Il Piccolo carried this article from the London Independent that once again highlights that while Trieste is now part of Italy, it is still a city deeply rooted in its own traditions. Great that the journalist appreciated the Triestine coffee history but I think the journalist missed out on the true Triestine coffee culture which has a language all of its own.
If you want to ask for a coffee in Triestine, this is what you need to know:
- Nero (black in English) : classical espresso coffee in a cup
- Goccia (abbreviation of “gocciato”): a coffee with a “drop” of milk froth in the centre, a kind of “caffè macchiato”
- Capo: espresso with a drop of hot frothy milk, served in a cup
- Capo in b: espresso with a drop of hot frothy milk, served in a small multi-faceted glass – this is my preferred coffee!
- Caffelatte: this is the classical “cappuccino”
- Deca: decaffeinated
Pingback: Drinking Coffee with James Joyce in Trieste | Italophilia
It’s amazing the amount of sophisticated knowledge you’ve got to have in this world, today, in order just to get a decent coffee!