Cafe Lingo

When most Americans think coffee, we think of our normal brew that we get.  Jumping over the Atlantic Ocean to Italy, their view of caffe or coffee is very different.  If you go into a cafe or coffee shop in Italy and order a coffee expecting your large cup of joe, you'll be sorely disappointed. There are many different kinds of coffee you can order, and the caffe that is found in Italy is espresso.

We're used to their coffee being our espresso, the type you'd find in a Starbucks or your mom and pop coffee shop, not the kind you'd find at a Wawa or Seven Eleven. The shot of espresso, one ounce is made of three different parts, the heart, the body and the crema at the top.  This is bitter to the novice coffee drinker, but to an experienced taste palette, espresso is creamy, rich and most of all, smooth.

 Cappuccinos are espresso and milk steamed with more foam.  They are free poured and a good cappuccino should have a nice coffee swirl.  But these have a tradition with a tourist trap. Italians don't drink cappuccinos after 11 in the morning.  These are not your afternoon or evening leisurely drinks and a person drinking a cappuccino later in the day is a surefire way to spot a tourist.

So that cup of joe, the American brewed coffee that we drink so often?  It can be found in Italy...kind of. Caffe Americanos are long coffees that consist of shots of espresso and hot water.  Since espresso is a coffee extraction, this weakened espresso tastes similar to our brewed coffee. Italians like to call it dirty water. 

This sweet addition is caffe- espresso, with whipped cream on top, a delicious dessert-like treat, good for the novice drinker.

This is the coffee you won't find at any of the Mom and Pop Shops in the states nor at your local Starbucks. This is espresso that is drizzled with liquor in a demitasse. The most popular liquors used are sambuca, cognac and rum.

Caffe Lattes are steamed milk and espresso.  The common mistake most tourists will make when visiting these places is asking for a latte, what we would normally get at a Starbucks.  In Italy if you ask for a latte, you'll get a cup of milk or even steamed milk.  You'll find a lot of disgruntled and misinformed people trying to find their espresso in a large cup of milk.