Coffee enjoys an invaluable role in Italian society and is a word that is almost synonymous with Italy, influencing coffee cultures all over the world from New York to Sydney to the occasional chagrin of the motherland. Coffee beans have been imported to Italy since the 16th century, with Venice being one of the first ports the revolutionary product came through. Since then, it has been interwoven with Italian society and history to create the internationally renowned culture today.
The Building Block of Espresso
Espresso is the cornerstone of Italian coffee and if you ask for a caffè in Italy, that’s what you’ll get. Made using machines first invented in 1901, espresso’s introduction provided the basic ingredient for all other major Italian coffee varieties that followed. The iconic Moka pot was later introduced in the 1930s, making espresso widely available in homes across the country. While there are many more, the most common Italian coffees are as follows: a caffè is an espresso; a cappuccino is espresso with large amounts of frothed milk (along with caffè lattes, these aren’t traditionally drunk in Italy after 11am and accompany breakfast); a caffè latte is espresso with warmed milk and a little foam (be aware that latte literally means milk, so just asking for a latte will get you a glass of milk in Italy); machiattos are espressos with a little frothy milk and can be drunk all day; caffè corretto has a shot of alcohol in it (try with amaretto, the flavours go very well); caffè lungos are espressos with a little hot water; caffè americanos are espressos with a large amount of hot water added to them (reputedly introduced by American soldiers in the Second World War, a time when coffee was a rarity in the country due to League of Nations embargos).
Further Varieties
As with everything in Italian cuisine, there are enormous regional variations across the country, with caffè d’un parrinu in Sicily for example having a lot of similarities with Arabic coffees due to the Arabic history on the island. Another couple of points to note are the prevalence of orzo coffee and coffees like ginseng coffee. Orzo coffee is a caffeine-free coffee substitute that became popular throughout Italy during the Second World War due to the aforementioned embargos on Italy; it’s nutty in taste with somewhat of a coffee flavour and while it’s often called orzo coffee it’s actually just barley, which is orzo in Italian. Ginseng coffee has recently become popular throughout Italy and was a personal favourite during my time in Italy. Praised for its supposed health benefits and extra kick, the addition of ginseng leaves a pleasantly sweet taste that’s perfect for a pick-me-up.
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