In Spain, and all over the world, there are many ways to order coffee, but in Malaga they boast of having their own very particular vocabulary that is already a hallmark of the city. The ten-name system was born in the middle of the last century with a single origin, the Central Cafe, a centenary place that this Sunday said goodbye to the laments of customers, neighbors and lifelong friends.
In this case, it has not been a consequence of the covid-19 nor the lack of influx, since the bustle between the tables and the bar of the Central has remained constant throughout its history. The high rental price of the premises and the retirement of its current owner have determined the closure, announced already last month. He did it just a few days after receiving the Antonio Espinosa award for A Life Dedicated to Tourism and Gastronomy, awarded by the Gastronomic Academy of Malaga, as a landmark and emblematic place in the city.
Over a century of stories and ten unique ways to order coffee
It’s not really known for sure when it was founded the original Café Central, since there are no sources that determine the exact date of its inauguration or its first steps. Yes, a document is kept announcing an action in the premises that dates from 1920, so it can be stated that the Central, at least, has passed the century of history.
The definitive place would arise from the union of three establishments with tradition of the Constitution Plaza, formerly José Antonio Primo de Rivera Square: the Café Suizo, the Munich and the Central itself, located between them, at that time configured as a narrow bar that led to a somewhat larger room. The merger was the work of José Prado Crespo, who decided to dedicate himself to the inn after a brief journey as a taxi driver at the end of the war.
In 1954 he was able to definitively acquire the three mentioned premises and join them with the name of the one that was then more popular and popular. Since then, the Central has been an emblematic place attracting residents and, over the decades, more and more tourists, being a tireless witness of the profound changes that the city and Malaga society have undergone since its early years.
In addition to becoming part of Malaga life, the Central would make history with its revolutionary system to order coffee. Tired of having to waste coffee to accommodate the varied tastes of his clientele, still suffering from the postwar shortage, Prado classified the most repeated tastes and gave them names with originality and humor.
Thus created the nine types of coffee that define the total volume of the drink and its proportion in the glass: single, long, semi-long, only short, half, between short, short, shadow and cloud. And since one is missing to be able to translate the system into two even rows, added the final grace that responded to the humorous comments of “and less than a cloud?” for that “don’t wear it”.
Much has happened since then and the Central has been adapting to the new times, receiving more and more tourists with different tastes than the older clientele, but without losing its essence. The third generation of owners had even launched into roast and sell your own coffee of origin and accessories, still available through online sales, also organizing courses and tastings.
The history of the place is full of anecdotes and stories that the most loyal customers and neighbors have remembered in The farewell party from the premises this past weekend, a bitter culmination of Christmas and a bittersweet way to start the new year.
Photos | Central Cafe
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