Valentina Expressions

“Coffee On The Fly” is how my Italian title translates. Coffee on the fly in Italy is a common expression all Italians use when they order a cup of expresso in a coffee shop, no fuss, no addition of strange flavours, no cup sizes to remember, no special requests, just a straight expresso coffee served in a white or brown demitasse.

I am enjoying the hand-painted demitasse sets I purchased from a friend who imports Italian ceramics and other beautifully hand-painted products made by skilled artists in Italy. https://www.gioialuce.com
The cups displayed in my photo are exclusively made for expresso, short and to the point. One might serve a spoonful of ice cream in it, but that’s all, those cups are made only for a fast coffee.
Who cares for modern linear design when I can enjoy a traditional Renaissance pattern, a cluster of lemon design from Amalfi or a floral pattern from Sicily?

Sometime ago, a friend asked me why in Italy everyone takes coffee standing up at the counter and in a hurry instead of sitting down. She told me that Americans like to “nurse” their coffee. What a strange expression, I replied. Why do Americans drink a liquid that is sick and needs to be nursed? I didn’t understand it until I started to pay attention to the coffee habits in America.
Coffee is an electrifying and invigorating drink, we drink it to get a boost of energy when we wake up in the morning or anytime we feel sluggish. Italians drink coffee while it is hot and the size of a demitasse is the right size of energy we need.
Italians drink expresso standing up at the counter because they are not tourists in their country, they have places to go and things to do; sitting at a table would raise the price of the coffee, it would take a person to serve it and clean the table afterwards.

The difference between Italian expresso and American coffee lies in the size of the cup and the toasting of the beans. Expresso is toasted dark and strong, a few drops in a cup are enough to shoot you to the Moon. American coffee is toasted lightly, it is brewed watery like tea but it doesn’t mean it is light, in fact, the caffeine content is higher than expresso. Another difference is that no one in Italy walks in the streets holding a cup of coffee in the hand, not done, only gelato to lick, with possible funny and not-so-funny comments from passers-by.

A nice alternative to expresso is cappuccino, served in a squatted large cup with expresso and warm milk foaming at the top for a great effect. A must-know if you visit Italy: Italians don’t drink cappuccino after 10:00 am and get appalled to see tourists drinking it at all hours of the day even after they eat pizza. As the day progresses, Italians also progress into drinking wines for lunch and dinner, aperitifs for mid-afternoon and cordial or bubbly wines for the evening. By the way, the word cappuccino comes from the Cappuccini Monks Order who wear a simple brown cloak with a long, pointed hood hanging down the back (cappuccio).

Caffe’ macchiato, meaning an expresso stained with 2 drops of warm milk served again in a demitasse is another way to drink an expresso.

The biggest surprise is when I say that most of us Italians drink expresso with “ombretta” in the morning.

Ombretta literally means a small shadow and it refers to a short shot of a liqueur that accompanies the expresso in the morning. It is mostly a custom of the northern Italians living in cold regions. Drinking a ombretta in the morning is not to get drunk at the start of the day, but only to stay warm. In the photo, my ombretta is a sip of Limoncello liqueur.
These are the only few ways to order coffee in Italy. You get it bitter from the barista, you add your own sugar or nothing.

How to stir sugar into an expresso coffee is another story. It is often said: “When in Rome, do like the Romans”. In any foreign country, it is ideal to blend in as much as possible and not to attract attention to oneself, unless your somatic treats will give you away. Anyway, learning some customs of the country you want to visit will put you in an advanced position. If you are up to that, then, coffee will be stirred clockwise and not the opposite.

I must say that Italy is a modern controversial country, but the traditions are ancient and will stay that way. Ciao,
Valentina

Copyright © 2024 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel.
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