Many know how much Italians like their coffee. Very few know how much they like their caffè d’orzo. Despite its name, the drink is not actually coffee at all; though it is served alongside espressos and cappuccinos al banco in Italy’s bars, and its convincingly coffee-like smell and taste would deceive the uninitiated.
The beverage, rather, is made of barley (orzo), roasted and ground into a naturally decaffeinated coffee substitute, in the same vein as the chicory coffee that became a staple of wartime rationing throughout Western Europe and the US in the 20th century. Caffè d’orzo was similarly popularized in Italy during World War II, yet by no means has it been banished to the dark corners of national memory.
