Italy doesn't seem to have many Starbucks around. Drip brewed coffee is even harder to find. If you ask for 'coffee' Italians shrug and then serve caffe. Caffe really means espresso and it comes in a tazzino the size of your thumb.
There are three kinds of caffe: "long" which is a double shot of espresso, "short" who is no more than the size of a tablespoon, and "stained" which comes with a dollop of milk foam. (In Italian, these are known as lungo, ristretto, and macchiato.) When you get an espresso, the best part is the creme or frothy espresso foam on top. It takes a knowledgable barista and a high quality espresso machine to perfect that art.
In the morning, Italians also drink cappuccino, which is a shot of espresso with milk and foam that comes in a regular tea cup. Italians, however, don't tend to drink cappuccino past eleven o'clock in the morning. They also don't eat much breakfast, ordering a quick cornetto (croissant) instead. Sometimes you can see men drink caffe with a little "top off" or splash of liqueur, such as sambuca, making it caffe corretto.
Proper etiquette in these parts dictates that you stir sugar into the caffe before downing the shot in three or four sips. The caffe always comes with a cup of water, either lisca/naturale (flat) or frizzante (carbonated), which should be sipped both before and after drinking the tazzino in order to clean the palette. Most often, caffe is drunk al banco or at the counter as a brief sip-and-go.
But there's more than just simple tazzinos of caffe, although straight espresso is the most popular in Italy. Baristas also create their own sweet versions of Starbucks twists. Some of the best caffe twists are found at the cafe-bars of shopping malls. Specialty drinks have names such as Tiramisu and Il Nonno (the grandpa). Billboards announce the twists at cafe-bars, but you can't ask the barista how they are made because usually the drinks are considered proprietary.
There are three kinds of caffe: "long" which is a double shot of espresso, "short" who is no more than the size of a tablespoon, and "stained" which comes with a dollop of milk foam. (In Italian, these are known as lungo, ristretto, and macchiato.) When you get an espresso, the best part is the creme or frothy espresso foam on top. It takes a knowledgable barista and a high quality espresso machine to perfect that art.
In the morning, Italians also drink cappuccino, which is a shot of espresso with milk and foam that comes in a regular tea cup. Italians, however, don't tend to drink cappuccino past eleven o'clock in the morning. They also don't eat much breakfast, ordering a quick cornetto (croissant) instead. Sometimes you can see men drink caffe with a little "top off" or splash of liqueur, such as sambuca, making it caffe corretto.
Proper etiquette in these parts dictates that you stir sugar into the caffe before downing the shot in three or four sips. The caffe always comes with a cup of water, either lisca/naturale (flat) or frizzante (carbonated), which should be sipped both before and after drinking the tazzino in order to clean the palette. Most often, caffe is drunk al banco or at the counter as a brief sip-and-go.
But there's more than just simple tazzinos of caffe, although straight espresso is the most popular in Italy. Baristas also create their own sweet versions of Starbucks twists. Some of the best caffe twists are found at the cafe-bars of shopping malls. Specialty drinks have names such as Tiramisu and Il Nonno (the grandpa). Billboards announce the twists at cafe-bars, but you can't ask the barista how they are made because usually the drinks are considered proprietary.
About the Author:
Learn more about Italian Coffee Drinking. Stop by Barbara Zaragoza's site or check out her ebook Handbook of Neapolitan Caffe.
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