Stylish Coffee From Italy.

One of the oldest cafés in Europe, and a prime contender for the world’s longest continuing coffee house, is Caffè Florian in Venice. This opulent café, lying beneath porticos in Piazza San Marco, opened in 1720 and continues to brew coffee for Venetians, Italians and international visitors at what has now become a symbol of the city. Italy also introduced the first steam-pressure coffee machine to the world which would forever change the course of brewing coffee: the espresso machine was patented in 1884 in Torino and improved in 1901 in Milan, resulting in the commercial machines we see today. Finally, Italy also invented the Bialetti Moka Pot, or machinetta, in 1933. This stovepot percolator is a fixture in Italian homes and is lauded for its iconic design and simplicity.

Coffee is a historic ritual in Italy that has become so ingrained in the culture that it’d be hard to imagine Italy without it. DID YOU KNOW? Coffee started out in pharmacies as a drug available only to the wealthy before Italy’s oldest cafe, Florian, opened in 1720 in Venice. It wasn’t until the 19th century that the invention of the steam-driven machine brought Italians their beloved espresso.

With a rich and intense flavour, real Italian coffee brings a tradition of excellence to every sip. Coffee first made its appearance in Europe during the 14th century when traders from the Silk Road introduced it to the wealthy aristocrats of Venice, and hundreds of years later it is a staple of Italian culture. Using 100 percent Arabica espresso beans from Central America and the African highlands, Italian coffee is the preferred choice for making classic espresso drinks like cappuccinos, lattes, and macchiatos. The secret to its velvety smooth taste is a perfectly balanced combination of bitter and sweet flavours.

Here are some of the types of Italian coffee drinks you can find. I’m not sure that these are the “only” ways to drink coffee, maybe there are Italian regions or individual bars that have invented their own kind of coffee beverage.

Caffè. If you ask for “un caffé” [oohn kahf-FEH]at the bar, you get what for us Italians is “the” coffee, i.e. a creamy and tasty quite strong espresso. Often, to avoid confusion with other kinds of coffee-based drinks, when you order just “un caffè”, the waiter may ask: “Normale?” [nohr-MAH-leh] i.e. normal? in which case the answer is: “Sì, grazie!” [See, GRAH-tsee-eh], meaning “Yes, thank you!”.

Caffè decaffeinato is a coffee deprived of caffeine. People normally drink it in the evening and after dinner to avoid the risk of staying awake during the night. When you order it, you can simply ask “un decaffeinato” [oohn deh-kahf-feh-ee-NAH-toh]o “un deca” [oohn DEH-kah].

Caffé doppio [kahf-FEH DOHP-pyoh] is simply a double dose of espresso.

Caffè ristretto [ree-STREHT-toh] is a very concentrated espresso, therefore it is small. It tastes very strong but its caffeine content is actually very low.

Caffè lungo [LOOHN-goh] is obtained by draining more water than usual and contains more caffeine than normal. When I went abroad and I asked for an espresso, I never found true espresso. What I had was rather what we Italians call a long coffee.

Caffè macchiato caldo [mahk-KYAH-toh KAHL-doh] is a normal espresso with addition of a little warm milk.

Caffè macchiato freddo [mahk-KYAH-toh FREHD-doh] is also a normal espresso in which you add cold milk with a small pot provided by the waiter.

Macchiatone [mahk-kyah-TOH-neh] is a long coffee prepared in a large cup with addition of frothed milk. It’s a cross between a macchiato and a cappuccino.

Caffè corretto [kohr-REHT-toh] is obtained by adding to a normal espresso a small amount of hard liquor. When ordering, you can specify what kind of liquor you want. In Veneto there is another version of this, the rasentin. You drink a normal espresso. When at the bottom of the cup remains only very little coffee, with the excuse to clean the cup, you add a little liquor (usually grappa), mix it to the coffee and drink.

Cappuccino [kahp-pooh-CHEE-noh] is a slightly long espresso with the addition of about 100 ml of frothed milk, served in a large cup, sometimes with a sprinkle of cocoa. In Italy we drink cappuccino almost exclusively at breakfast or during the morning, solo or accompanied by sweet foods. When foreigners order a cappuccino after lunch or accompanying it to savoury food, for us Italians it is a very strange thing, quite an abomination. I myself once, just once in my life, ordered a cappuccino and a sandwich at the same time. The waiter looked at me like I was crazy and have been teased by my friends for days. So be prepared!

Mocaccino [mok-kah-CHEE-noh] is a cappuccino with the addition of a little hot chocolate and cream, served in a transparent cup.

Marocchino [mah-rohk-KEE-noh] consists of milk foam, coffee and dark chocolate powder in a small transparent cup.

Caffellatte [kahf-feh-LAHT-teh] is an espresso mixed with about 200 ml of warm milk. Usually people drink it at home dipping biscuits in it during breakfast. It is similar to American latte.

Latte macchiato [LAHT-teh mahk-KYAH-toh] is warm milk served in a tall glass with the addition of an espresso poured on top.

The day is defined by coffee rituals: a cappuccino with breakfast, a caffè macchiato – or two – as an afternoon pick-me-up, and espresso after dinner. And like any culture, that of Italian coffee comes with seemingly mysterious laws. Order a latte, and you’ll receive a glass of milk (which is exactly what you ordered). Ask for a to-go cup or order a cappuccino after 11 a.m., and risk an instant tourist label. Italians eat and drink everything at certain times and in a certain order because of how it affects digestion. With all that foam and milk, Italians consider a cappuccino a meal itself and won’t drink one after 11am. Despite the judging glares or being refused a cappuccino that you may have heard about, those are nothing more than rumors and you can enjoy a cappuccino in Italy any time you please. It’s one of my favorite types of Italian coffee and I’ve ordered it after lunch and dinner many times.

Everywhere in the world, coffee has a strong association with Italy: during the 16th century, its emerging middle class was among the first in Europe to get on board with the new concoction once it made its way from the Middle East. And the pleasant jolt of focus and energy provided by caffeine was especially appreciated by intellectuals, who would gather to exchange opinions over coffee in another recent invention: bars. The connection was so strong that when the ideas of the Enlightenment started gaining traction in Italy, and a publication was founded in Milan to popularise them, the founders picked the name ‘Il Caffè’ (which in Italian is both the drink and the place). The Italian bar remained such a powerful symbol that former CEO Howard Schultz credits a 1983 trip to Milan for the creation of Starbucks - and obviously, the espresso is an original Italian invention, of the end of the 19th century.

In terms of roasting, traditionally Italians prefer coffees which have been roasted to a very dark brown colour. The coffee beans look shiny, a bit oily even as at the high temperatures at which they have been roasted, their essential oils have been released. The essential oils are fundamental for the coffee’s aroma which is composed by 800 different molecules. This type of dark roast renders itself well to the process of extraction through which espresso is made. The further south you go in Italy, the darker the roasts used become.

Italy is also one of the world’s largest importers of coffee beans. There are 700 coffee-roasting businesses here. About one-third of the coffee roasted in Italy is then blended and packaged here and exported worldwide with Austria, France, USA, Australia, and Germany among the main clients.

The Italian contribution to twentieth century coffee culture came in the form of new technology. In 1901 Luigi Bezzera invented the espresso coffee machine. These machines work by forcing high pressure steam through the coffee beans. Italy produced them in various versions and by the 1930s they had spread across Europe. They were capable of producing thousands of coffees an hour.

Sources

www.eataly.com, www.homegrounds.co, mycornerofitaly.com, luxeadventuretraveler.com, theromanguy.com, www.thespruceeats.com