One of the things Vienna is known for is der Kaffeehaus. Tradition has it that you can sit down in one of these establishments, order a cup of coffee, which is served in exquisite china on a silver tray and accompanied, always, by a glass of water and a small spoon; after that first cup, you may spend as long as you want, reading your paper, working on your book, answering email, conversing, playing cheese, whatever, with fresh tap water resupplied at no cost or request. The word LINGER comes to mind.
I think I mentioned in a previous post about a Starbucks opening in Vienna. We’ve since learned there are FOUR of them. We saw one, near the Graben, but did not notice one china cup, any trays or water, or any lingering. I personally think it would be a shame if Vienna – and the rest of Austria where we have also enjoyed the coffee house gemütlichkeit (warm, relaxed coziness) – were to adopt any of the coffee-grabbing-drink-on-the-run-culture so prevalent in the US.
On our most recent trip to Vienna, we visited the famous Demel Coffee House, which is a konditorei (specialty bakery) with an extensive food menu. (The actual title is “K. u. K. Hofzuckerbäcker Ch. Demel’s Söhne” -“Imperial and Royal Court Confectionary Bakery Ch. Demel’s Sons”). It has changed hands several times since the beginnings in the late 1780’s (in the mid-1800’s at its current location) and is now owned by a corporation. We were there for the midday meal. It was crowded but we were a little on the early side and were seated immediately. Deciding took a while, ordering took a while. Time for conversation and relaxing. As we ate, long lines accumulated. We tried to ignore all that and get into the gemütlichkeit.
The waitress was attentive but did not hover or expect us to hurry along just because there were 25 people waiting to eat. I do not know if she addressed us in the third person formal (what would SHE like? What would HE like?) as is the supposed tradition at Demel. Mostly she said “Bitte?” which is the more common form of invitation to order. When it was time for dessert, we were escorted to the throne table of desserts (one on every floor where there is seating), where the tortes, kuchen, strudel,and other confections awaited. Choosing which one probably took as long as it did to eat our meal! The gemütlichkeit was working!
On the way out, we watched the pastry chefs work and wandered a bit around the shop to oogle all the enticing treats. It was too bad we had to catch a train back to Graz, or we might have stayed all day!
the cheese souffle, and ceasar salad, Bill with cappucino, outside of Demel, chandelier from Murano, chocolate truffle cake
Konditoren working at Demel
some of the confections available at Demel
Below, a list of types of coffee to order in Vienna….
From
Virtual Vienna Net – THE VIENNESE COFFEE HOUSE
• Kleiner Schwarzer – small espresso
• Grosser Schwarzer – double espresso
• Espresso – basically the same as Kleiner Schwarzer
• Kleiner Brauner – Kleiner Schwarzer with milk
• Grosser Brauner – Grosser Schwarzer with milk
• Melange – a less strong Grosser Brauner with a little steamed milk
• Mocca – klein oder gross – synonymous with Schwarzer
• Kapuziner – black coffee with milk added until its color is that of a Capuchin monk’s robes
• Franziskaner – black coffee with still more milk, to achieve the lighter color of a Franciscan monk’s robes
• Nussbraun – coffee that resembles the color of nuts
• Nussgold – lighter still, like a “golden nut”
• Gold – coffee the color of gold, i.e. quite light
• Milchkaffee – half coffee, half milk
• Verlängerter – an espresso that is “lengthened” by a shot of hot water
• Einspänner – originally, the name meant a one-horse carriage. In coffeehouse parlance, it means a Grosser Mocca with whipped cream on top, sprinkled with cocoa and served in a tall glass
• Fiaker – named after Vienna’s horse-drawn carriages and their raucous drivers. Strong, black coffee laced with hot kirsch, topped with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry
• Türkischer – Turkish coffee, sweet and black, served in copper cups
• Eiskaffee – cold black coffee with vanilla ice cream, topped with whipped cream
• Capuccino – in some Viennese coffeehouses, black coffee topped with whipped cream; in other coffeehouses and Italian restaurants you get it the original Italian way: topped with steamed foamy milk
• Kaffee Maria Theresia – Mocca with orange liqueur and whipped cream