I is for Italy – the art of drinking coffee in Italy.
The art of drinking coffee in Italy
Contents
Drinking coffee in Italy is an art form and if you do not want to shout out that you are an uncool tourist who has no appreciation of this total experience then it is worth ‘knowing’ what to do and what not to do. Italians wherever they live ‘know’ good coffee and how to make it. They also know when it is not good and you can tell from their reaction. I guess this is why Australia has such good coffee. Not only do a lot of Italians live here but they have bought this art form with them. I think most of us here own the Moka machine where you make the coffee on the stove top. In fairness, the Lebanese and the Turkish people have also contributed to our coffee scene.
It’s all in the beans
Speak to any Italian and it is all about the coffee beans and how they are ground. This is where the big difference between a good and a great coffee lies. If you want the ultimate coffee, the perfectly selected beans would be ground before each coffee to get the ultimate experience. The practicality of this however seems to be that this is not the case.
In Italy when we were there, we noticed that there was a lot more of this attention to these finer details and that we did get fantastic coffee.
What NOT to do
We were very confident when we ordered our first coffee in Florence early in the morning. I ordered a latte and that is what I got – hot milk. When I went back to the bar and said café latte they put some coffee in it amid much laughter. I was mortified. Our second mistake was the fact that I ordered a caffe latte at all and the 3rd was that we sat down.
Now I don’t know about you but I like to get things right when I am in another country. I don’t really want to look like a tourist, I want to seem to blend in. So we had to work at it. By the time we got to Rome I thought that I had it covered. Dressed in black and looking uber chic, I walked up to bar and ordered an espresso and a pastry which is the done thing. . I leant casually on the bar and didn’t really look at anyone and then, with great authority, started to drink my coffee and eat my pastry. Of course the icing sugar from the pastry went straight down my black jumper. Then I made a ridiculous error. I sauntered to the bathroom to clean this off. It turned to a white paste. Uber chic finished, humiliation in, as i strode out of the cafe whilst I am sure that the other customers snickered and thought ‘tourist’.
What to do:
NO MILK COFFEE AFTER 10.30AM
That means no cappuccino, caffé latte, latte macchiato or any milky form of coffee after 10.30am
Drinking a milk coffee after a meal is considered wrong as milk sits on a full stomach.
REALLY – You should only be having a black coffee in the morning and forget any pastry that has any semblance of icing sugar on it.
Espresso, Cappucino, and Caffe Latte
These are the sacred coffees of Italy. There are a few variations but not many. After 10.30am if you want to be like the locals then it is espresso for you all day.
LEAVE your skinny latte with a caramel shot at home or you will be very quickly picked out as a tourist with little appreciation for the fine art form that is coffee making and drinking. I am not sure what the Italian word for wanker is but I expect that is what you will hear. The Italians know there art of coffee making, as they are all born baristas, and it is decided that the temperature should be able to be drunk while you are on the run.
Espresso
Caffe in Italy by default IS espresso. Your option should you choose to receive a big caffeine hit is is to order un caffè doppio (a double espresso). The Italians don’t however. They just steadily drink coffee all day. Again it says ‘tourist alert’.
A Shot in your coffee
I know it is very common for Australian Italians to put some brandy or amaretto in their coffee. This is also done in Italy if you know how to do ‘the nod’. That is all it takes. A little look at the brandy on the shelf and a nod and you will be all on the same page. I watched carefully and saw the nod many times.
Look like an Italian
Stand at the bar and drink your coffee like an Italian.
At the bar, you usually have to pay for your coffee before ordering it and then stand there and look cool and a little detached. Ordering a small pastry is totally acceptable with aforementioned rider about icing sugar.
Another alternative is to sit outside and bask in the sun while enjoying life in the piazza. Go for the back seats that face the square as this is what the locals do. Smoking while you lounge on your chair while wearing your designer sunglasses is de riguer if you want to seem chic. Make sure that your designer handbag is placed on the table also as this is a big statement on the cool factor. Face your already tanned face to the sun to appreciate this sunshine while sipping your … espresso.
Easy isn’t it? Whilst making the coffee is indeed an art form, drinking the blessed stuff in Italy is also an art for too.
Great post! You’re right, learning to drink coffee (and tea) in another country can be an art — and a science. I’ve had my share of faux pas, but the best was in Malaysia, where I ordered a coffee with milk but got one that looked like it had hardly any milk in it at all. I asked the waiter to put more in. He gave me an odd look, but returned a minute later with my double-milk coffee, At which point I discovered the problem: in Malaysia they use sweetened condensed milk, and it sits at the bottom of the cup until you stir. And if you get a double dose, you’ve got a cup of very sweet Malaysian cafe au lait.
LOL, I know these condensed milk coffees. We have had them in Malaysia and Vietnam and it is an acquired taste.
Love this! I have an American friend that lived in Milan for awhile, and she was always telling me that it was taboo to drink cappuccinos after the morning hours. I didn’t realize there were a lot of other rules, too!
It is true, and I hate not looking like I sort of know what is going on
I usually try to fit in but coffee without milk – can’t do it. I think I’ll just risk the looks of contempt when I’m in Italy.
I’ve never got the shot in a coffee. I’d much rather have my alcohol and coffee separately so I can appreciate them both 🙂
LOL, I very occasionally will do the straight black espresso then am hyped for the rest of the day. LOVE your twitter handle 🙂
Oh dear – I am definitely guilty of being the obvious tourist! I can actually ONLY drink coffee when it has a shot of caramel or something similar in the middle – it’d be easy to spot the odd one out if I was in a coffee shop in Italy!
LOL, I will look out for you 🙂
Love this post. Not being a coffee drinker I would make all the mistakes you mention but thankfully my husband who has the audacity to sometimes think he’s Italian, has it down pat!
I am now a committed and hard critic of good coffee. We in Australia have such excellent coffee that even the Italians have to work hard to impress us 🙂
Paula, This cracked me up. I’m sure I’ve made a lot more mistakes than that ! Hmmm. I need a cafe latte right now…and it’s only evening!
Thanks Corinne 🙂
Two of my favourite subjects – coffee and Italy. It has taken me years to figure out the art of coffee drinking in Italy. I remember, as a very young girl, my dad gesturing to many poor waiters, in very bad Italian that he wanted a cafe latte only to be provided with warm milk, small caffe’s and everything else in between. We would spend hours laughing at his expense until one day I realised that now travelling the country on my own it wasn’t that easy at all to fit in. Now I have it down to a fine art, I would hope so after 20 years of travelling the country pretty much every year, but it definitely takes time. And then…once you have perfected that you need to start to understand the ritual of the afternoon aperitif – I do enjoy the occasionally Aperol Spiritz now! 🙂
I love this response and coffee in Italy it is an art form. The aperitif is another issue, that we have solved by pointing at a local and indicating 2. They seem to get this.