4 ms·

Absolutely not. Lattes and cappuccinos were invented in Italy after all.

mastazi 4y ago
> Lattes and cappuccinos were invented in Italy This is a commonly held belief, I'm Italian and I would like to clarify a bit. - I have worked at a bar (1) in Italy and more than 90% of the coffee drinks ordered during any given day were single shot espressos. Cappuccino orders however were not uncommon in the morning. - Cappuccino was invented in Austria, however it was popularised in Italy and it still is very popular to this day. It is consumed only in the first half of the morning, for the rest of the day Italians prefer to drink exclusively espresso shots. - The drink that is known in the Anglosphere as "latte" doesn't really exist in Italy except in some touristy areas, normally, if you ask for a "latte" in an Italian bar, they'll give you a glass of milk. We have however two drinks that are similar to what you call "latte": - Caffè latte, which is similar to the French café au lait but the coffee is made in a moka pot. This is usually consumed at home. - In bars you can order a "latte macchiato" which is similar to what you call "latte" but the coffee is added at the end, on top of the milk, and it is much weaker than a latte (this is reflected by the name "latte macchiato" which means "stained milk" i.e. all milk with just a dash of coffee). PS Latte macchiato is not to be confused with caffè macchiato which is what is known internationally simply as "macchiato" i.e. almost all coffee with just a dash of milk. (1) An Italian "bar" roughly corresponds to what English speaking people refer to as "cafe" although it will also serve alcoholic drinks. Actual cafes are not popular in Italy and they are only found in touristy spots.
- fennecfoxy 4y ago
  A shot of espresso and a toasted almond granita are honestly the best way to start the day.
- cpach 4y ago
  So far I’ve only visited Italy once, but your account rhymes well with what I’ve read about Italian coffee culture. One thing I’m curious about: Is ristretto and lungo popular in Italy? Or is that also mostly for tourist spots?
  - mastazi 4y ago
    yes ristretto and lungo are fairly common, the ristretto is more common than the lungo in my experience. The lungo is not to be confused with an Americano, it's just a slightly bigger espresso shot (I used to make a 1:3 or 1:4 ratio - in other words, I used a single shot portafilter but the amount of coffee coming out is like a double shot) - note that in Italy, shots are smaller than overseas because we mostly use single shot baskets (7-9 grams of ground coffee) whereas in "third wave coffee" the default is to use a double shot basket (around 18 gram of ground coffee). So the Italian lungo would be just as much liquid as you would get by ordering an espresso in USA or Australia (but much weaker due to being made with less ground coffee)
- xeromal 4y ago
  We (Americans) used to call it cafe latte in the early days when it was getting popular in the early 90s but we like to optimize and since latte wasn't taken yet, we just chopped off the cafe part. You can see Kramer order a cafe latte in seinfeld and most stores still have it written as cafe latte, especially hipster ones, but we just don't need to specify cafe to get the point across.
  - mastazi 4y ago
    yes, that makes sense! But the American latte is a little bit different than our caffe latte / latte macchiato - for the reasons I mentioned above. Personally, I actually prefer the American style latte to the Italian style latte macchiato! Italian Latte Macchiato is quite weak while Third Wave style Latte has more punch and you can taste the coffee more.
lostlogin 4y ago
But the flat white was invented in Auckland, New Zealand. We will fight Melbourne, Australia to the death on that one.
- fennecfoxy 4y ago
  Melbourne's filled with Kiwis anyways - kiwis make the place what it is :p
- TheHappyOddish 4y ago
  Bugger off mate, flat whites and pavlovas are ours! Stick with your kiwi fruits ;).

> Lattes and cappuccinos were invented in Italy This is a commonly held belief, I'm Italian and I would like to clarify a bit. - I have worked at a bar (1) in Italy and more than 90% of the coffee drinks ordered during any given day were single shot espressos. Cappuccino orders however were not uncommon in the morning. - Cappuccino was invented in Austria, however it was popularised in Italy and it still is very popular to this day. It is consumed only in the first half of the morning, for the rest of the day Italians prefer to drink exclusively espresso shots. - The drink that is known in the Anglosphere as "latte" doesn't really exist in Italy except in some touristy areas, normally, if you ask for a "latte" in an Italian bar, they'll give you a glass of milk. We have however two drinks that are similar to what you call "latte": - Caffè latte, which is similar to the French café au lait but the coffee is made in a moka pot. This is usually consumed at home. - In bars you can order a "latte macchiato" which is similar to what you call "latte" but the coffee is added at the end, on top of the milk, and it is much weaker than a latte (this is reflected by the name "latte macchiato" which means "stained milk" i.e. all milk with just a dash of coffee). PS Latte macchiato is not to be confused with caffè macchiato which is what is known internationally simply as "macchiato" i.e. almost all coffee with just a dash of milk. (1) An Italian "bar" roughly corresponds to what English speaking people refer to as "cafe" although it will also serve alcoholic drinks. Actual cafes are not popular in Italy and they are only found in touristy spots.

fennecfoxy 4y ago
A shot of espresso and a toasted almond granita are honestly the best way to start the day.
cpach 4y ago
So far I’ve only visited Italy once, but your account rhymes well with what I’ve read about Italian coffee culture. One thing I’m curious about: Is ristretto and lungo popular in Italy? Or is that also mostly for tourist spots?
- mastazi 4y ago
  yes ristretto and lungo are fairly common, the ristretto is more common than the lungo in my experience. The lungo is not to be confused with an Americano, it's just a slightly bigger espresso shot (I used to make a 1:3 or 1:4 ratio - in other words, I used a single shot portafilter but the amount of coffee coming out is like a double shot) - note that in Italy, shots are smaller than overseas because we mostly use single shot baskets (7-9 grams of ground coffee) whereas in "third wave coffee" the default is to use a double shot basket (around 18 gram of ground coffee). So the Italian lungo would be just as much liquid as you would get by ordering an espresso in USA or Australia (but much weaker due to being made with less ground coffee)
xeromal 4y ago
We (Americans) used to call it cafe latte in the early days when it was getting popular in the early 90s but we like to optimize and since latte wasn't taken yet, we just chopped off the cafe part. You can see Kramer order a cafe latte in seinfeld and most stores still have it written as cafe latte, especially hipster ones, but we just don't need to specify cafe to get the point across.
- mastazi 4y ago
  yes, that makes sense! But the American latte is a little bit different than our caffe latte / latte macchiato - for the reasons I mentioned above. Personally, I actually prefer the American style latte to the Italian style latte macchiato! Italian Latte Macchiato is quite weak while Third Wave style Latte has more punch and you can taste the coffee more.

lostlogin 4y ago

But the flat white was invented in Auckland, New Zealand. We will fight Melbourne, Australia to the death on that one.

fennecfoxy 4y ago
Melbourne's filled with Kiwis anyways - kiwis make the place what it is :p
TheHappyOddish 4y ago
Bugger off mate, flat whites and pavlovas are ours! Stick with your kiwi fruits ;).