Carluccio’s guide to drinking coffee
The idea of not drinking coffee in Italy is as mad as having to explain the dos & don’ts of coffee drinking. These rituals are age-old and there’s no room for maneuver!
*The Carluccio’s How to Guide:
*Thou shalt only drink milky coffee(cappuccino, caffe latte, latte macchiato) in the morning. We’re not babies!
*Thou shalt not drink any milky form of coffee after a meal. Milk on a full stomach!? Mamma mia, what of the digestion!?
*Thou shalt not complicate coffee. It is what it is. Requesting a skinny, extra hot, 1.5 shot, vanilla latte is likerequesting a glass of wine mixed with grape juice and served with a straw.
Admittedly there are two exceptions to the rule but that’s it! Thou may order un caffee nocciola (a frothy espresso with hazelnut cream) in Naples and un marocchino (imagine an upside down cappuccino served in a small glass which is first sprinkled with cocoa powder, then hit with a dash of frothy milk, before finally being spiked with a shot of espresso) in Milan. Ordering these will get you brownie points.
*Thou shalt not use the word espresso when coffee drinking in Italy. A simple ‘caffe’ will suffice. It’s the norm after all.
*Thou shalt not pull up a chair when drinking a coffee. Stand and down it in one, as if swallowing fire!
*Thou shalt not request a mega size bucket of coffee. One size fits all. Something we replicate at Carluccio’s.
*Abide by these commandments and thou may hold your head up high in Italian coffee circles.