Shall We Have a Coffee?

by Sara Smedile, Milan | Mon, 4/20/2009 - 15:02
 
 
Everybody knows that Italians are crazy for coffee, that they always travel around the world with a moka in their suitcase and that they will not go back to work after lunch without having taken at least the third coffee of the day.
 
But coffee in Italy is not only a drink. It’s a pretext to meet people and to have a break. Most of the time when someone calls you for a coffee, it means that he wants to talk to you in an informal way, if you are at work, or that he wants to spend some time with you without a real date or appointment. Italians have coffee in the morning when they need to get awake, at 11.00 am because they need to gather their energies to concentrate at work, at 2.00 pm because they need an help to digest the lunch, at 4.00 pm because they need a break, at 10.00 pm because there’s nothing better than chitchat with a friend while tasting a nice coffee.
 
But be careful, when your boss invites you for a coffee in a moment of the day during which you would never expect this invitation -- bad news is coming!
 

Comments

by jarbuckle | Thu, 09/24/2009 - 17:14

Joe is good

Everyone in this part of the world (left coast) knows Peet's is the real deal. it is funny how we are defined by what we injest.

by Stephanie Miller | Fri, 05/08/2009 - 09:19

Coffee

Love this post Sara. The coffee culture in Europe is enviable. In the U.S. we chug Venti's just to appease our caffiene addiction. And I should know.  As I type, a Venti Bold from Starbucks (gasp!) is resting beside my keyboard.

 I just got back from a 10 day trip to Spain. I spent a year living in Sevilla when I was at Northwestern and I was quite surreal, revisting the county that has lived on in my stories to friends and family. Anyways, loved your commentarty on how coffee is woven into the fabric of Italian life. In Spain, I ordering a coffee "para llevar" is uncommon. It's a nice reminder to slow down.