Destinations > Italy > Italian Coffee

Italian Caffè Culture

Although most coffee in Italy comes from South America, Italy is the first country to come to mind when you mention coffee. Although the beans are grown elsewhere, Italy is considered the home of coffee and is where many of the beans are roasted, where the espresso machines are made and where making the perfect espresso, cappuccino or latte has been elevated to a high artform. Like France, Italy's cafe scene is an integral part of its culture, however the emphasis is quite different - while the French think of cafés as a place to relax, spending hours over a leisurely coffee, the Italians treat coffee like a drug rushing in and out of a caffè and downing their coffee in a minute or two. This isn't to say that Italians don't take their coffee seriously, in fact Italian cafe society is as complex as Italian society itself with myriad rules about ordering, a wide variety of different drinks for different occassions and social taboos which are frequently broken by most travellers.

One of the strangest things about Italian cafes is the way in which you go about ordering a coffee. In a futile attempt to stop tax evasion, Italy's bizzare bureaucracy has made it compulsory for a coffee bar to issue a receipt when you order a coffee. Although this rule doesn't state whether the coffee bar has to give you the receipt before or after getting your coffee, many of the larger Italian cafes make you pay for your coffee before you go to the bar to get served - this is a good way for them to make sure that no one leaves without paying. You first have to get in line at the cash register and pay for your coffee. After you've paid for your coffee you will get a receipt which you will then have to take to the bar. Give the barrista the reciept and he will make your coffee which you will then drink at the bar. You'll have to be fast to keep up with the locals, who will have finished their coffee before you have even had time to take your first sip.

Espresso

Espresso is the basic coffee drink which is simply referred to as caffè and is the base of all other coffee drinks. This classic shot of caffeine is usually served in a tiny cup although it can also be served 'al ventro' (in a small glass). You can drink an espresso at any time of the day without causing any offence. An espresso is the ideal after-dinner drink.

Variations on the classic espresso include ristretta (extra strong espresso) and corretto (espresso with a shot of grappa). A caffè macchiato is a bit like a cross between an espresso and a cappuccino and is basically a short espresso with a tiny dash of frothy milk, don't confuse this with a latte macchiato (hot milk with a dash of espresso). An americano or doppio is an espresso topped up with hot water.

Cappuccino

You would most certainly cause a scandal if you order a cappuccino after 11am as anything with that much milk is considered a meal in itself and is the classic Italian breakfast (the Italian equivalent of cornflakes). The second cappuccino rule is to never order cappuccino after a meal, Italian meals are huge consisting of pasta followed by a main course and desert and Italians can't understand why anyone would order a calorie-rich cappuccino after a big meal. Rule number three is to never sit down at a table with your cappuccino - Italians make their coffee luke-warm so it can be drunk quickly - if you attempt to sit down and drink your cappuccino slowly it will be cold before you are half-way through it. Perhaps the best reason for not sitting down is that your cappuccino will cost two, three maybe even four times as much as it would cost at the bar. Break the three cappuccino rules and you will expose yourself as a tourist.

Variations on the cappucino include cappuccino senza schiuma, literally cappuccino without the foam which is essentially an espresso topped with hot milk (no foam) - also called a caffè latte.

If you want a long glass of cold black coffee, ask for a caffè freddo. After a while you will get fed up with luke-warm Italian coffee and ask for your coffee to be served molto caldo (hot), of course everyone at the bar will gasp and fall silent as you will be breaking yet another Italian coffee rule, once again exposing yourself as a tourist.

If you are feeling rebellious, you should be able to get away with breaking most of these rules by drinking in a caffè in a really touristy area (like across the road from the Spanish Steps in Rome or anywhere in central Venice). Since most of the other customers will be tourists you shouldn't raise too many eyebrows when you order a hot cappuccino at 4pm. The touristy caffè bars are used to tourists breaking all the rules, in these bars hot cappuccino in the afternoon is almost normal.