What is a bica? How to order coffee in Lisbon like a local

Your first week in Lisbon, you walk up to the counter and carefully say um café expresso, por favor. It works. You get your coffee.

Six months later, you just say two words.

What is a bica?

A bica is a short, strong espresso, the coffee most people in Lisbon drink standing at the counter, several times a day. It's the same drink you'd get anywhere else in Portugal when you ask for um café. The word is just very Lisbon.

Where does the word come from?

Bica is the spout of the coffee machine. There are a few stories about the name. The most likely one: in early 20th-century Lisbon cafés, coffee was made ahead and kept in pots, so customers asked for it straight from the bica, fresh and hot.

What about the rest of Portugal?

• In Lisbon: uma bica.
• In Porto and the north: you'll hear um cimbalino, named after an old coffee machine brand.
• Anywhere in the country: um café always works.

Add se faz favor at the end and you're as polite as anyone in the queue.

In short

• Uma bica = a small espresso, Lisbon style.
• Um café works everywhere; um cimbalino is the northern version.
• The name comes from the machine's spout.

How do you order yours: Lisbon, Porto, or just um café? The Café, Menu & Supermarket Decoder has every coffee on the menu, with pronunciation.