Venetian Macchiatone and Roman MarocchinoOrdering Coffee in Italy

One bel morning in Venice,
hanging out in one of my favorite Venetian bars
(aka coffee shop, please,
not the Harry's American Bar kind!),
I overheard the (female!) barista announcing to one of her patrons, "Macchiatone!",
while she sent a cappuccino cup,
filled almost to the rim with milkfoam,
smoothly sailing over the counter,
into the waiting hand of the lucky recipient.
I'd never heard that expression before,
so I immediately inquired about the contents of that mysterious cup. It was un caffe' (Italian for what the Germans like to call an "Espresso", and the Austrians a "kleiner Schwarzer", a "shot" at Starbucks), served in a capuccino cup, with a tiny bit of hot milk added, and topped with lots of milkfoam.
I ordered one on the spot,
feeling very suave and wor(l)dly. ;-)

Those Italian Coffee Bars are really institutions of higher learning in disguise. You never know what you may learn, along with a Great Cup of Coffee. Just last May, I had another lesson in coffee neologism at one of the Roman bars, at Castroni's on Via Cola di Rienzo. That time I learned all about "Cappuccino Marocchino". You'll find it pictured here, in (lazy) Merisi's Roman branchlet, if you'd like to read more about it. I highly recommand at least one visit to Castroni's, possibly on your first day in Rome, that way you can return if you need a repeat of that heavenly coffee experience there. Besides, Castroni serves the very best Cornetto in all of Rome (trust me, I spent almost 10 years on serious daily research there!).

To wind down after all this caffein filled talk,
I leave you with this Venetian window reflection,
which offers a little glimpse of La Serenissima:


Images and Text © by Merisi