ITALIAN COFFEE CULTURE
Italians love coffee as much as they love pizza and pasta, it’s an integral part of the culture.
Coffee can be found everywhere: from the busiest urban city centers to the most isolated countryside village. It is cheap, delicious and fast (which is actually where the word espresso comes from)!
Italians are the largest consumer of coffee per capita in the world, making Italy a huge player in the international coffee market.
HOW IS COFFEE SERVED?
GLASS OF WATER- It is customary especially In southern Italy to be served a small glass of sparkling water along with your espresso, it is meant to be consumed before the coffee as a palate cleanser, preparing it to better taste the coffee's flavor.
STANDARD SIZES- Unlike in the US and other countries, coffee sizes are standard nationwide, there is no small, large or venti. It is also extremely rare for bars to have any sort of added flavors like vanilla, hazelnut, or much less, pumpkin spice, asking for these will generally be met with a baffled look by your barista. At most, if you are lucky, you may find a bar or caffè that has milk alternatives like almond or soy milk.
TYPES OF COFFEE
ESPRESSO: The classic, the usual, probably 90% the orders received by any Italian barista!
The traditional italian espresso must be short, dark, bitter and prepared quickly. This common type of coffee is usually consumed with no sugar to taste its flavor to the fullest.
Why is this coffè called espresso? Espresso means fast, the average Italian workday is hectic, and workers do not have much time to take breaks. Espresso is typically consumed at the counter (al bancone) in two or three sips. Have a few short words with the barista, pay, and you're on your way back to work.
Some variations of espresso can be: ristretto, which is even shorter and has a very strong, creamy taste, and a lower concentration of caffeine, or lungo, longer, less dense, more diluted with a lighter flavor, and a higher caffeine content.
Espresso should always be fairly cheap: its price can vary from 1€ cents to 1,50€. (If you pay more than 1.50€, you're either in a very fancy bar or part of town, or you're getting ripped off).
***BEWARE, IF YOU SIT DOWN AT A CAFFE IN A MAIN SQUARE YOU ARE LIKELY TO PAY MUCH MORE FOR YOUR CAPPUCCINO THAN IF YOU DRINK IT AT THE COUNTER, IT IS COMMON TO PAY 5 OR 6 EUROS FOR A COFFEE IF YOU SIT DOWN***
MACCHIATO: Caffè macchiato is an espresso with a small amount of milk that adds a creamier and more delicate flavor. The macchiato could be caldo, using hot milk, or freddo (using cold milk).
AMERICANO- For Italians, american coffee that is made with a coffee filter is much more diluted than what Italians are accustomed to. So the “americano” was created although it is still not made with a filter, instead, it is a long espresso served along with a teapot of boiling water so the customer can water it down to their taste.
CAPPUCCINO: This one is well known throughout the world, the cappuccino is a rather tall espresso that is then topped with foamy steamed milk. Now, we have mentioned this in other articles but cappuccino is exclusively a breakfast coffee consumed before 11am, it is not something to help you wash down your lunch or a dessert.
Cappuccino e brioche is the classic Italian sunday morning breakfast!
