Who does NOT love a country that eats CAKE for breakfast?
Photo taken in Puglia by Yle Sambatti
When staying at a hotel or one of the convent guest houses I frequent I can usually find a ‘coffee’ machine dispensing the most important brew of the day. But the Italians have perfected their coffee machines. They can dispense everything from espresso to macchiato. This method I am sure is for simplicity, speed and the benefit of not requiring a barista.
But the man (and it is usually a man) behind the counter at the local bar is often an artist. He can juggle several orders at one time, knowing just when the steaming water has finished filtering through the individual metal filter for each cup of coffee. What I will never master is drinking an espresso in less than 30 seconds! Sitting over a cup of coffee for 1/2 hour is just not common.
I have seen Starbucks in the large cities but have not observed how the coffee ritual may have been affected.
