An Italian sip

Do you want to have a coffee in Italy? You better read this, coffee in Italy is a serious matter!

Let’s start saying that, in order to enjoy the famous Italian espresso you have to first forget everything you know from the weird beverages you had in the international coffee provider chains. caramel macchiato, caramel frappuccino, pumpkin coffee-choco whatever: FORGET THEM!

Italian espresso is short, dark and it comes from a long tradition.

Since the 16^th century in Venice, its tradition has always been respected, which involves conviviality, the joy to stay together and to accompany the most important moments with family and friends.

When at home, Italians make coffee with “moka”, a tool developed in the 30s by Alfonso Bialetti: the same Bialetti company is still one of the most used brands of moka, in Italian “caffettiera”. You can buy it in different sizes and remember never to wash it with soap but only with water: you will not want your coffee to taste like it! It is usually drank for breakfast, in the middle of the morning and then immediately after lunch. To have it after 4 pm it means that you are brave and not scared not to be awake all night due to the high amount of caffeine.   

When outside, the story is a bit different: we stop by at “bar”, that are the Italian cafeterias, everytime we have the opportunity to: we have a coffee while waiting for someone, while going somewhere or even just for to treat ourselves. Coffee is usually taken while standing at the counter or, if during a date or appointment, then we can sit and enjoy it while chatting.

And no, we don’t have cappuccino in these situations. Cappuccino is for the morning, while having breakfast, with our delicious croissants, also called “cornetti”. No cappuccino after lunch, after dinner or in any other moments: cappuccino is for a nice and relaxing breakfast and that’s it. 

Now that you have the basics about coffee, you can go and enjoy a good espresso, everyone deserves it!

Quick note: in Italy we do not have “latte”, this word means milk in Italian, so you risk receiving a glass of milk if you order it.  And also do not get annoyed if when you ask for an “americano” Italians make a strange face! It does not really exist in Italy unless you are in a very touristic place. In that case, you can have a cappuccino the American whenever you want and even order it with a pizza, but do not expect the same in traditional places!