ORDERING A COFFEE…IN ITALY ;-)

Ordering coffee sounds quite easy but depending where you are, things may work differently. If you are in Italy it will for sure 😉

In small towns you can usually order your coffee first and pay later.  In big cities it’s normal to pay first and give your receipt to the barista to prepare your drink.  Unless they offer table service, in which case you sit or are seated and wait for your server, of course ordering and enjoying your beverage while standing at the bar is cheaper than sitting at a table.

If you order coffee, you’ll be served an espresso so if you’re used to ordering a drip coffee, try an americano.  Want to stick out like a sore thumb? Order a cappuccino in the afternoon.  Milky drinks are reserved for the morning in Italy, you may get away with an espresso macchiato after eleven but ordering something with more milk will surely peg you as a foreigner 🙂

But how do you recognize a perfect coffee then? “Must have a creamy brown color, a very fine texture, no bubbles larger or smaller. To the nose – says the expert – the espresso has an intense aroma notes of flowers, fruit, toast and chocolate, all sensations are felt even after swallowing. Taste is round, firm and smooth, while acid and bitter must be balanced “.

The golden rule is: 25 milliliters in 25 seconds! 

THE TIP – Although not expected, if you get good service it’s ok to leave a little something by rounding up.

The pleasure associated with the aroma of coffee is a mass passion for Italians, who daily consume about 70 million cups of espresso at the bar. The notes to the Italian Espresso National Institute, which promotes Friday 17, throughout Italy, “Italian Espresso Day”, the first national day of espresso and cappuccino. A celebration of ‘tazzurella’ (small cup of coffee  ) which will also be an opportunity to find out if the coffee served at the counter is really a good quality and to understand how to choose the right place for a breakfast with all the trimmings.

‘I’ll buy you a coffee’ is one of the phrases that you’ll hear pronounced more often. Even if is a wrong sentence: in Italy there is no ‘one’ coffee, but infinite! Because coffee is a cult, it is a categorical imperative, it is a dogma; everybody knows which type they prefer and defend the superiority of ‘their coffee’.

And after you decided if you’re Copernican or Galilean, and you declare yourself as an incorruptible follower of the “Caffè al bar”, the one with the froth on the surface and the creamy looking flavour, get ready, “one coffees” here are almost endless:

Espresso, Ristretto, lungo (Long).
Macchiato hot milk, or cold milk.
In large bowl, in a glass. Double ristretto.
Cold and shaken. Cold, with milk. Cold, with ice. Cold, period.
With a glass of water at hand.
Natural, no, sparkling water.
American (here are a few, though 😉 ).
With cream. Liquid …. or mounted.
With cold milk separately. Correct with grappa or sambuca.
I could go on ad infinitum, and naturally I avoided the regional variations. The Neapolitan coffee is REALLY a religion, and as such should be treated: books, movies, lyrics have sung the praise. And..I have spoken only of coffee from the bar, the coffee at home (the moka), well we’d have to write an encyclopedia then! 😀

Now that you are sufficiently confused,  do you want to know how I prefer it?

Well, naturally it depends on the time of the day. at this time now.. (which is afternoon on a sunny winter day in Rome)

I will take it Macchiato caldo e con panna, grazie! ^_^ (with some hot milk and mounted sweet cream)  with a little cocoa!

Here are some words you might find useful in your delicious (for sure!) trip to Italy:

Per favore: Please

Grazie: Thank you

Prego: You’re welcome

Come sta?: How are you (formal)

Buon giorno: Good morning

Buona sera: Good evening

Buona notte: Good night

Birra: Beer

Cibo: Food

Dove siamo?: Where are we?