In Hong Kong, coffee is mixed with tea to make yuanyang (Photo: Calvin / Flickr)

No matter where you start your work day, coffee is typically in order before meetings begin.

But how you brew the bean at home is likely quite different from the way it’s done in other parts of the world.

If you can’t have your joe your way, then have it like a local! Or you can go find the nearest Starbucks.

When you are overseas, how do you handle your need for coffee? Do you go local, or go to Starbucks? Please leave your comments below. 

In the meantime, here are five kinds of coffee every traveler should try when visiting these cities:

Hong Kong: Once an enterprising outpost where tea was preferred instead of coffee (what do you expect from a place that was handed over from the British to the Chinese in 1997?), a compromise was made. It’s called yuanyang, and is actually coffee mixed with milk tea — or black tea combined with condensed or evaporated milk (see above). Add sugar to taste or nix the sweet stuff altogether.

Cafe noisette, a single espresso with a dash of cream or hot milk. (Photo: CycloneBill / Flickr)

Paris: The always popular cafe au lait is certainly a good way to begin the day, especially if that happens at a French cafe. Expect the wait staff to bring this refresher of coffee mixed with hot milk to you in a very wide mug. That way, you can dunk in your croissant without committing any kind of  faux pas. Not enough punch? Opt for cafe noisette, a single espresso with a dash of cream or hot milk. Or, ask for a cafe allongé, a long espresso also popular in Quebec.

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Auckland: The flat white is currently making a splash in Starbucks around North America, but this coffee drink has long been part of the coffee culture of hard working New Zealanders who like to start their day with a cup or two. When you ask for your flat white, know that you’ll be getting an espresso combined with steamed milk. A dollop of foam is then plopped on top.

Turkish coffee is a thick brew usually served with water to help wash it down! (Photo: Erica Ashleson / Flickr)

Istanbul: Talk about a (coffee) production. Turk kahvesi — the manner in which Turkish coffee is made — takes quite a bit of preparation. Medium roasted beans are crushed into specks by mortar and pestle and then ground even further in a cylindrical brass coffee mill, then boiled with sugar. The result? One thick and powerful brew served in a mini cup– no gulping allowed. Let the grounds settle to the bottom of your cup, then sip and savor. Turkish coffee is usually served very hot with a cool glass of water on the side.

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In Vienna, coffee is nearly always served on a silver tray (Photo: Christian Kadluba / Flickr)

Vienna: Cafe culture is a must in Austria with many coffee selections in the mix. However, this coffee-drinking nation’s traditional drink, hailing from Vienna, is called melange and is similar to a cappuccino. Translation? A double shot of espresso coupled with steamed milk and froth foam, then the sprinkled with cinnamon, then served in a glass instead of a cup. Here’s a blurb from Chris’s BBC Business Trip about coffee in Vienna:

When you are overseas, how do you handle your need for coffee? Do you go local, or go to Starbucks? Please leave your comments below. 

–Jane Lasky

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