Oh man, what a title. I’m sorry for that.

Anyways, Espresso it is! That strong caffeinated drink that Italians just cannot get enough of. Perfectly understandable if you ask me. It’s a quick energy boost, and I mean, Italian espressos are the real deal. My big complaint about the espresso that I get here in The Netherlands, is that it taste so much like metal. So you can imagine that I was a very happy person when I was in Rome this month!

I’ve had some great ones at a small coffee stand in Parco del Colle Oppio, and at Caffè L’100 located on the Via di San Giovanni in Laterano.

Espresso is basically just a small amount of water which is forced through finely ground beans. Any type of coffee beans can be used, although the Italians from the southern regions prefer a darker blend, as opposed to the north where light blends are more popular.Throughout Italy though, espresso is served after dinner to help digestion (I’ve mentioned this before here).

Cappuccino on the other hand, is a breakfast drink. My theory is that due to the amount of creaminess in the drink, it will not work well if you’ve had dessert. I’ve also read that you can’t even drink cappuccino after 10am. Anyways, these are traditional “rules”, there is no waiter that will not give you cappuccino after your dinner (it’s all about the money, it’s all about the dum dum dididumdum).

Not only is espresso a wonderful drink on its own, it’s also used as a base for many other drinks such as caffè americano, caffè latte and cappuccino.
What is your favourite type of coffee? When do you prefer an espresso?