Ordering coffee in Italy
How do you order a coffee in Italy?
Will you be able to get away by mixing a few semi-Italian terms coined by Starbucks such as “Venti”, “Misto” or “Frappuccino”? Not really…
As you may expect, there are a vast array of choices for coffee in Italy. In Trieste, the city where I come from and where the famous Illy brand is produced, you can find more than 60 different kinds of coffee. That said, the original Italian coffee is what Italians call caffe’ espresso (or simply caffe’).
Here are some of the most common types of coffee you can order at a Bar (that’s how coffee shops are called in Italy):
- Caffe’ espresso (or simply caffe’) is very concentrated as it is made with less water.
- Caffe’ lungo is made with more water even though the amount of coffee is always the same. The caffe’ lungo is still served in small cups.
- Cappuccino is an espresso with milk served in a large cup and with foam on top. The Italian cappuccino is smaller than the American one.
- Caffe’ macchiato is an espresso with a drop of milk and foam on top.
- Latte macchiato (not to be confused with caffe’ macchiato) is a glass of milk with a drop (stain) of coffee.
- Caffe’ latte is a foamless espresso to which some warm milk has been added.
- Caffe’ americano is a very diluted espresso served in a large cup.
- Caffe’ corretto is an espresso with a shot of liquor (usually Grappa or another liquor of your choice).
- Caffe’ Hag is a decaffeinated espresso
And now, a little test for you: What’s the name of the three coffee in the photo above?
p.s. Get ready for Italy with our eBook! We feature 350+ tips and 190+ pictures to get you immersed in the real Italian culture.
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Name: Paolo and Francesca Tosolini
Location: Bellevue, Washington, United States
Paolo was born and raised in Italy for his first 30 years. He now lives in Seattle, WA (USA) where he works for Microsoft as a New Media Business Manager.
Francesca worked as a travel agent before choosing the career of full time mom of two beautiful kids.
Through this blog, Paolo and Francesca want to share an insider view of the Italian culture, and offer useful tips and information to make your trip to Italy the most enjoyable ever.
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Great article – I learned some stuff I didn't know. Illy does make some great coffee!
Maybe you should have a separate post for coffee terminology in Trieste!
I studied in Trieste and although I have never been a coffee drinker, I soon realized they used totally different terms there (nero in B etc.). Once a Japanese friend came to visit, we went out and he wanted a cappuccino (in the evening, but never mind). I knew it was called something else in Trieste, but I couldn't remember exactly what, and when I ordered I heard myself saying "vorrei uno di quelli che noi in Italia chiamiamo cappuccino". Needless to say, the barman was not impressed…
The one in the big cup is a "Capuccino", the one with the white cream is "Caffè macchiato" and the little one is "Espresso"… pappappero!
Everywhere else other than Trieste, those three are:
Bigcup: Capuccino
Small cup with foam: caffe' macchiato
last one: espresso
In Trieste, they would be:
"Capuccino furlan"
Capuccino ( triestino)
Caffe' ( oppure "un nero")
.. Dove avete fatto quella foto? Giuro che ho una foto identica al 99%, ma non mi ricordo dove l'ho presa… Ciao muli !
Roberto dal Texas.
This picture comes from our http://www.triestecd.com. We shot it in Udine (or Udin in fulan)
I think the real coffee is "caffé", without water!!
Thanks a lot for learning me this, I heard about all these coffes especially for machiato that in my country is famous these days and i din't how it works or how is made
Il caffè per gli italiani è praticamente un rito ! Complimenti ! Il suo blog è davvero interessante.