Ashkelon, Israel
Israelis make it and drink it with verve and determination. During the intifada in 2002, sentries with automatic rifles guarded the hip sidewalk cafes of Jerusalem. Civilian customers sipped with pistols jammed in their belts. During this winter's war in Gaza, Hamas unleashed missiles on the beachfront city of Ashkelon a few miles north. Most shops in the two local malls closed down because a direct hit on a glass roof wounded several people. But on the first floor of the downtown mall, Cup O' Joe, part of a nationwide chain, kept serving excellent espresso.
Rio de Janeiro
It's apparently Brazilian law that you must charm guests with cafezinho, whether in a government ministry or a bullet-scarred shacktown. In the 1990s, The Times had a bureau in a big old house with a stunning view of the Christ statue atop Corcovado Mountain across the bay. Bureau employees thought it was their solemn duty to ensure that visiting correspondents had a steaming cup on their desks at all times.
Baghdad
For Iraqis and many Arab neighbors, the culture centers on tea and that's that. But a few years ago, one Iraqi politician, a former exile returned from London, served interviewers a potent brand of thick Turkish coffee. It was much appreciated.
Caracas, Venezuela
If you can get good coffee at the airport, you know things are going to be OK. As in the rest of the Caribbean, the Venezuelan style is sweet and strong. Come to think of it, the Miami airport stands out among U.S. counterparts. That's probably because many of the people behind the counters are Cuban Americans. And Cuban-style coffee competes with the best of them. Regardless of ideology.
Buenos Aires
Instead of cathedrals, Buenos Aires has cafes. Palatial, ornate, historic cafes -- they feel like museums. Argentines drink plenty of coffee, a taste inherited from many Italian and Spanish ancestors, because they haunt cafes: for business and leisure, for conspiracy and art. There's even a tango, "Cafetin de Buenos Aires," about a neighborhood cafe. The singer declares it's the only thing in life that ever compared with his mother. The place where he learned philosophy, dice, love and "the cruel poetry" of thinking about himself no more.
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rotella@latimes.com
