratio and contact time separate them, and the split explains why a cafe good at one may be indifferent at the other. Cafés & Coffee Inês Carvalho Tue, 16 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/neighbourhoods/what-a-street-tells-you-before-you-order-anything/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/neighbourhoods/what-a-street-tells-you-before-you-order-anything/ The cafes on a block are a fairly honest census of who is on it, if you know what to look at. Neighbourhoods Helena Sá Wed, 10 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/neighbourhoods/the-lower-grid-and-why-it-feels-unlike-the-rest-of-the-city/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/neighbourhoods/the-lower-grid-and-why-it-feels-unlike-the-rest-of-the-city/ One district was rebuilt to a plan after catastrophe, and its right angles are an argument about how a city should work. Neighbourhoods Helena Sá Mon, 08 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/neighbourhoods/tiles-are-cladding-not-decoration/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/neighbourhoods/tiles-are-cladding-not-decoration/ The glazed façades that everyone photographs are doing structural and climatic work, and they are disappearing for specific reasons. Neighbourhoods Duarte Ferreira Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/neighbourhoods/the-staircase-streets-and-how-they-organise-a-hill/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/neighbourhoods/the-staircase-streets-and-how-they-organise-a-hill/ Steps are public roads here, and treating them as infrastructure explains a great deal about how neighbourhoods work. Neighbourhoods Duarte Ferreira Tue, 02 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/how-coffee-goes-stale-and-what-actually-slows-it-down/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/how-coffee-goes-stale-and-what-actually-slows-it-down/ Oxygen and time do the damage, and most domestic storage advice makes one of them worse. Cafés & Coffee Inês Carvalho Fri, 29 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/the-four-ways-caffeine-gets-taken-out-of-a-bean/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/the-four-ways-caffeine-gets-taken-out-of-a-bean/ Decaf is a manufacturing process applied before roasting, and the process used explains most of the difference in the cup. Cafés & Coffee Inês Carvalho Sun, 24 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/arabica-and-robusta-are-two-different-plants-with-two-different-problems/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/arabica-and-robusta-are-two-different-plants-with-two-different-problems/ The species split is agricultural before it is culinary, and it explains price, caffeine and why blends here taste the way they do. Cafés & Coffee Helena Sá Fri, 22 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/counter-table-terrace-the-three-prices-for-one-coffee/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/counter-table-terrace-the-three-prices-for-one-coffee/ The same cup can cost noticeably different amounts within four metres, and the system is posted rather than hidden. Cafés & Coffee Inês Carvalho Mon, 18 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/the-working-day-of-a-cafe-hour-by-hour/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/the-working-day-of-a-cafe-hour-by-hour/ A neighbourhood cafe passes through four or five completely different businesses between opening and closing. Cafés & Coffee Helena Sá Sat, 16 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/crema-tells-you-less-than-it-looks-like-it-does/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/cafes/crema-tells-you-less-than-it-looks-like-it-does/ The foam on an espresso is carbon dioxide in an emulsion, and reading it as a quality mark leads people astray. Cafés & Coffee Helena Sá Tue, 12 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/neighbourhoods/two-microclimates-the-riverside-and-the-ridge/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/neighbourhoods/two-microclimates-the-riverside-and-the-ridge/ Wind, humidity and temperature differ measurably between the bottom of the city and the top, and residents dress for it. Neighbourhoods Duarte Ferreira Sat, 09 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://coffeeinlisbon.com/neighbourhoods/what-happens-in-a-square-and-when/ https://coffeeinlisbon.com/neighbourhoods/what-happens-in-a-square-and-when/ A neighbourhood square runs a timetable of different populations, and it is the clearest window into how a street lives. Neighbourhoods Duarte Ferreira Tue, 05 May 2026 09:00:00 GMT