Important question on coffee

It varies where I am and what I am doing, much like the Italians. BTW- Tonya, you said this is an "Important question". Why is it so important. In Venice it has to be espresso. €1 for a coffee and a toilet. At breakfast it is usually cappuccino. After lunch or dinner it is espresso, or perhaps, just perhaps a latte macchiato.

Coffee will be good and strong. Beans aren't burnt like Starbucks. NO Starbucks, Coffee Bean and Tea Leafs or Pete's in Italy. It's the roasting process and you can taste the difference, richer and smoother. Ordering a cup of coffee is a bit different in Italy. With the exception of breakfast it is not served by itself but with a meal. To start your day go with the expresso and realize it's not to be savored or sipped. Drink it quickly. Also know that sitting down to have a cappuccino will cost your 4 times as much than standing at a coffee bar.
A cafe latte is usually a breakfast drink, the cafe Americano is simply coffee with more added. Viva la difference!

Because I will be traveling with a group of people who must have their coffee to start the day or they are incredibly grumpy. ha ha Okay, Ill admit maybe I am one of those people.....

Tonya, here's an introduction to Coffee in Italy, with plenty of photos and a funny cartoon from Bruno Bozzetto (note the segment on ordering coffee!). The joke used to be the further south you go the stronger the coffee gets and the smaller your cup. - By the time you get to Sicily it's just a drop of the most potent coffee in the world in the tiniest cup! I certainly miss Italian coffee and prior to moving to Rome I WAS NOT a coffee-drinker. Now, I'm strictly an espresso drinker - Talk about going from one extreme to the other. I'm hooked and constantly in search of an "Italian" cup of coffee in my travels throughout Europe!

Coffee is important! If you are going to Rome, go to Sant'Eustachio - famous for great coffee. Tip: Don't order cappuccino after lunch, it's really for breakfast to mid-morning only.

Maybe I'm reading Claudia's comment incorrectly, but to me she is saying that espresso is usually consumed with a meal, and I would disagree with that. Italians will often stop by a bar mid-afternoon or after dinner and take an espresso on its own, without any food.

Tonya, With coffee in Italy, you'll also have to get used to paying for every cup. When you're out touring and make a stop at the neighborhood Bar, there will be NO free refills! The one exception will be the coffee served with breakfast at your Hotel. Most of the Hotels I've stayed at have provided refills. I tend to order Caffé Americano most of the time, although at times Espresso (or Espresso Doppio) is a nice change. Don't try the latter one unless you have a good tolerance for caffeine! Happy travels!

Lol on this question - I'm not a coffee drinker, but my poor hubby - doesn't do the 'fancy' stuff - the best coffee he had (for him) was at McD's at the train stn ~grin~ ...I think he asked for Cafe Americano somewhere, but there was no milk to cool it down - if you have people who only like good old coffee and no fancy stuff, maybe take some instant with you...and we couldn't figure out the tassimo/keurig type machine at our B&B at that time...still chuckle...

Camille, you can always try Caffè Hag! Late at night, that's what we drink...

On a related note, if you happen to also get a pastry with your coffee for breakfast: Look around and notice that the Italians don't hold those with their bare fingers. Instead, they hold them with a napkin. I've heard that they're mildly disgusted when they see us Americans eating food with our bare hands. It actually makes a lot of sense to use a napkin in that way, doesn't it? It keeps your fingers from getting sticky. I've found that Italians as a rule tend to be very germ-phobic in some ways.

Thank you all for your responses. They will be very helpful. I am so excited and ready to go.....

Tonya,
Don't order a latte. You'll get milk. I'm strictly a decaf person, however, when I'm in Italy all bets are off. The coffee is that good.

I almost forgot about the latte thing.... if you want what we think of as a latte you have to order cafe latte...I had to send back a cup of hot milk.

You would really have to search long and hard to find a "bad" cup of coffee anywhere in Italy. The citizens there do not tolerate it and anyone serving less than perfect espresso would be out of business in short order. I am on a mission on my upcoming trip to visit as many espresso machines as possible. I'm not sure if the heart palpitations I experienced last time were from too much espresso or from climbing the steps in the hill towns. My plan if that happens is to just titrate the caffeine intake down a bit. Ciao!

@ Devon was not saying have an expresso with breakfast but FOR breakfast.

How about 'caffe corretto'? a little alcohol with your coffee! Usually the server will ask you what you'd like added (grappa or brandy is popular)

Caffe corretto is "corrected" coffee. To paraphrase an old Barbara Mandrell song: "If being corrected is wrong, then I don't wanna be right"

A regular coffee is here is an espresso (not "expresso") and is simply called a caffe so if you order a caffe, that's what you'll get. It's normal to drink one at the end of a meal as it helps digest your food. In general, yes, cappuccino isn't normally ordered after a meal because Italians will tell you that the milk impedes digestion and is at odds with the ever present tomato based sauces. However, if you want a cappuccino in the afternoon then order one. My wife does it all the time and nobody bats an eye. I see Italians do it all the time, nobody cares what kind of coffee you're drinking, trust me. And if they do, it's their problem, not yours. Do you think Italians traveling to the US ditch their espresso for a Venti caramel latte with eight spoonfuls of sugar because that's the way they think Americans drink their coffee? Anyway, the biggest problem for Americans here is that American style brewed coffee is practically non-existent, it's all espresso-based drinks. Expect to pay about a euro for a regular espresso, a bit more in the tourist areas like Rome and Venice. A good compromise between an espresso and a cappuccino is a caffe machiato which is an espresso with a touch of frothed milk.

Good tip about the napkin. I'm sticking by my cappuccino in the morning comment, although of course you can order it any time of day. Sometimes the barista will put sprinkles of cocoa on it. One thing to beware of: in some hotels (I've only run into this in Rome so far), there is the self-serve espresso-chocolate-hot water for tea machine, and the stuff that comes out of it is just awful. Go to a bar (probably just down the street or around the corner) for the real thing if your hotel coffee disappoints you.

Look around and notice that the Italians don't hold those with their bare fingers. Instead, they hold them with a napkin. I've heard that they're mildly disgusted when they see us Americans eating food with our bare hands. It actually makes a lot of sense to use a napkin in that way, doesn't it? In his "Rome: Baroque, After Dark" episode, Rick has dinner with two Roman friends. They're having Filetti di Baccala which is normally eaten with the hands. Rick digs right in with his bare hand. Both Roman friends use their napkins to grab the food.

We dined at Filetti di Baccala and those filets are HOT from the frying pan. People lined up for a filet and walked away with the filet in a paper wrapper: fast food.
I didn't see that segment but we had time to eat the entire salad while waiting for the fish to cool. Some of the best coffee we have had in Italian breakfast rooms were ordinary commercial blends- like Nespresso and Illy.

A comment on caffe correto....it is a great cure for jet lag. I love to arrive in Venice, go to my favorite bar and order a double with grappa and extra sugars and all of a sudden I am totally awake. Although, it might be I am also excited to be in Italy.