The coffee culture in Italy is a serious thing. So serious, that it comes with a set of rules and rituals about coffee that seem hard to understand for the first-time visitor.
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The coffee culture in Italy
Most countries have an etiquette regarding things that are important to their culture. Think about coffee or tea, beer, or football. The etiquette implies a set of unwritten rules that everyone knows and follows, but, as a tourist, it’s easy to completely ignore them. In Italy coffee is important, so they have rules about it.
The rules of coffee in Italy
Sitting or standing?
One of the odd things about the coffee culture in Italy is that the price is significantly lower if you have your coffee standing at the bar than if you sit at the table.
If you think about it for a few minutes, it makes sense. It costs more to have table service, and the customer will surely spend more time sitting comfortably than standing. Still, it’s a pretty difficult rule to take in, as most of us are not accustomed to this point of view.
The upside is that you get a few minutes worth of coffee chat with your bar neighbors or bartender.
The no-milk rule
Italians usually drink cappuccino in the morning and ‘caffe’ (which is espresso) for the rest of the day. Moreover, they drink a few coffees throughout the day. They believe milk is too heavy to be had any time later than 11 AM.
Personally, I love Italian cappuccino so much that I just have to bend this particular rule. Cappuccino in Italy has that smooth milk foam that you can’t really find anywhere else. However, prepare yourself to be tagged as a tourist when you ask for a cappuccino during lunch.
The coffee culture in Italy – Just coffee
An authentic Italian bar or cafeteria is a place where you can have a limited number of classic coffees:
- un caffé – an espresso
- un macchiato is an espresso with a teaspoon of milk foam
- cappuccino (never after 11, a cappuccino is meant for the mornings). Ask for cappuccino scuro if you want a sprinkle of cocoa in your cup
- un latte macchiato (the “milk rule” applies, only in the morning)
- if you ask for un latte – you’ll get just a glass of milk, no coffee in it
- you can also ask for an Americano, which is a long coffee
You can add sugar to your coffee, but that’s about it. Like most things in Italy, simple ingredients go a long way. Don’t ask for caramel, chocolate syrup, or pumpkin flavor. Remember: you’re in Italy and coffee is just that: COFFEE!
Coffee to go?
Never!
Coffee is meant to be served in a bar or a coffee shop, not walking on the street. You pause to take a coffee and focus on it, not wander around with a plastic cup in your hand.
Don’t get me wrong, I take the same coffee in a plastic cup with me in my car back home, but there is a lesson in the Italian way of doing things.
There used to be a very typical coffee shop in Piazza Sant’Eustachio in Rome for many years. They adapted to the tourist invasion and became a rather commercial place lately. Now they serve coffee to go in branded cups and some offensive coffees with cream and such on a few tables outside the building. The thing is, tourists are sitting outside, and locals still take their simple coffees standing at the counter. It’s pretty striking.
Final Thoughts – The True Sound of Italy
The truest sound of Italy is the permanent clink of cups and plates that you can hear in any bar. They make it loud-sometimes you can “hear” a bar before you can even smell the coffee. In larger cafes, someone is taking orders and shouting (or singing) them to the barista. It’s all part of the ritual. It is actually relaxing to spend a few minutes sipping un caffé standing at the counter and taking in the whole experience. The smell, the taste, watching the bartenders, and hearing the constant sound make the show complete.
These are a few guidelines about the coffee culture and rules in Italy. Feel free to add your own observations on the coffee rules in Italy in the comments below.
The best cappuccino I ever had was in the bar inside the train station in Lecce. Where did you have your best coffee ever? Find here some of the best Italian coffee brands.
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Thank you for every other informative blog.
Quite interesting of the coffee culture.
In my country we drink a cortadito (or also known as café cortado) which is a coffee shot or a pocillo which is a bit more strong than a cortadito. We usually drink them at noon whenever we eat a heavy food to avoid the food coma.
Michelle|
I couldn’t understand the standing while drinking coffee when I went to Italy, I love to start my day slowly drinking and enjoying my coffee, I was more than happy to pay a little more for this. Great post!
Thank you so much! I like my first coffee sitting down but to stop for a coffee later in the day and drink it standing makes sense to me 🙂
My best coffee was in Split, Croatia because there was more cream than coffee.
In Italy in Firenze.
I love that in Italy you can take everywhere caffee di orzo (coffee from barley), it is
so delicious there. And it is much healthier..
I never tried orzo coffee though I’ve seen it everywhere. I’ll have to give it a try it next time.
I love this post! I agree that the BEST coffee I have had in my life was a cappuccino I had in Rome. I’ve had “fresh from the bean” coffee in Hawaii and Guatemala (which were supposed to be amazing) and they were nothing compared to coffee in Italy.
That ‘fresh from the bean’ coffee takes some exercise to appreciate I guess. For me, nothing beats a foamy Italian cappuccino 😊
Hopefully this will get back to normal sooner then later
Allie of
http://www.allienyc.com
I hope so, it’s so sad to see those empty streets everywhere.
Wow I never knew these traditions and customs about coffee in Italy. Now I know that a cappuccino is a coffee for the morning! Maybe I should apply that also in my daily life even if I’m not in Italy. The milk is kinda heavy for it to be taken in the afternoon indeed so I see the point there. Haha! Thank you for sharing this, I enjoyed reading it! 🙂
Thank you, Hazel!
This is so interesting to read, thank you for sharing! I love that Italians don’t believe in having a coffee to go, and that it should be enjoyed in the shop. It’s a nice reminder that we should slow down and enjoy the moment 🙂 Fab post! <3 xx
Bexa
Thank you so much Bexa. That’s it, a reminder to stop and appreciate each moment.
Aww this is making me so nostalgic for Italy! And good to know about the milk rule! Who knew you could only have it that way in the morning?
Well, you can have a cappuccino later than 11 but the Italians wouldn’t. Thanks for reading 😀
What?? Who knew?! Not I, haha. Every days a school day. I didn’t realise it was so serious
Coffee in Italy? Very serious matter! 😁
lovely post! I remember a few of those rule above and they are really true if u go for coffee in Italy. It is like suddenly stepping into a new world, but once u know it, u wont miss it anymore. love your blog, Keep up the great Topics!!
The best coffee is here in Sicily!
There are a lot of good things in Sicily, the ‘dolci’ in Sicily are my absolute favorites! Thanks for reading. 🙂
This gets my seal of approval. Huge coffee fan here. I do agree with the Italians, cappuccino in the morning, espresso in the afternoon. It’s too hot to have milk usually. Don’t have that problem in Ireland though. I can’t say which is my fave coffee it’s usually my next one. But I can say what I don’t like (Starbucks).
I agree with you there, Starbucks is not what coffee is about (I know a lot of people disagree).
Thanks for reading, John.
I call Starbucks McDonalds for adults. 😃
I had no idea there was so many rules around drinking coffee in Italy! Thank you so much for sharing!
They’re not necessarily rules, it’s just how Italians drink their coffee. For me, there’s something to learn in how they do things. Thank you for stopping by 🙂
I love this! I didin’t know about the no milk after 11 rule, and I may be guilty of breaking it. I feel like I have to go back to Italy and experience it again.
A lot of us break that particular rule in Italy. Still, going back for a new experience is always a good idea! 🙂
Very interesting post and I’m glad I read it as I’m off to Italy (Venice) on Tuesday hopefully, depends on the Coronavirus situation! If I get to go then I’ll be sure to keep this post in mind.
Holly x
When you get to Venice sit down for a coffee at Caffe Florian. It’s the most ‘venetian’ thing to do for me 🙂
How interesting! Definitely learned some things reading this post! Thanks for sharing!
This is sooooooo true! When I first traveled alone to Italy, I saw a few foreigners getting strange looks for having outlandish requests with their coffee, ie “half milk, half sugar, decaf caramel latte” or something along those lines. Luckily, I managed to blend in with my order of espresso or Americano haha!
🤣 Oh, I can imagine the faces they made being asked for such nonsense! 😂
I found this post very interesting and informative! I remember when we first arrived in Naples and our B&B host offered to make us some coffee. We forgot about the coffee culture in Italy for a moment, so imagine our surprise when we were served two espressos. Later, whenever we went out for coffee during our time in Italy, I found myself bending the milk rule – everyone was very nice about it though!
Dominika | Into the Bloom
I bend that rule quite a lot, their cappuccinos are just to good to miss them. Thank you very much for your comment.
I love this post! Makes me want to go to Italy and sit by the street watching the world go by as I drink my Cappuccino! I didn’t know they had rules like this but it all makes sense now! It’s all about the coffee! I really really enjoyed reading this post!
– Katelyn x
🙂 That’s my favorite activity in Italy, sipping on a Cappuccino and watching the people go by. I haven’t found a more authentic Italian feeling. So happy you liked it, Katelyn!
Although I’m not a coffee drinker this was a very interesting post. The sitting / standing rule makes sense, bit of personally never heard of it, or the milk and takeaway coffee “rules” / etiquette. This will come in handy for my trip to Rome where I’m going with coffee addicts.
So happy you’ll get to use it soon, feel free to come back and add whatever else you notice during your stay in Rome 🙂
Thanks for posting such an extensive guide!
This was a very good post! After 2 weeks I am traveling to Italy and I didn’t know about these rules! Even more – I never heard about them but they seems to be important! I think we need to speak more about those cultural traditions and things. That can realy make someones travel easier and more comfortable!
I think so too, have a lot of fun and good coffee in your trip to Italy!
I mostly made coffee in my tiny apartment during my month in Italy — I traveled with a pour-over coffeemaker and bought ground coffee at the only grocery store in town. When traveling to other cities, I found the cheapest espresso at the central markets. The shops near the tourist routes were always overpriced and crowded. Central market in Florence was definitely the best for this as well as for food and drinks.
Well, budget in one thing, but coffee is one of the experiences to be had in Italy. Also, a simple espresso standing at the bar is usually about 90 cents even in major cities. When I stayed with a family in Puglia, we’d have a cup o coffee to finish lunch and that was also a great moment when we felt part of the family.
I do envy you a little for spending a whole month in Italy, where did you stay?
Never knew there were so many rules to coffee, good to know! 😁
I really want to go to Italy now to try out the coffee culture! Especially like the idea of no taking away! It’s such an urban city thing – getting your morning cuppa to rush off to work and drink it without savouring it. Nice one! X
Glad you liked it Jessie and I hope you get to try it first hand really soon 🙂
The sitting/standing thing makes sense but I’d never heard about it, or about the milk rule! Still Italy is where some of the best coffee comes from so I trust their judgment!
It takes a bit of getting used to, but “when in Rome, do as the Romans do” literally applies here 🙂
This is such an awesome and fascinating post! I had no idea that Italy had coffee “rules”. Now when I visit Italy again I will def to hear the “sound of Italy”.
It’s the most typical thing, that constant cups sound. I love to hear it, the first coffee is when I feel I arrived in Italy.
I loved this post. It was so great. I smiled the whole time. I am a huge coffee drinker and want to go to Italy soon, to this was definitely a needed guide!!
Thank you!
Thank you so much for this comment, Mariah. I hope you’ll use my guide for many coffees in Italy soon. In the mean time, read some of my other posts about Italy (definitely my favorite destination) 😀
I don’t drink coffee but I find the etiquette in different countries so fascinating! I love how every country does things slightly differently! x
I love those differences too, I like to hear or read about them. I try to respect the local habits as much as possible and to experience each place as ‘in depth’ as I can. Thank you for reading.
I love this post. It’s a reminder that coffee is similar to how a meal should be — something that should be sat down and enjoyed! I definitely try to enjoy mine every morning!
Yes, we should all take a break and really enjoy a coffee or a meal. Glad you liked it, Natalie.
I love how passionate Italians are about their coffee even though i never touch the stuff! 😁 Great post ♥️
Oh, they are passionate about coffee, food, wine, fashion, art, cars, you name it. It’s probably why they are good at all these things 😀
This is so interesting! I never thought of coffee being enjoyed in different ways but totally makes sense! Thank you for this!
Glad you liked it, Natasha 😀
Wow so interesting! I love coffee so I’m excited to experience this first hand once I take a trip to Italy. Planning an Italy/Switzerland adventure next year so we’ll see. Thanks for all the tips!
That’s a great trip to plan! Read some of my posts about Rome and Amalfi Coast for your to do list 🙂
This post made me smile so much. I’m a huge coffee drinker and I only drink it black at any time of day so the Italian customs suit me well. And I think, in general, because they enjoy it black, they make a much nicer cup than so many other places do x
Sophie
Exactly, the quality of the ingredients is very good in every aspect of food in Italy and they do a good job preparing a coffee.
Such a lovely post to read. I would love to visit Italy one day and had no idea about the coffee culture and the rules involved. Thank you so much for sharing.
Kate | thelittlecrunch.co.uk
I’m glad you liked it Kate. I hope you visit Italy soon 😀
The best coffee that I ever had was on a coffee farm in the mountains of Nicaragua. I was drinking coffee right from where it was grown and it was the freshest and richest coffee I ever had; first time that I didn’t even put sugar in it! The experience of who I drank it with and that it was in the home of one of the growers made it an even more special experience. You can’t have an experience like this at Starbucks.
I’m a little jealous right now, I would love to have this type of experience on a coffee farm. That’s a great memory and a hard one to overtake. Thank you for sharing it.
I love coffee and I can’t wait to visit Italy one day, so I just had to read this. I know eating and drinking are a big part of the culture there so really appreciate your insight on cafe etiquette!
They do know how to appreciate food, coffee, wine, every little thing. I hope you make it there soon and share your experiences 🙂
Love Italian coffee culture! Thank you for posting ☕️❤️
I love it too, as odd as it seems sometimes 😀
This is a great post! Ahh the milk rule… I traveled around with a couple of Italians for work and they would always “yell” at my afternoon cappuccino, haha. Oh well, it was worth it!
In touristy areas they don’t care, but in smaller places with less tourists there’s a little frown when you ask for a cappuccino later in the day 🙂