THE BICA: A FIELD GUIDE

It is brewed from a dark blend of Robusta and Arabica beans -- heavier on the Robusta than most Italian espressos -- which gives it a particular intensity and a slight bitterness that the Portuguese consider a virtue rather than a flaw.

The name is said to derive from the acronym BICA -- Beba Isto Com Acucar, meaning 'drink this with sugar' -- a sign allegedly posted above the espresso machine at the Brasileira cafe in Lisbon in the early twentieth century. Whether this is true or not, the Portuguese do drink their bica with sugar, and they drink it standing at the bar, which is the correct way to drink it.

In the Algarve, the bica is served everywhere: in pastelarias, in beach bars, in petrol stations, in the kind of small dark cafes that have not changed since 1975. The quality is remarkably consistent.

The correct context for a bica is a pastelaria -- a Portuguese pastry shop -- in the morning. The ritual is as follows: you stand at the counter, you order a bica and a pastel de nata (the custard tart that is Portugal's greatest contribution to the world), you add sugar to the coffee, you eat the tart in two bites, you drink the coffee in three sips, and you leave. The entire transaction takes less than five minutes and costs less than two euros.

This is not a place to sit and work on your laptop. This is not a place to have a meeting. This is a place to have a coffee and a pastry and then get on with your day. The Portuguese understand this, and they execute it with an efficiency and a pleasure that is quietly instructive.

The specialty coffee movement has arrived in the Algarve, though it has arrived quietly and without the evangelical fervour that sometimes accompanies it elsewhere. In Lagos, Black and White Coffee Shop on Rua Marreiros Netto is widely regarded as the best specialty espresso in the region -- skilled baristas, single-origin beans, the kind of place where the coffee is taken seriously without being made into a performance.

Also in Lagos, Coffee and Waves on Travessa do Cotovelo combines specialty coffee with a surf shop, which sounds like a gimmick but is in fact a very sensible combination given the location. The coffee is excellent.

For those willing to drive, KOYO Speciality Coffees in Aljezur -- a small town on the west coast, about forty minutes from Portimao -- roasts its own beans in-house and is considered by serious coffee people to be the best in the Algarve. The drive through the Serra de Monchique hills to get there is itself worth the trip.