Bica
Also café, cimbalino
Portugal's everyday espresso, known as bica in Lisbon and cimbalino in Porto. Slightly longer than an Italian shot and taken with sugar.
EspressoServed hotFrom Portugal
- Volume
- 35ml1.2 US fl oz
- Espresso
- 1shot
- Caffeine
- 64mgderived, USDA FDC
- Glass
- Demitasse70 ml
The build
Watch it made, step by step- Espresso35 ml100%
- Volume
- 35ml
- Caffeine
- 64mg
- Espresso
- 1shot
Scales every component together, so the ratio holds; caffeine scales with the coffee.
A slightly long single espresso; ask for 'cheia' (full) or 'curta' (short) to adjust.
Caffeine
Derivedin a 35 ml bica
Derived per shot: USDA FoodData Central FDC 171891 (espresso, restaurant-prepared) lists 212 mg per 100 g; a standard 30 g shot is about 63.6 mg, times 1 shot(s). Real values vary with dose, roast and species (robusta roughly doubles it).
USDA FoodData Central record 171891 · read 2026-10-26
A derived figure: the reference food's caffeine per 100 g scaled to the coffee in this build. Real cups vary with the coffee, the dose and the shot.
Variants by country
3| Name | Country | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| cimbalino | Portugal | Porto name, after the Cimbali machines. |
| abatanado | Portugal | Longer, americano-like cup. |
| café carioca | Portugal | Weaker, a second pass of water through the grounds. |
History
Wikidata records Portugal as its origin and classes it as a type of espresso. The folk explanation of the name as an acronym for 'beba isto com açúcar' is unverified.
Lisbon name for an espresso; 'cimbalino' in Porto.
Related drinks
A deliberately weak Portuguese coffee made by passing water through spent grounds. Caffeine is well below the scaled figure.
Espresso Caffè Romano 30 ml · 64 mgAn espresso served with a twist of lemon. The lemon oil brightens the shot; the drink is more common in American cafés than in Rome.
Espresso Café Cubano 30 ml · 64 mgA Cuban espresso sweetened during extraction by whipping sugar with the first drops into a foam. Small, sweet and the base of colada and cortadito.
Espresso Decaf Espresso 30 ml · 64 mgAn espresso pulled from decaffeinated beans. Every milk and iced drink in this list can be ordered this way with its caffeine reduced to a few milligrams.
Espresso Espresso 30 ml · 64 mgA small, concentrated coffee brewed by forcing hot water through finely ground coffee under pressure. It is the base of most café milk drinks and is served in a small thick-walled cup.
Espresso Pocillo 30 ml · 64 mgA small cup of strong black coffee, from the Spanish word for the little cup itself. Common across Latin American Spanish.