Question: Why is coffee Italian?
Yeah, I know it isn't. It doesn't grow in Italy. Gaggia machines may have been Italian originally, but what is it that makes big brand coffee shops insist that they are "truly Italian about coffee" or serve "the best espresso this side of Milan."? Is that a British thing maybe? I don't think Starbucks are as keen on the Italianess...
All I know is, somewhere between Brazil and Caffe Nero, coffee becomes Italianised. Is it all just marketing, do you think? Is it to make it sound exotic? If so, why don't we have Brazilian themed coffee bars? Or Turkish ones?
Ideas welcome!
All I know is, somewhere between Brazil and Caffe Nero, coffee becomes Italianised. Is it all just marketing, do you think? Is it to make it sound exotic? If so, why don't we have Brazilian themed coffee bars? Or Turkish ones?
Ideas welcome!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Joe Stormer on
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Is Juan Valdez widespread on your side of the pond? I've only seen a Juan Valdez coffee shop in downtown Seattle.
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Permalink Reply by Bel Townsend on
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Never heard if it, sorry!
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Juan Valdez is the wonder of marketing by Colombia which has convinced most of the United States that Colombian coffee is the finest in the world. No producing country rivals their PR success. It's really quite impressive.
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well that's good! Methinks over here there is very little connection between baristas and the coffee farmers - at least, not in the big brand cafes.
Sad to think tho, that colombian coffee crops are being sprayed with all sorts of nasty things due to the wonderfully well thought out US "war on drugs"
Clicky here
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Permalink Reply by scott@herkimercoffee.com on
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we should start a war on marketing buzz words. old out dated case in point: carmel machiatto.
neat.
italian coffee...some say the first "coffee house" that started the culture was in Rome. others say differently. yemeni people called it wine of the arabs, ethiopians had the dancing goats, etc. you decide what floats yer boat. besides, juans the man. who else could pull off sporting that sweet stache and hang with a donkey all day?
good times.
scott
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my number one goal in life is to sport a juan-stache.
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i'll be down to see you soon and hold you to that.
i'll grow one, too. maybe...
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Do you think I'd suit one? :-)
I'm gonna have to google this guy now..
But back to a sensible point - coffee houses appeared in Britain and France in the 1640s, but not in Italy until 17-something. We used to drink more of the stuff than tea until Boston Tea Party et al. When I open my coffee shop (ahem) i'd love it to be Olde 17th century London style, full of men with lots of hair and big boots. Yum.
Even Starbucks still refers to 'venti' - as in 20 in Italian, (can't believe those things are more than a pint of coffee... blurrrgh.) And Barista, and cappuccino and machiatto and the fact they sell biscottis and panninis not biscuits and sandwiches. They may not claim to be as Italian as Caffe Nero or Costa Coffee, but they are still using Italian terms. I'm curious as to why.
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and experiment we shall!
the coming years of showdown between machine manufacturers (specifically la marzocco and synesso) can be nothing but great for espresso lovers.
good times.
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Permalink Reply by Jason Haeger on
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And more coming! Synesso is sort of a spinoff of LM. There are new things coming as well.
What I think is more interesting is the relationships being built between US companies (and others as well) and the people responsible for actually growing the coffee.
The "Italian" experience is just the "espresso bar" concept, really. That's all they're trying to sell, though in such a manner as to make it appear to have a bit of a higher status. (purely in one's head)
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Permalink Reply by Stickman on
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I thought the first espresso machine was invented by the French...
And isn't the Synesso a clone of an old LM that was never mass-produced? I thought I saw an image of a very similar-looking machine as the Synesso in a LM history book.
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Well, it was founded by an ex-LM engineer, if that tells you anything.
The paddle group was originally an LM idea, but it never made it to production in a timely manner.
Synesso took a good idea, and simplified it.
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