Coffee in Italy
Upon tasting coffee, Pope Clement VIII declared: "Why, this Satan's drink is so delicious that it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it.
[10] In Turin, in 1933, Italian engineer Luigi Di Ponti invented the first moka pot and subsequently sold the patent to Alfonso Bialetti.
Some date the Neapolitan discovery of coffee back to 1614, when the composer, explorer and musicologist Pietro Della Valle sent news from the Holy Land, in his letters to the dear friend, physician, poet, Greek scholar and Mario Schipano and his gathering of intellectuals, of a drink (called kahve)[14] the Arab Muslims brewed in hot pots.
[16][17] The instrument used to prepare caffè at home, the caffettiera, is essentially a small steam machine made of a bottom boiler, a central filter which contains the coffee grounds, and an upper cup.
[18] It was invented by Italian engineer Luigi Di Ponti in 1933 who sold the patent to Alfonso Bialetti, an aluminum vendor.
The quantity of coffee to be put in the filter determines the richness of the final beverage, but special care is needed in order not to block the water from crossing it, in case of an excess of grounds.
The flame under the caffettiera has to be turned off ten seconds after the first characteristic noise is heard, and eventually lit again in case the cup was not filled.
A related but separate translation of the Italian caffetteria is coffee house or café: an establishment in which caffè was traditionally made with a Moka.
In the older caffetterie (Italian, plural), frequented by the upper classes, art and culture events were held.
After taking caffè, smokers are usually allowed to light their cigarettes (the service typically includes a porcelain ashtray).
[citation needed] It is not usual to serve pastries or biscuits with afternoon caffè, but an exception can be made in case there are women at the table.
After-lunch coffee is taken at separate smaller tables, not at the main one[citation needed] and children are not normally welcome to join adults in such formalities.
Like bars, coffee houses have a long history of offering environments in which people can easily socialize amongst their own groups and (often) with strangers.
