Espressino (and more coffee advice)

Sophie + Stanley in Puglia Onion Parmigiana

Espressino (and more coffee advice)

Marocchino in Rome

Have you ever heard of an espressino? I bet you haven’t. You’d think that there would be nothing new left for me to write about drinking and ordering coffee in Italy. But during the last few weeks, while I was leading our guests around Italy, I realized that there is one way of ordering coffee that needs just a little more explanation so I’m here to give some much needed coffee advice.

I keep seeing our guests order not just a caffe doppio (double shot of espresso) but even a triple shot which barely even translates into Italian. I mean no Italian would EVER order a caffe triplo. It’s just way way too much caffeine.

But I realized that part of the reason that our guests are ordering such strong coffee is partly because they see the simple shot of espresso, or even a macchiato (with a tiny bit of milk) as too meager a drink to satisfy. As my barista around the corner said to me this morning, as we were talking about this, ‘Americans like a beverone.’ Americans like a big drink.

I totally get it. And there is there is something I order when I want something just a bit bigger than a macchiato, but not as milky as a cappuccino. How I ask for it depends on where I am.

In Puglia I ask for an espressino – This is usually served in an espresso cup, but is filled to the top with foamed milkIn Florence and northern Italy I ask for a macchiatone – usually served in a big cappuccino cup, but the milk is only half of that of a cappucinoIn Rome it’s a Marocchino – usually served in a glass, so you can see the layers, and almost always topped with chocolate.

These three coffee drinks will get you a shot of espresso topped by half the foamed milk usually used in a cappuccino. It’s not quite the beverone that many Americans are used to, but it’s not a teeny tiny shot of espresso either. And definitely won’t give you the jolt of three shots of espresso which is just insane.

I’m really curious to hear what you think? Is there any reason that someone would need three shots of espresso at once?