5 ms·

>I am glad that this continues to be done by hand, and expect, based on Italian attitudes towards food and tradition, that it will continue being done by hand f

>I am glad that this continues to be done by hand, and expect, based on Italian attitudes towards food and tradition, that it will continue being done by hand for another hundred years. It has been fun watching Starbucks' various attempts at cracking into the Italian market.

staplers 2y ago
As an American, I was never a coffee snob but going to Italy changed that. My god they have it completely mastered.
- paulorlando 2y ago
  It's on a different level.
- kjellsbells 2y ago
  Italian cuisine seems to have a deeper understanding of bitter flavors than other common Western cuisines. They understand bitter vegetables like chicory and agretti, they understand bitterness in chocolate, and the coffee I had there always had the faintest hint of bitterness that enhanced rather than detracted from the flavor. It probably also helps that they are downing a demitasse in a minute or two instead of a giant venti size beast that lasts for an hour.
  - colordrops 2y ago
    Bitterness seems to be common in Mediterranean cuisine in general.
- xandrius 2y ago
  Wait until you realise that coffee can also not be toasted dark to death. Then you get to explore the other tastes of coffee too!
- bee_rider 2y ago
  What do you do now? I have a Flair Espresso machine and get beans from a nearby roaster. I dunno. It seems decent. I don’t consider myself a snob, but I put some effort in. Maybe Italians would be able to tase the defects that I add. But, they are the people who popularized Moka pots so they can’t really be so perfect.
  - Gud 2y ago
    What’s wrong with the Moka pot? I travel a lot so I always bring mine with me. I find using the right coffee and slowly heating the water produces pretty good coffee.
  - louthy 2y ago
    You seem to be taking a reasonable approach, I have a Gaggia bean to cup machine and try lots of different beans and always try to get seasonal. I pretty much drink solely espresso, but will sometimes have cappuccino for breakfast (which is the only time of day that Italy accepts!) Ultimately, it’s about what you like. It doesn’t really matter what Italy thinks. But as with anything, getting good ingredients and preparing them well makes a difference. I wouldn’t consider myself a ‘coffee snob’, more a coffee enthusiast :D. Good coffee from ethical sources is just better. People talk of coffee jitters. I don’t get any. And the variety of flavours is awesome. btw, anyone in the UK: I really like Coffee Bean Shop [1]. It’s a small family owned coffee roaster, with a good variety of flavours. And on every delivery there’s a hand written note from the packer. Usually talking about the weather, but can be a variety of things. It’s very cute in our internet age and genuinely brings a smile to my face every time I open the package. The coffees are excellent too. [1] https://coffeebeanshop.co.uk/ https://coffeebeanshop.co.uk/
vanderZwan 2y ago
lmao, they don't stand a chance. We're talking about a country where the police has a special olive oil tasting department to test if local producers aren't secretly mixing their extra virgin oil with chemically treated oil from last year. Nobody food snobs like the Italians (and I love them for it).
- thaumasiotes 2y ago
  > We're talking about a country where the police has a special olive oil tasting department The US government operates several special tasting departments.
  - ericjmorey 2y ago
    Probably not anymore
    - faizan-ali 2y ago
      In the US, the best example is in California. To get the California Olive Oil Council stamp of extra virgin quality, you must have your oil tasted by the government body. I'm one of such tasters :)
      - vanderZwan 2y ago
        ok, then I'll link this video again to make sure you don't miss it because I bet it's extra entertaining for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkO1dwx2_KA&t=16m00s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkO1dwx2_KA&t=16m00s
      - usepgp 2y ago
        This is why I mostly buy Californian olive oil now. I like the legit italian or spanish kind more, but it's faked so often in the grocery store that it isn't even worth attempting to decide if it's real. Sometimes the fakes tell you it's cut with olives from africa, and sometimes they don't. The US importers are held to no standards whatsoever. At least when I buy california olive oil, it's 95% of the way there and guaranteed to be real.

staplers 2y ago

As an American, I was never a coffee snob but going to Italy changed that. My god they have it completely mastered.

paulorlando 2y ago
It's on a different level.
kjellsbells 2y ago
Italian cuisine seems to have a deeper understanding of bitter flavors than other common Western cuisines. They understand bitter vegetables like chicory and agretti, they understand bitterness in chocolate, and the coffee I had there always had the faintest hint of bitterness that enhanced rather than detracted from the flavor. It probably also helps that they are downing a demitasse in a minute or two instead of a giant venti size beast that lasts for an hour.
- colordrops 2y ago
  Bitterness seems to be common in Mediterranean cuisine in general.
xandrius 2y ago
Wait until you realise that coffee can also not be toasted dark to death. Then you get to explore the other tastes of coffee too!
bee_rider 2y ago
What do you do now? I have a Flair Espresso machine and get beans from a nearby roaster. I dunno. It seems decent. I don’t consider myself a snob, but I put some effort in. Maybe Italians would be able to tase the defects that I add. But, they are the people who popularized Moka pots so they can’t really be so perfect.
- Gud 2y ago
  What’s wrong with the Moka pot? I travel a lot so I always bring mine with me. I find using the right coffee and slowly heating the water produces pretty good coffee.
- louthy 2y ago
  You seem to be taking a reasonable approach, I have a Gaggia bean to cup machine and try lots of different beans and always try to get seasonal. I pretty much drink solely espresso, but will sometimes have cappuccino for breakfast (which is the only time of day that Italy accepts!) Ultimately, it’s about what you like. It doesn’t really matter what Italy thinks. But as with anything, getting good ingredients and preparing them well makes a difference. I wouldn’t consider myself a ‘coffee snob’, more a coffee enthusiast :D. Good coffee from ethical sources is just better. People talk of coffee jitters. I don’t get any. And the variety of flavours is awesome. btw, anyone in the UK: I really like Coffee Bean Shop [1]. It’s a small family owned coffee roaster, with a good variety of flavours. And on every delivery there’s a hand written note from the packer. Usually talking about the weather, but can be a variety of things. It’s very cute in our internet age and genuinely brings a smile to my face every time I open the package. The coffees are excellent too. [1] https://coffeebeanshop.co.uk/ https://coffeebeanshop.co.uk/

vanderZwan 2y ago

lmao, they don't stand a chance. We're talking about a country where the police has a special olive oil tasting department to test if local producers aren't secretly mixing their extra virgin oil with chemically treated oil from last year. Nobody food snobs like the Italians (and I love them for it).

thaumasiotes 2y ago
> We're talking about a country where the police has a special olive oil tasting department The US government operates several special tasting departments.
- ericjmorey 2y ago
  Probably not anymore
  - faizan-ali 2y ago
    In the US, the best example is in California. To get the California Olive Oil Council stamp of extra virgin quality, you must have your oil tasted by the government body. I'm one of such tasters :)
    - vanderZwan 2y ago
      ok, then I'll link this video again to make sure you don't miss it because I bet it's extra entertaining for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkO1dwx2_KA&t=16m00s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkO1dwx2_KA&t=16m00s
    - usepgp 2y ago
      This is why I mostly buy Californian olive oil now. I like the legit italian or spanish kind more, but it's faked so often in the grocery store that it isn't even worth attempting to decide if it's real. Sometimes the fakes tell you it's cut with olives from africa, and sometimes they don't. The US importers are held to no standards whatsoever. At least when I buy california olive oil, it's 95% of the way there and guaranteed to be real.