A Guide to Coffee-drinking in Italy

Do you like coffee? Most people will answer this question "Yes". Coffee is a popular drink worldwide and almost everyone enjoys drinking a cup. Coffee, aside of water is probably the most consumed drink in the world.

However, you can drink coffee in every country of the world; many tourists will visit Italy especially for drinking espresso. Italy can be called the home of the espresso coffee and the taste of this kind of coffee is different compared with other countries. When you order an espresso in Italy you probably get a very small cup of espresso coffee with a taste much stronger than in most countries of the world. Something you need to know about espresso in Italy is you can also ask for "an espresso lungo" and you get the same cup with twice as much water compared with the traditional espresso. If you like real strong coffee maybe a traditional espresso is preferable but I prefer one which is less strong.

When you order espresso lungo many waiters will suggest you caffe Americano because waiters in Italy think you prefer this taste of coffee. It is best you avoid this and reply with "no, I would like "un caffè lungo, per favore". If you compare both you will notice the difference and I suggest you to drink an espresso lungo. A caffè Americano is just adding 6 to 8 ounces hot water to the traditional espresso.

It is strange that coffee in Italy is so popular because coffee doesn't grow in Italy. One of the reasons is because many beans are roasted in the highest quality and no other country in the world spent so much energy in making coffee than Italy. There are so many variations and some people say that there are even more kinds of coffees than pastas. If you know that Italy is the country of the pasta you will have no problem finding coffee you like because of the variety offered. The taste of coffee is also different in every region of Italy.

You can call making coffee an art in Italy and the kind of coffee Italian people drink is different for every time of the day. They will not drink the same coffee with breakfast as in the afternoon. Mostly they will enjoy a cappuccino or a mokka with breakfast and maybe a grannito di caf or caffe corretto in the afternoon or evening.

Italian people will never drink a cappuccino in the afternoon so as to avoid stomach problems. It is unlikely they will drink cappucino after a meal. Drinking espresso is different; this can be done at every moment of the day. An important tip is that Italian people rarely drink coffee with a meal. Generally they will order coffee after a meal except breakfast.

When you compare drinking coffee in Italy with France; the French people spend more time drinking coffee, as opposed to the Italian people who like to drink this beverage in a rush and spend only 2 minutes in drinking one cup of coffee.
Italian coffee has a rich brown color and almost no oil on the beans; the French roast coffee are dark and with many oil.

Some popular Italian coffees are:
- caffè (espresso) : a strong cup of coffee and surely a must if you visit Italy; the taste is different than in other places in the world.
- doppio : double espresso
- ristretto : made with less water than espresso
- caffè Americano : stronger than espresso and served in a large cup of coffee
- macchiato : espresso with steamed milk on the top

- caffè latte : a strong expresso mixed with steamed milk
- corretto : espresso with grappa or cognac
- cappucino : coffee with foamed milk

In many of the Italian cafes you immediately have to pay for your coffee when you order. This gives them the security you don't leave if they are making your coffee.

Enjoy your coffee!