Here is something everyone must have in mind when visiting Italy's cafes. Italy is the country of coffee. You will find the best types, flavors and aromas in Italian coffee rather than anywhere else in the world.Without Italy, Starbucks would not exist and without coffee, Italy would not be as popular. The funny thing is that coffee wasn't 'invented' in Italy. Most of the world's coffee today comes from either South America or Indonesia, but coffee originated in the highlands of Ethiopia and did not reach Europe for thousands of years. But this is not important thing. For now if you just could focus on the types you could see why people go to Italian cafes and prefer them from anything else.
Caffe.
In Italy just saying caffe is enough. When you order it is not necceserry to say to specify “espresso”.Coffee will be served in a porcelain cup called
"tazzina" with its own saucer and little stirring spoon.
Caffè Macchiato
In Italian,
macchiare means to “stain” and this cup of espresso (shown in the picture on the right) is stained with some hot milk though no attention is placed on serving foam. People in many places focus on giving the staining milk different shapes.
Caffè Macchiato Freddo
Caffe Macchiato Freddo is a plain coffee served on a small demicup. the quantity is small cause if you prefer you can tell the barman you want your milk in an extra caraffe. then you can pour as much as you want in the fredo. as long as you specify how you want it, a delicious coffee fredo will be brought to you.
Cappuccino
It is seems to be the best coffee in history. at the beggining of the 20th century there were machines introdused used to make cappuccino. Cappuccino was developed in Italy by the early 1900s, and grew in popularity as the large espresso machines in cafés and restaurants were improved during and after World War II. By the 1950s the machine had developed into its current form. In Italy the cappuccino is seen as a morning drink and is rarely drunk after 11am.
Marocchino
In some areas of Italy it is called an Espressino or Mocacchino. Marocchino is a coffee served in a glassy demicup with a sprinkling of cacao and milk in a foam form. the cacao can be sprinkled before or after the milk is poured, it doesn't really matter, it just changes the shape of the foam.
Latte Macchiato Milk “stained” with coffee, and served hot in a glass cup as shown or in a tall glass, larger than a cappuccino.
Caffè Corretto
An espresso in a demicup, with a “shot” of liquor of your choice. Popular liquors are grappa, Sambuca, cognac, rum, Baileys Irish cream. You can also ask for a
Marocchino Corretto and they should oblige you.
Not all coffee drinking in Italy takes place at the bar, morning coffee is often made at home using a Moka. This steel coffee maker is put on a stove and makes coffee by boiling water to force steam through the grounds. The Moka is the Mr. Coffee of Italy and is the most popular home method. It may not be a real espresso, but it does make a very good full-bodied coffee.
Price
The price of a coffee in Italy: Prices are currently around €0.80 ($1.10) for a cup of espresso, but some people predict an increase of about €0.20 ($0.28) cents to a new price of €1 ($1.38) in Rome, where café owners have so far managed to keep coffee prices comparatively low. In cities like Milan, the Italian hub of luxury, you can easily be charged between €1 to €1.50 ($2.07) at the bar. At La Bottega del Caffé, coffee at the bar currently costs €0.80 ($1.10) compared to €2 ($2.76) at the table.
Children mimiching those people,they dress as shepherds and go around the city stopping at several houses playing the pipe and singing.At noon in the christmas eve the pope blesses the crowd near the Vatican square.
