It is early morning in Milan, one of Italy’s northern cities, and the city is slowly waking up. Locals are walking their dogs or on their way to work, waiting at the light to cross the street, and we witness their small conversations. There is no other nation that uses its hands so much while talking, I think to myself;
Baristas are opening their street-facing shops one by one. Like an Italian, we wake up to the sound of the coffee machine and the smell of the first espresso wafting through the air.
We are in Milan, around the Duomo, where we had our first coffee of the morning at Giacomo Caffe in Palazzo Reale.
Located in an 18th-century palace, this coffee shop takes us back in time a little bit. It impresses us with its decoration, lighting and antique showcases displaying freshly baked pastry products.
All the Italians you can see inside are at the bar, where the clink of coffee cups, the clink of spoons and the steam from the machine mingle with the conversation. It’s like a kind of music; Coffee is very important for these people, within a few minutes they are sipping their coffee at the bar and starting their day.
The routine of sitting at the table and drinking coffee is usually only valid for weekends and leisurely breakfasts. Let’s add that there is a price difference for the services you get at the table and at the bar.
For Italians, a latte is just milk, while a cappuccino is only drunk at breakfast (before 11am). You can easily see that coffee culture has not changed much. Even in big cities it is difficult to find new generation coffee shops. For a country where it is normal to drink three coffees a day, they are a bit closed to change.
In different regions, you may encounter coffee varieties you have never heard of. Espresso Corretto, for example, which you can find in Italian cafes. Adding a little liqueur to a simple espresso for a stronger effect;
Another coffee ritual from another city, common in the south, is Caffè Sospeso, which we can translate as ‘coffee on a hanger’. You can observe how coffee culture changes as regions and cities change.
