Skip to main content

How the Swiss Drink Their Coffee

Fall is here and the temperatures are dropping. When the leaves turn golden and red it's time to start cuddling up inside and drinking hot beverages again. Now, we'll drink tea and coffee not only to wake us up in the morning but to keep us warm also.

Coffee and Switzerland

Switzerland is one of the countries with the highest coffee consumption per capita in the world. It is no surprise that the Swiss created a variety of ways to prepare and drink their coffee.

Many Swiss people like to drink their coffee black - with or without sugar others like the international imports like Starbucks. However, Switzerland has definitely more coffee varieties and combinations to offer!

Swiss Coffee Variations

Other than the regular black coffee, espresso and cappuccino that are known all over the world the Swiss like to drink their coffee in the following varieties:
  • Café crème: black coffee similar to espresso but with more water and "coffee foam" on top. 
  • Schümli: basically a café crème with cream added
  • Café mélange: coffee with whipped cream; usually the whipped cream is served separately
  • Schale: literally this means "cup" or "bowl", coffee with milk
  • Luzerner Kafi or Kafi Luz: coffee with Schnaps (grog, hard liquor) and sugar; this is a popular drink for Après Ski (i.e. the going for a drink after spending a day skiing)
  • Kafi Träsch: a lighter coffee with 'Träsch', a Schnapps made from apples or pears.
For those people who don't like coffee there's always the option of drinking a sweet hot chocolate, maybe even an Ovomaltine. After all, Switzerland is the country of chocolate!

How do you like to drink your coffee? Whatever your preference, try out one of these 5 great cafés in Zurich for a great cup of coffee!

Swiss coffee drinker - Instinktknipser  / pixelio.de






© 2013 IRENE WYRSCH "A HUMOROUS GUIDE TO SWITZERLAND" ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Labels:

Comments

  1. swisssidejewelleryetcOctober 23, 2013 at 11:25 AM

    Hi there
    Didn't know that the Swiss drink so much Kafi!! I'm trying to cut down - have Nespresso capsule machine at home, but when out I love to order a Schale.....

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownDecember 12, 2017 at 10:40 PM

    Swiss Germans use the following: Koffee mit Schlage Rahm literal translation Coffee with Slapped (Whipped) Cream.
    Koffee Fertig: Coffee with a liquior or Kirchwasser of FlumeWasser - Cherry Brandy or Plumb Brandy. Both of these Schnaps are clear 80 proof and strong to the pallet...With Koffee Rahm this is an excelent drink choice

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousDecember 9, 2023 at 5:44 AM

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Café crème a black coffee (without cream added)? Crème here should refer to the coffee crema (foam) rather than added dairy

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousDecember 9, 2023 at 5:49 AM

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Café crème supposed to be black coffee?
    It's a long coffee drink brewed like an espresso, but with all the water pulled through the ground coffee, rather than having extra water added separately to an espresso. Crème here refers to the coffee crema (foam) on top of the freshly brewed black coffee, rather than referring to any form of dairy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousJuly 4, 2024 at 5:26 PM

      Yes, generally speaking Café crème refers to black coffee with coffee foam (crème) on top. In Switzerland, however, many people add a little bit of cream to their café crème. This then would be called a "Schümli" (lit. a foamy).
      I think I should correct that in my article. Thanks for pointing it out!

      Delete

Post a Comment

You have something to add or would like to ask a question? I would love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

Schätzli, Schnüggel and Müüsli - Terms of Endearment in Swiss German

Kiss -  Oliver Haja  / pixelio.de If you've ever been invited to the home of a Swiss couple, you are probably familiar with the most popular Swiss German term of endearment "Schätzli" ('little treasure') or one of it's many varieties like e.g. "Schatz" or "Schätzeli" . Obviously, this is not the only pet name used by Swiss couples (or parents for that matter). Like many other languages, Swiss German offers a wide variety of words and phrases that you can use to address your loved one. Swiss German Terms of Endearment What most of these pet names have in common is the ending "-li" which basically turns the thing or person a word refers to into something small or cute. For example "Haus" means house and "Hüüs li " means small house. Plus, this ending "-li" can also be added to first names as a means of endearment, e.g. Benjamin li , Esther li or Fabienne li . I tried to come up with a colle...
4 comments
Read more

How to Say 'I Love You' in Swiss German

To be completely honest, I'm not very fond of hallmark holidays and Valentine's Day is probably the mothership of them all. In my home there will be no cheesy cards or flowers on that day and, personally, I'm happy about it. However, I know that there are many people who like to celebrate Valentine's Day and take it as an opportunity to show their love and appreciation to their loves. Even in Switzerland, there are plenty of people celebrating it nowadays. If you're short on ideas for this years Valentine's Day in Switzerland you might find some inspiration here: Valentine's Day in Switzerland . If you're already set and have the perfect date ready, how about surprising your loved one with a few romantic Swiss German phrases? You should know that the expression "I love you" has only recently made its way into Swiss German from the High German "Ich liebe dich". Swiss people used to simply say "I like you" or "I like ...
4 comments
Read more

How to Spot a Swiss Person

"You're not from here, right?!" These were the words the saleslady of a small clothes store on a busy Tel Aviv street directed at me a few years ago. I was surprised she had spotted my foreignness so easily. After having lived in Israel for a few years and mastered the local Hebrew, I thought I was able to blend in quite well by then. So, I asked her how she knew. She replied with a smile and said: "You nicely folded the clothes you tried on before bringing them back out!" Oh that! Something I assumed was 'normal' but, apparently, the locals didn't do that. My Swiss background gave me away.  A Stereotypical (Swiss) Person As an expat I can usually spot fellow expats right away even if at first they seem to fit right in. Be they Swiss people I encounter abroad or foreigners living in Switzerland. Mostly, I catch a word or a phrase in a foreign language or see clothes or other items that are clearly not local. Here in South America it's very easy t...
13 comments
Read more