I must admit, after a while I was ready to give up and say I’m never drinking coffee in Montenegro again. Most of the coffeeshops serve borderline Turkish glop. Burnt, strong, scolding, scooped out foam, bits of coffee left in the cup and sugar, cinnamon, caramel and chocolate sauce on top, with no question as to how you'd like it. I can imagine the conversation would go something like this:

Me: "What's this?"

Bartender: "That is a cappuccino, miss. Oh, and did I forget to tell you I don't speak English and hate tourists?"

So maybe don't stir that pot… Let's smile and enjoy our holiday, basking in the —interesting— norms of our fellow countries.

There were many restaurants and pubs with signs that said “No tourists welcome”. But, that's the tourist' life, you know? It's part of the charm. We don't travel abroad to have the same experience we would have walking through our own local streets. So I trudged on, persevered, and my efforts were rewarded. I found a sweet little shack of a place. Out the back they had tables under a sunroof, where the waves slowly beat against the pebbled beach. You could dip your toes in, go for a swim, drink your coffee and relax. I spent many mornings there playing Gin Rummy with a friend, and the coffee there was the best we'd found, I think our standards had been lowered quite a bit by then. But hey, if low standards is what it takes to enjoy a cup in Montenegro…

The atmosphere there was so effortless and relaxed, with the sounds of the ocean playing with the pebbles on the little beach, we could have fallen asleep right there, and that to me is when you've accomplished something special with your coffee shop.

Final verdict: 3 (coffee: 2, atmosphere: 5)