COFFEE

Coffee

HIstory:

Coffee was first introduced to Europe from Egypt through the Italian city of Venice, where a flourishing trade between the local businessmen and Arabs enabled a large variety of commodities and goods to be imported. Merchants sold this coffee to the wealthy in Venice, charging them greatly for the privilege of drinking this exciting new beverage. Due of it’s eastern roots, coffee in Italy was at the outset considered a sinful and deemed as an Islamic threat to Christianity. However its popularity grew regardless, and Pope Clement VIII upon wisely sampling the heathen drink was instantly enamored by the unique taste and aroma. Consequently, it was decided that far from religious conspiracy, it would be a great sin to banish such a delightful drink and thus it was deemed Christian beverage - giving rise to the first Italian coffee house. Named for the beverage that it served, the first caffee, or café, in Venice opened around 1683 and soon became synonymous with comfortable atmosphere, conversation, and good food, this adding romance and sophistication to the coffee experience. Historically most Italian coffee is brewed strong, and fast in the form of espresso, which is perhaps why this country developed various milk-based coffees such as the cappuccino and latte. The incentive to develop this type of coffee was not due to its superior taste, but a shrewd 18th Century Italian businessman who sought to reduce the time his workers spent on their morning coffee break. Thus a lever driven machine was developed to force water through tightly packed ground coffee, incidentally creating a stronger more aromatic brew. Although the strong association between Italy and coffee can be deemed somewhat of a misnomer as only humble amounts are grown in this country, early Italian culture welcomed the drink as if it were their own and did much to advance its status of the beverage worldwide. In Italy, there are famous and historical cafés in every town. In contrast, America doesn’t have as much historical cafés, but has Starbucks’. The contribution of Italian coffee to the world was significant and the best example around us is the Maxim instant coffee.  

America VS Italy

The differences in taste are minor but Italy has a longer history in blending, dripping coffee. The cafés in Italy possess a longer history contrary to the cafés in America.

Types of coffee:

·      caffè (espresso)—a small cup of very strong coffee

·      caffè Americano—American-style coffee, but stronger; weaker than espresso and served in a large cup

     caffè corretto—coffee "corrected" with a shot of grappa, cognac, or other spirit

·      caffè doppio—double espresso

·      caffè freddo—iced coffee

·      caffè macchiato—espresso "stained" with a drop of steamed milk: small version of a cappuccino

·      granita di caffè con panna—frozen, iced beverage (similar to a slush, but ice shavings make it authentic) and topped with whipped cream