Cappuccino: Make Everybody’s Favorite Italian Coffee at Home!

So who doesn’t like coffee? Relax with a hot cup and read more than you ever wanted to know about how to make Italian coffee like a barista!

The Cultural Note was originally posted on November 6, 2016, on the Learn Italian! blog for Stella Lucente, LLC, and www.learntravelitalian.com. Below is an excerpt. Click on the link for the entire article.

If you like this blog, listen in as native Italian speakers meet at an Italian bar and have a chat FREE at www.LearnTravelItalian Audio. You can find more interesting Cultural Notes in our Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and learn the basics of the Italian language at the same time.

P.S. Can you find the cat waiting to enjoy his morning coffee in our photo? I’d love to hear from you!

The popular stove top espresso maker that is part of every Italian household—and I mean every household—here and in Italy is shaped like an octagon. Don’t expect to get a real crema in this case, because this coffee pot does not operate under the high pressure of the industrial espresso makers, but this classic espresso pot is an easy, inexpensive, and convenient way to brew your everyday espresso.

All stove top espresso makers require very finely ground espresso beans packed firmly in place into a metal coffee filter that fits into the center of the pot. Freshly ground beans are, of course, best.

Put water in the bottom half of the stove top espresso pot, insert the filter with its coffee grounds, twist on the top, and heat over medium-high heat. The water in the bottom compartment will boil, and the steam will move upward through the coffee grounds in the filter to re-condense as coffee in the top compartment.

Below is a picture of my favorite home espresso set that I picked up in Rome at one of its famous coffee bars, Cafè Sant’Eustachio… read more