Coffee European Style

Coffee is as much of visual art as it is a a taste sensation. Photo by Modomatic: http://www.flickr.com/photos/modomatic/2546732450/sizes/o/

Italy on the other hand offers a veritable smorgasbord of coffee varieties.  But, don’t get me wrong - just like the French, a coffee (caffe) is by default an espresso.  Even shorter than you would find in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand and infinitely more bitter.  Europeans love sugar in their coffee and it is easy to see why this is necessary.

The thing about drinking coffee in Europe is that unlike the rest of the world it is not a massively social sit down and sip for hours exercise.  In the majority you just don’t have the cafes that we do.  Instead cafes are served in “bars” and they are taken on the run.  Obviously espressos are small, but even your coffee with milk comes in a smaller cup - certainly no takeaway.

So, if Italy is the mecca of European coffee then what should you order?  Here is what you need to know about Italian coffee:

1. The Americano:  Europeans believe that Americans only drink stewed percolator coffee and hence their nod to this is to add water to the espresso in a bigger cup.  Be prepared for an indignant look when ordering an Americano - in their eyes you are basterdising a perfectly good coffee.
2. Cappuccino: As I said if you order just a “coffee” you will get an espresso, however, if you want milk in your coffee then the first stop is the great Italian invention of the cappuccino.  But, a word of warning, you will never find an Italian drinking a cappuccino after dinner.  In fact, the myth is never drink cappuccinos after 11am.  The truth in fact is that Italians believe that the milk ruins the digestive system, so you should not drink any milky drinks after a meal.  A cappuccino should be served as roughly 1/3 espresso, 1/3 steamed milk and 1/3 froth. The name cappuccino actually derives from an order of Franciscan Monks founded by Matteo da Bascio.  The name actually refers to the long pointed hood (capuccio) of the habits worn by these monks known as the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin.
3. Macchiato: While Europeans prefer their coffees short and black, you will find the macchiato a very common coffee ordered by those that want some milk in their coffee.  A macchiato is an espresso with a very small pour of milk; in fact macchiare means stained (coffee stained by milk).  Don’t be under any illusions; a macchiato is not a mini cappuccino, it is much much stronger in flavour.
4. The Strong Stuff: For many (me included) one espresso is just not enough so to fix the fix you need to order the double espresso - the Doppio.  Interestingly enough my best mate in Italy would never drink a doppio because he believed they were too watered down; he believed they simply run twice as much water through the same amount of coffee beans - so instead he would order two espresso’s (duo caffe); which I subsequently found is quite common.  The Italians actually have a different word for a black coffee that has more water through the same beans (as opposed to the Americano which adds hot water to the coffee hence making it so weak) and that is Lungo.  It is basically the equivalent of our “Long Black”.  For those of you that have really strong stomachs - or just want more hairs on your chest, there is the Ristretto (or Caffè Stretto).  A Ristretto is essentially a single shot of espresso with less water - it is strong and concentrated. So it’s the same amount of coffee with less water passing through it, making the flavor much more intense.
5. Cold coffees: It can get stinking hot in Italy in the middle of summer and sometimes a coffee just isn’t on the agenda.  If so try a sumptuous granita di caffe - which is kind of like a coffee slushy.  Or a freddo (which means cold) is an espresso that has been chilled.  In some areas you may also find people drinking shakerato in summer; Ice, cold milk, a shot of espresso and sugar are mixed in a cocktail shaker and served in a chilled long glass - they are to die for!
6. Flavoured coffees: I pretty much stick to the classics - in fact i pretty much stick to just a caffe but there are two very popular additions to the Italian coffee menu.  The Mocacchino is an espresso served with a dose of chocolate, milk and froth - but all accounts they are divine.  And finally there is the Corretto which is an espresso with a shot of liquor added such as cognac, baileys, frangelico, or sambuca added - yum!

Street Cafe Culture: Photo by unrelaxeddad http://www.flickr.com/photos/unrelaxeddad/2893413482

There are many other additions to these main coffees such as decaf; usually called just that, but sometimes a decaf is referred to as a Hag, which is a brand name of a sweetner.  You can add a dollop of thick cream to any coffee by asking for a caffe con panna.  And finally a word of warning - a latte is not a coffee.  Ordering a latte will get you a nice glass of milk.  If you do add the word caffe to latte (caffe latte) you will get a tall glass of cold milk with a shot of espresso added - but it is not what you were expecting and not really the thing to do in Italy.

A second word of warning completely aside, is to be wary referring to Italy as the mecca of coffee in Europe.  The French are equally devoted to the black stuff, the Turkish coffee is the stuff of legends and the Portuguese and Spanish give coffee a revered status also.  The rivalry between the French and Italians over cuisine should never be under-estimated.

One particular story I remember well happened while in Croatia - a place heavy with Italian influence (and over-run by them in the summer holidays).  A French man was the deli counter of a small supermarket trying to by some ham.  He was asking for fresh ham and real ham and the lady behind the counter kept pointing him to some absolutely beautiful looking freshly sliced ham.  In fact what the French guy was after is the ham to be sliced right there in front of him off the bone - anything else was in his mind not fresh.  After a number of minutes of him asking progressively louder for “fresh” ham with much shaking of the hands and gestures he declared the Croatian lady to know nothing about food - ‘you are so Italian’  he exclaimed with much distain.