Why Is Coffee Considered Italian? (Solved & Explained!)

Coffee is Italian because it’s a mainstay to the culture. While they didn’t invent or discover coffee, they did develop espresso and the Moka Pot. What’s more, they have a whole system of etiquette and ritual around drinking it.

Regardless, coffee is synonymous with Italy for many reasons. But, mainly, it has a long history there and was the gateway of coffee’s introduction to the rest of Europe. Even though coffee doesn’t solely belong to Italy, it’s central to Italy’s history, culture and daily way of life.

When & Where Was Coffee Introduced to Italy?

In 1570, a physician and botanist, Paduan Prospero Alpino, brought a couple sacks of coffee beans back with him from his voyage in Egypt. Upon arriving in his home of Venice, it became a hit among the wealthy. It was first sold at pharmacies but soon became a nationwide beloved beverage.

Alpino wrote a book “De Plantis Aegypti liber” (Book of Egyptian Plants) detailing coffee’s health benefits, including a boost to digestion. This caught on like wildfire and the 16th century was the Age of Coffee throughout Europe, with Venice being the original coffee capital of the world.

Within 200 years, 218 coffee shops popped up throughout the city of Venice. This is when coffee began to become part and parcel to the Italian way of life centered around family and social graces. Today, having coffee in Italy is much the same as it was hundreds of years ago: chatting, socializing and embracing small moments of pleasure.

What Are Some of the Oldest Cafés in Italy?

Caffé Greco is Rome’s oldest café and the second oldest throughout the whole of Italy, founded in 1760. The Florian Café in Venice is the country’s oldest, having opened in 1720. But, the city of Turin also contains some of the country’s oldest coffee shops.

Why Is Coffee Synonymous with Italian Culture?

Although coffee doesn’t come from Italy, many classify it as its spiritual home. The technique of espresso, however, did originate in Italy; specifically Venice. But every major city throughout the country adopted coffee as their own and have developed their own styles, means and methods for drinking it.

Coffee in Italy was just as important to movements of freedom and unification as it was for the American Revolution. In the 19th century men held meetings at Turin’s coffee shops to make their revolutionary plans.

So, while coffee had a famous connection to Italian culture, by the 19th and 20th centuries, it had solidified its link there. First came the invention of espresso and then with the invention of the Moka Pot.

What Is Espresso and When Was It Introduced to Italy?

Espresso is not a type of bean or roast, it’s the way in which coffee brews with steam against fine ground coffee beans. It compacts tightly and brews quickly with very hot water at extremely high pressure.

Invented in 1901 by Luigi Bezzera, an engineer from Milan, it fostered a turning point in the world of coffee. Due to its quick brewing capacity and stroke of sheer genius behind it, espresso came to be. This is what brought on saloon-style coffee shops.

What Is a Moka Pot and When Was It Introduced to Italy?

The Moka Pot is very similar to espresso, but it’s still not considered a classification of espresso, it’s simply coffee. However, it’s the next best thing to getting a cup of espresso. This allowed Italians to make a suitable cup from the comfort of their homes.

In 1933, Alfonso Bialetti, a barista from Turin, invented the Moka Pot. It’s a metal device used on the stovetop without special equipment. The name hails from the port of Mocha in Yemen. By the 1940s millions of Moka Pots sold worldwide. This galvanized Italy as a coffee icon across the globe.

What Are Some Italian Coffee Drinks?

Many of the popular coffee drinks you find around the world come directly from Italy. Of course, espresso takes the show. Ordered as caffè, espresso or caffè normale, this is the Italian word for coffee and the foundation of all coffee drinks that come from this Mediterranean country.

• Caffè Americano: Either an espresso diluted with hot water or a long-pull coffee (also called caffè All’Americana, or coffee in the American style)
• Caffè Corretto: Corrected espresso that contains a shot of cognac, sambuca, rum or grappa
• Caffè Latte: Also called a Latte Macchiato, this is an espresso with steamed milk which comes in a tall glass
• Caffè Macchiato: Espresso stained with a diminutive swirl of milk
• Caffè Shakerato: Espresso shaken in a cocktail shaker with ice and sugar until foamy
• Caffè: Served black and comes as only one shot in a small porcelain cup
• Cappuccino: Espresso with foamed milk
• Doppio: Double shot of espresso
• Granita di Caffè: Sugar, water and espresso frozen to a frosty consistency similar to American slurpees and topped with a dollop of whipped cream
• Lungo: Long-pull shot of espresso

What Are Some of the Rules and Rituals around Coffee in Italy?

Italians have a whole thing around coffee and are quite elitist about it. They do not drink instant coffee and will not tolerate bad coffee for the sake of caffeine. They will even pass over coffee at a restaurant to visit their favorite coffee bar.

When at a bar, there are definite rules and guidelines. While you can order a doppio to get a boost of extra caffeine, most Italians just return to the barista. Ordering a doppio is something foreigners do. Also, it’s a social faux pas to order a cappuccino after breakfast hours. This is because it’s contraindicative to proper digestion, creating stomach upsets and heartburn.

But, Italy has an unusual and endearing tradition: caffè sospeso. Translating to English as “suspended coffee,” it reflects the Italian penchant for hospitality and sociability. This is the beautiful practice of charitable ordering coffee in advance for others who can’t afford to buy a cup of coffee.