I was surprised by requests for coffee information when I posted about my little Italian kitchen.
I’ve never mentioned coffee before?! I have a bit of a caffeine addiction that I’ve been nursing since undergrad. I love coffee. I love how it’s impossible to get a bad coffee in Italy. But deep down, I miss my American coffee sometimes.
I have a couple of Moka pots. It would be sacrilege to live in Italy and not have at least two in your home at all times. The thing is, I don’t really use them that often. Bleeding Espresso has a great tutorial on how to make coffee in a moka pot, but since I know that I can get amazing espresso at any cafe in Italy, I usually head down to the corner bar when I need an espresso fix.
At home, I usually go for my trusty French Press. Well, my kinda-trusty-French-Press. It doesn’t live up to the Bodem I have in the States, but I couldn’t resist picking this up for 10 Euro last time I was at Ikea. (And yes, there are three different kinds of olive oil on my counter. And yes, I need all three. New olive oil is amazing).
You’re definitely *not* supposed to make French Press with espresso, but espresso is pretty much your only choice when you go to the supermercato in Rome.
Tiny espresso cups are adorable, but I miss having a big ole cup of Joe every now and then. I’m not sure that I miss the style of coffee so much as I miss the American culture of coffee.
I miss meeting up with friends for coffee and spending hours in the shop without being asked to leave. I miss the sputtering sound of the coffee maker in the mornings that used to signal the start of my day by the Pacific Ocean.
Here, coffee dates last the 45 seconds it takes to down an espresso. Then it’s time to move on to make room for others at the bar.
I’ll stick to American-style French-press coffee in Italy… just to get as many different cultural influences as I can into my Roman mornings.
I usually make coffee in the moka, and then make “americano” by boiling water to add to it separately (especially with the “leftover” coffee in the afternoon), or hot milk for a caffe latte. Not quite the same as american coffee, but I love how fast the moka espresso is ready.
Every weekend I’ve been making a habit of spending at *least* 4 hours having a coffee session with my cousin. It’s not just the act of getting coffee, it really is the “session” spent casually sipping, the meaningful conversation, and the bonding time. Plus, it’s a ritual for me in the mornings as my timed coffee maker sends aromas towards my room as I wake up and helps me start my day. I definitely know what you mean!!!!! (and yes, all of those exclamation points are necessary) 😛
Gee, seems that everone is in the same boat when they arrive here and decide to ‘express’ themselves. Whether they talk about coffee or other rituals. Yes, coffee at the bar is a must in the morning as is the ‘stealing read’ of the paper which I haven’t missed having nor doing for the last 35 years. Of course, the ritual includes the usual chitchat with the ‘barista’, the usuals, the casuals who arrive before work and of course the owner of the tabacco store next to the bar. Having to down an expresso in 45 secs is a miracle which only asbestos throated Italians, Spaniards and Latin Americans are able to perform daily. I still haven’t gotten the gold-medal throat asbestos award yet and it takes me about 15 pages of news before I can send my capuccino Genovese down. That’s an expresso with lots of creamy foamy milk which isn’t actually lots because the cup, as you all know, is minuscolo.
So everyone expresses themselves as they desire in Italy and it has nothing to do with free speech. If there are 30million adults in Italy there must be at least 25million ways to enjoy an expresso…..by the way, if you’re ever in the upper western part of the boot, hoot (before your arrive) – have a guest room and new olive oil to share! un abbraccio da ponente, P
I love having my coffee at home with my OH — made from the stovetop moka like in your top photo. I make a cappuccino for myself using a handheld frother, but I do also still love my American coffee from time to time (although considerably less over the years I’ve been here, going on eight now)…I confess my mom sends me various types from Folgers to Dunkin’ Donuts, which I make in a stovetop percolator that I picked up at a yard sale in America for a quarter just before I left for Italy…nice taste of home 🙂