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Typically Italy: 7 Unwritten Laws of Coffee Culture

Good coffee is as much a part of the Italian lifestyle as pasta and Chianti. Since the brown pick-me-up came to Europe around 500 years ago, a coffee culture has developed in Italy that is second to none. Here you will learn the most important things about their unwritten laws and typical habits of Italian coffee drinkers.

1. Anyone who says “caffè” means espresso

If you order “caffè” in Italy, you get: espresso. If you want a double, order a “caffè doppio”. You will usually look in vain for the typical German filter coffee, some tourist bars offer it as “caffè tedesco”. If you fancy a large cup of coffee, order either a caffè americano (espresso with hot water) or a caffè lungo, which is espresso made with twice the amount of water.

2. Those who drink coffee never choose paper cups

Paper cup coffee? Only in the worst of emergencies! Italians drink their espresso from porcelain or ceramic cups, some coffee specialties such as latte macchiato are served in glasses. Because for them, enjoying coffee goes hand in hand with a certain style – and paper or plastic cups are not initially intended. Typically Italy.

3. If you are in a hurry, you drink coffee standing up

The habit of drinking coffee on the street is as foreign to Italians as paper cups. If you are in a hurry and feel like coffee, you can quickly drink an espresso standing up in a bar. Therefore, the bars and cafes are rarely overcrowded.

4. If you drink espresso standing up, you pay less

How much does coffee cost in Italy? That depends on whether you drink your espresso at the counter or at the table. Statutory maximum prices apply for quick enjoyment at the bar. Whether you are in Milan or in a small Calabrian mountain village, you pay a maximum of 1 euro. However, if you opt for a seat, there will be a service surcharge – and that can be extremely hefty!

5. Anyone who has visitors offers coffee – always!

“Caffè?” Whether at home or in the office, offering a coffee to a visitor is the first and simplest gesture of hospitality in Italy. Because a chat over a cup creates a familiar atmosphere, which is important for successful personal and professional relationships. If, on the other hand, the guest is not offered coffee, he wonders – at least as an Italian – whether he is welcome at all or whether he has done something wrong.

6. Anyone drinking cappuccino is having breakfast

Cappuccino, latte macchiato & Co: Italians usually drink coffee specialties with milk for breakfast or in the morning. They are considered filling drinks. Incidentally, it is particularly frowned upon to treat yourself to a cappuccino directly after a meal. Espresso, on the other hand, always fits. Both after meals and at any time of the day or night. A compromise for those who don’t want to do without a little milk in their coffee is the “macchiato”, i.e. an espresso stained with a little milk.

7. If you drink coffee, you can keep others waiting

Coffee always comes first in Italy. No matter how important something is that you want to talk to someone about, if someone says they need a coffee, that’s more important! So be patient with your request until the other person has had their coffee – or if in doubt, just have one with them!

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Lifestyle

Kosher Eating: What the Jewish Dietary Laws Mean

Kosher food is the designation for food that is permitted under kashrut. The kashrut is a religious food law. Many rules relate to the consumption of animal products.

Kashrut are traditional religious law regulations. They regulate which foods believing Jews are traditionally allowed to eat. The kashrut divides food into “kosher” and “treat” – permissible and impure.

There are several reasons for this distinction. The Jewish Museum in Berlin indicates the conscious lifestyle of religious people. Medieval scholars would have explained that non-kosher food harmed the body or soul, while rabbis attributed the divine origin of kashrut to the reason.

Kosher food: clean foods

Kosher foods are those foods specifically classified as clean or permissible by the kashrut.

Plant-based foods such as fruit, vegetables or grains are kosher. However, it is important to ensure that no insects, snails or similar animals hide in them. These must not be eaten. Special rules apply to Israeli products, i.e. products from the “Holy Land”, for example for cultivation.

The following foods of animal origin are also kosher:
Meat from ruminant mammals with cloven hooves.
Animals that live in water and have both fins and scales.
Eggs from kosher animals are also kosher if no traces of blood are found in them.
Honey is an exception as it comes from non-kosher animals but is itself considered kosher.

Non-kosher food: mature foods

“Do not boil a kid in its mother’s milk” (Ex.23:19) is a quote from the Book of Exodus found in the Torah and the Bible. This sentence illustrates an important principle for combining foods according to the Jewish dietary law:
Dairy products and meat should not be eaten together. Therefore, kosher households have two sets of dishes and pots: one for dairy and one for meat. The combination of the products is not permitted.

Blood is always dripping. Therefore, only meat that no longer contains blood is considered kosher food. This ensures a special method of slaughter, the slaughter. In Germany, slaughterhouses are only allowed to be slaughtered with a special permit, which can be granted for religious reasons, as the SWR describes.

Combine kosher: parwe always works

Parwe means something like neutral in the Jewish diet. Foods that you can combine with kosher food in any way are neutral. With vegan products you are on the safe side in this respect: fruit and vegetables are parwe. In addition to vegetables, kosher fish and kosher eggs are also parwe.

The Central Council of Jews describes that vegetable products that replace milk are also parwe. Soy drink, which is popular with many vegans, can also replace the kashrut according to milk, bypassing the above regulations for combining dairy products. Vegetable substitute products can not only be combined kosher, but are also more environmentally friendly than animal products. Appropriate: According to the FAZ, Israel is the most vegan country in the world.

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