Let’s have a coffee?

Whoever visits or has visited Italy says that the simple task of having a coffee is the funniest thing ever. Do you wonder why? Well, Italian people go in a bar, order a coffee, drink it while having a little conversation with who is at the bar about their day or whatever and go away! Everything lasts two minutes or less!

We have a whole different scenario in other countries around the world, where, for example, having a coffee is actually an excuse, that lasts more or less an hour, I must say, where you can relax meeting friends and update about each others lives, laugh, chat or simply spend some time together.

Here in Norway, I noticed, that most of people buy a take-away coffee, first of all because they are in a hurry and second of all to heat their own hands since we have a very cold temperature here in winter.

Another thing that caught my attention is the size of the cups: so small in Italy and so big in Norway and waiters even ask you if you want a single or a double coffee! Weird eh? I suppose it is because the coffee here isn’t as strong as it is in my country.

But do you know that in the XVIII century coffee bars became meeting points for the writers? They met there to discuss poems, exchange ideas, etc. And for sure drinking coffee was a good way to keep them awake and give them the energy needed to write. So these morning Italian rituals started from this historical period. But why is it that in Italy things like this go so fast while the rest of the world seems to move in slow motion?

It is curious, isn’t it?

Espresso coffee

Social coffee

Take-away coffee

Do you drink coffee and for what?