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URBINO, ITALY- “Da portare via?”

A spoon clatters on a saucer and all eyes are on the individual who just uttered these words. Three customers look up from their espressos to share a knowing look with each other.

“Americano,” they whisper.

No, the customers are not referring to the combination of hot water and espresso, but the individual who just asked for a cappuccino to go in the afternoon. Italians do not consume milk or foam with espresso after breakfast because they believe the dairy upsets digestion. This makes it easy for Italians to spot American tourists, who are used to a grab-and-go system, ordering venti-sized lattes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A barista at Bar Sugar in Urbino, Italy, serves a couple of bikers who come in for an espresso after a morning workout.

Source: Urbino Project 2011

Despite America’s and Italy’s coffee culture differences, American coffee shops, like Joe Bean’s, were inspired by the Italian bars. In Italy, il bar is the equivalent of a café. It is also where the term barista comes from because it translates to bartender. The Italian bar or café is where one can enjoy a hot espresso till the early morning hours. The bar itself is also very small. Italian coffee culture does not promote sitting down to enjoy a cappuccino. Instead, customers stand around the physical coffee bar and banter with the barista. Customers who choose to sit down and enjoy a coffee are charged extra for a waitressing fee. In America, coffee shops have combined these two experiences. Joe Bean’s offers fast service for customers wanting to take coffee to go, and local coffee shops provide a comfortable sit-down experience where customers are encouraged to stay awhile.

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Mama’s Café in Urbino, Italy, is one of many local cafés that serve cappuccinos and macchiatos. Source: Iowa State University

The drink menu is small or nonexistent in some bars. This is because Italians do not customize their coffee with syrups the way Americans do. While Joe Bean’s boasts offering a pumpkin spice syrup all year, Italians rarely add a packet of sugar to their coffee. Italians have a standard coffee menu that applies to all bars. This menu includes:

• Caffè: an espresso

• Caffè Americano: an espresso and hot water

• Caffè macchiato: an espresso, milk and foam

• Caffè corretto: a coffee with a drop of liquor

• Caffè shakerato: an espresso, sugar and ice shaken

• Cappuccino: an espresso and froth

Maria Ghidini, a barista at Café Basili in Urbino, Italy, says, “For Italians caffé is more of a simple pleasure. I think Americans do too much to it and take caffé away from its intended taste.” 

 

While Joe Bean’s offers its customers three different drink sizes, Italians have a one size fits all mentality and serve coffee in a shot glass or mug. A popular Italian perception is that the best coffee comes from roadside gas stations, because the espresso quality is best coming from a machine that makes hundreds of drinks a day. If this opinion is true, then Joe Bean’s espresso is pretty close to perfection.

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In 2018, Starbucks opened its first location in Milan, Italy, as a Reserve Roastery where customers can see the process of the unroasted bean to a cup of coffee. Source: CNN

 

“We may do things here a lot differently,” Linda Brown, owner of Joe Bean’s said. “But the culture in America is to have more so that’s what we’re going to give our customers. I personally see adding syrups and etc. to coffee as innovating and creative.”

 

Now that Italians have influenced the American coffee culture, America is trying to do the same back. Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, pushed to open a location in Italy to honor where his coffee brand was inspired. Italians were quick to push back against the idea, claiming that Starbuck’s version of coffee doesn’t line up with their culture. USA Today published an article in 2016 analyzing the influx in American franchises trying to break into the Italian market.

 

"The answer is simple," said Massimiliano Rossi, a Rome-based commentator and marketing consultant. "They are not selling coffee. They are selling an image. They are selling the idea of America."

“When I started Joe Bean’s I taste tested coffee from around the world,” Brown said. “Even I acknowledge the superiority of Italian espresso. We do our best to mimic it.”

Italians may not be quick to adapt the American coffee culture, but small business coffee shops, like Joe Bean’s, thank Italian bars for initiating the creation of the café and coffee shop culture.

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About Joe Bean’s Express Espresso

Joe Bean’s Express Espresso is a drive-through coffee shop selling brewed coffee, speciality drinks, smoothies, and baked items. It was founded by Linda Brown in 2000 to bring a drive-through coffee experience to the Lynchburg, Virginia area. Two decades later, Joe Bean’s has expanded to six locations. Joe Bean’s is committed to brewing the best coffee, while having the convenience of a fast and friendly drive-through service. For more information, visit the website www.joebeans.coffee.