Amin Momen is a man with a passion for good coffee who also happens to run a ski travel company, Momentum Ski, which offers holidays to lots of resorts, including Italian ones. Here Amin tells us why coffee lovers should ski in Italy – and crucially how to ensure you get the real coffee experience.
There’s no disputing it : the Italians are the kings of coffee, and if you’re on a ski holiday in Italy, you’d be mad to miss the authentic experience.
There are few better ways to start the day than with a real Italian coffee enjoyed after a good breakfast, watching the light gleam over the mountains.
And that mid-afternoon espresso on a piste-side sun terrace? It’s perfection.
Unfortunately, there’s a huge pitfall to navigate first: successfully ordering your delicious beverage. Get it wrong, and you risk the scorn of the barista – a plight few that experience it ever truly recover from.
You’re A Long Way From Starbucks, Dorothy …
That’s right – knowing what coffee to order (and when) is of critical importance if you want to avoid an international incident. Italian coffee is nothing like the coffee you’ll find in a high-street café back home.
Consider the cautionary tale of the Starbucks aficionado on holiday in Cervinia. Well versed as she was in “Italian” coffee lingo from her daily half-caff venti skinny vanilla latte, she beamed with pride and excitement as she ordered a “latte”.
The waiter shot her a quizzical look. “Latte? Caldo o freddo?”
Hot or cold? Clearly he was having a joke. “Caldo, of course!” she replied. Sure enough, he returned a minute later with precisely what she had ordered – a cup of hot milk.
Here’s what you need to know to avoid a similar humiliation.
Cappuccino Is A Breakfast Drink
I’m afraid so. Don’t be surprised if you see the waiter frowning at you if you order a cappuccino or latte after your delicious meal. Inwardly he can’t believe you’d pour hot milk over that wonderful food, as it’s a common belief that too much milk post meal unsettles your stomach.
When it’s breakfast time though, go right ahead. If you’re like me and prefer a stronger coffee taste, order your cappuccino with doppio espresso senza cacao. You can also opt for a cappuccino scuro, which has less milk than the standard cappuccino.
There’s No Filter Coffee Or Flavours
An Americano is a shot of espresso with hot water poured on top. Order one and you could well receive an espresso in a larger cup with a pot of water on the side. In fact, pretty much everything is a variation of espresso. Besides a straight espresso, the common varieties are:
Doppio: a double espresso.
Ristretto: literally “restricted”, half the water is used to extract only the first and most concentrated drips of an espresso.
Lungo: literally “long”, double the water is let through the coffee, like a watered-down espresso.
Macchiato: literally “stained”, as in stained with a drop of warm milk (macchiato caldo) or cold milk (macchiato freddo).
Corretto: literally “correct ”, this is a classic espresso with a drop of grappa in it.
You also won’t find anything with vanilla or hazelnut flavouring, which are so popular in the international-chain cafés, but you can often get Nutella® or hazelnut paste in your espresso (caffè nocciola).
The other beauty of Italy is that coffee served as you stand at a bar is typically very cheap, costing an average of €1 for an espresso and just €1.50 for a cappuccino. However, sit down and you’ll pay as much as 50% more for waiter service.
