To say, "Espresso runs through the veins of Italians" is an understatement. When it comes to hot drink espresso seems to be the first choice; it is part of breakfast, lunch and for some even dinner, I find it interesting that it can go with a meal. Just like Indians, Italians do have coffee when they take a break from work and such, but to have it along with a meal, after a meal along with dessert is mental. Hence it is only natural to have different types of coffee; none with spices, remember spice is expensive here, we are in a country that can hardly grow any!
Let's start with the basic, the espresso. Caffe espresso is the most regular drink, it is synonym to Caffe; when in Italy, it is enough to say Caffe to order an espresso - I guess it is called espresso because it can be finished swiftly like an express.
My friend cappuccino, 1/3 espresso 1/3 milk 1/3 foam. That is the standard definition of Cappuccino, and it was my go-to drink in Italy. It is very usual to find people having espresso and brioche as their breakfast. So what is brioche? now, that is for a different post.
I have often found myself trying out all different pastries available in the canteen and not just settling for brioche. Here in this image, you can see a bitten blueberry lattice tart, look I'm not into this click before you eat Instagram culture. More often than not I'll complete the meal and then get reminded the I wanted to take a picture for Google review or blog. It's ok, I consider a bite mark personal, now you know it is not a stock image
And if you are going to be regular to a cafe, be nice to the barista; our choice of the cafe was 1886, an in-house cafe run by Glamour, Biella. Look at me I got a couple of hearts, I don't know the language, usually, my colleagues place the order for me, all I do is pay, but I do smile my best as I pay :) impressive I got some material to tease my wife
I believe I have been clear, the series is not a review but just sharing of experience. And this is a combination I'd not pay extra for espresso + hot water; many did and I tried once. For that disturbed stomach or faint-hearted who cannot handle the full force of an espresso, here you have diluted version; the cafe was kind enough to provide me with the espresso and water separately so I can decide on the ratio - sophisticated!
Let's charm up the Indian in you, and we can sit down for a coffee with just decoction and milk, no foam or water. When you miss India, go for this one, this will not taste like the coffee you drink at home or drink in the coffee stall, at least this will resemble the coffee delivered by machine at the office.
Espresso
Let's start with the basic, the espresso. Caffe espresso is the most regular drink, it is synonym to Caffe; when in Italy, it is enough to say Caffe to order an espresso - I guess it is called espresso because it can be finished swiftly like an express.
It is undiluted decoction that comes out when hot water is forced through coffee power, voila! add sugar as much as you prefer and sip it once and relish; don't go for the second sip, it won't be there ;) such small cup and low content. If you want a long hard punch, go for Caffe Lungo - espresso but more content.
Cappuccino
My friend cappuccino, 1/3 espresso 1/3 milk 1/3 foam. That is the standard definition of Cappuccino, and it was my go-to drink in Italy. It is very usual to find people having espresso and brioche as their breakfast. So what is brioche? now, that is for a different post.
I have often found myself trying out all different pastries available in the canteen and not just settling for brioche. Here in this image, you can see a bitten blueberry lattice tart, look I'm not into this click before you eat Instagram culture. More often than not I'll complete the meal and then get reminded the I wanted to take a picture for Google review or blog. It's ok, I consider a bite mark personal, now you know it is not a stock image
And if you are going to be regular to a cafe, be nice to the barista; our choice of the cafe was 1886, an in-house cafe run by Glamour, Biella. Look at me I got a couple of hearts, I don't know the language, usually, my colleagues place the order for me, all I do is pay, but I do smile my best as I pay :) impressive I got some material to tease my wife
Caffe Americano
I believe I have been clear, the series is not a review but just sharing of experience. And this is a combination I'd not pay extra for espresso + hot water; many did and I tried once. For that disturbed stomach or faint-hearted who cannot handle the full force of an espresso, here you have diluted version; the cafe was kind enough to provide me with the espresso and water separately so I can decide on the ratio - sophisticated!Caffe Macchiato
Let's charm up the Indian in you, and we can sit down for a coffee with just decoction and milk, no foam or water. When you miss India, go for this one, this will not taste like the coffee you drink at home or drink in the coffee stall, at least this will resemble the coffee delivered by machine at the office.
This is essentially an espresso, but with some drops of milk, I intentionally asked for 1/2 decoction, 1/2 milk (through my Italian colleagues) and thus it came closer to Coffee we'd have here in India,
Latte Macchiato
It is exactly as you'd imagine, this is milk with a drop of coffee. And the barista left the ratio of mix up to me and gave a fancy miniature kettle to hold decoction and milk in a long glass.
Fake coffee
There might be some more version that possibly I didn't know about, and I know about two which I don't care to give individual section. Caffe ginseng, herb coffee, very sweet no added sugar required. And Orso, if my colleagues translated it correctly then it is coffee made from barley, usually reserved for people with an upset tummy, these are not given any respect in Italian coffee scene but they exist because of some hippie out there.
Indians Attempt
To honour my attempt to understand the Italian coffee making, my colleagues presented me with a coffee maker and here is a picture of my attempt, and it is sadly lacking! The espresso looks water down, the taste was also watered down :meh:
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