The curious story of how transatlantic exchange shaped Italy’s illustrious coffee culture

May 30, 2017 1152

In 1959, Italian novelist Italo Calvino received a grant to spend six months in the US. Once he arrived in New York City, he discovered a disturbing trend. “The trend of espresso-places has been thriving for a few years in New York and is expanding to the rest of the country,” he wrote in his journal. “Sure, I’m happy when I can drink a coffee Italian-style, but I struggle to explain to Americans the feeling of uneasiness that this kind of places provoke in me.”

More than 50 years later, Italians are still deeply protective of their country’s reputation as the coffee capital of the world. Italians despise American-style coffee, which they regard as a sort of dull black broth. At the same time, they scoff at Americans’ attempts to replicate espresso, which invariably ends up being too short, too strong, or too slow.

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SOURCE: https://qz.com

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