Italian coffee Archives - Delightfully Italy

The ultimate infographic guide about how to order and to drink coffee the way Italians do! Have your coffee like a local…

Coffee is Italian the national drink, and an unmissable daily ritual. Wherever you go in Italy, you can be 100% sure to find a church… and a bar serving coffee!

On average, Italians drink about four coffees a day, usually two at home, one at the bar and one at the office, mainly at three times of the day: breakfast, mid-morning and end of meal / dinner.

Italians are creative people. While Espresso is the main way Italians drink coffee, there are actually many different options to order a coffee in Italy. And, guess what? They are not the ones you will find at Starbucks!

This Infographic will help you choose among the different options. That will be your first step to drink coffee “like a local”.

But what are the main factors that distinguish an Italian at the bar?

There are five golden rules to follow if you want to drink coffee like a local:

Coffee in Italy has no timetables. It can be ordered at any time (day or night). Inviting someone to drink a coffee is the trigger to most social and networking activities in Italy.
To invite someone to drink a coffee, just say “caffè?”, they will understand, no need to say more
Stand at the counter. An espresso must be express! Because it is prepared quickly and just as quickly should be drunk: standing, at the counter!
In Italy if you say “coffee”, you mean “espresso”! So you would never order “an espresso” but simply “a coffee”. If you want a variant, then you’ll need to specify
You are “allowed” to some variants to your espresso: Long or narrow, spotted hot or cold stained, corrected, Moroccan (look at the infographic for more details).
Cappuccino? Never, never, never after 10 am!!! Cappuccino is only for breakfast, to be eaten with a “cornetto” (in the South) or a “brioche” (in the North)… rigorously standing at the counter!
Be loud! In the rush morning hour, the “barista” will handle an amazing amount of orders at the same time. Don’t expect much care, unless you shout your order with a loud tone and a male expression (if you are a male, of course..)
Get the ticket at the cashier before you order, the barista will ask for it before serving you
Fight to pay for your mate’s coffees. Italian do insist to offer the coffee, so do the same! Just say “faccio io” (I’ll do it) and rush to the cahier before anyone else can do it!

Enjoy your Italian coffee!