Hello Elisa!!!
Everyone meet my beautiful flatmate Elisa Bevacqua from Calabria, Italy. Elisa and I are having a bit of a tandem culture exchange. I've introduced her to soy sauce, and she's introduced me to Italian coffee.
Glorious, glorious Italian coffee.
One of the more recent things I've learnt from her is the following 'Italian Coffee Doctrine'
Carico: Strong
Your coffee must taste strong. Drinking overpriced dishwater (and honestly I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. My GOOD coffee years are but beginning) constitutes breaking this cardinal law.
Caldo: Hot
Your coffee must be piping HOT. Lukewarm muck that's been sitting around forgotten and cold is absolutely unacceptable. Although... I don't know the stand taken with iced coffee....better ask Eli later. :p
Comodo: Comfortable
Coffee drinking should be done when you are comfortable. You should be seated through the entire experience. You MUST take your time.Good coffee shouldn't be wasted on someone too busy to properly taste it. Drink with family, drink with friends, drink on your own, hell drink with your cat if that's what makes you content. The point is to enjoy your cuppa, not rush through it.
Now all this is well and good to know, but let's face it. Everyone's too busy to actually do all these things EVERY SINGLE TIME you make a cuppa. Sometimes you need a caffeine shot to carry you through to the dawn before your big deadline. Sometimes your only option is diluted dishwater. MOST times the cafe is too crowded for you to do anything but sip your coffee while crowded into a corner.
The important thing is that, every once in a while you take a little time for yourself. Step out of your busy work schedule. Put down the phone, the pen, the piping bag, WHATEVER. Reserve that little parcel of time to properly embody Carico, Caldo, Comodo.
You'll be all the better for it.
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