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Coffee, cafès, bars, rules, croissants and . . .
Buosino the traditional local coffee in Varese.

Sometimes it seems that there are as many types of coffee in Italy.
Caffè espresso, caffè macchiato, caffè lungo, caffè corretto, cappuccino . . .
Coffee is served with umpteen variations, but here are described the main ones.

A caffè is an espresso (sometimes called a “caffè normale” or a “caffè liscio”). This should get you a half espresso cup.
If you want more you could ask for a “caffè lungo” or a “doppio espresso”. This is an espresso with more water. A “long coffee” is different than an “american coffee” because made with the espresso machine.

A “caffè macchiato”. This is an espresso spotted with a splash of hot milk.

Some baristas will ask you how much froth (“schiuma” or “cremina”) you want on your coffee. This is foam whipped with sugar.

A “latte macchiato”. This is a glass of hot milk with coffee added afterwards. There are two schools of though: one view is that the difference between a latte macchiato and a “caffè latte” is that with a caffè latte the milk is added to the coffee rather than the other way round. The other view is that the difference between the two lies in the amount of coffee. With a latte macchiato having just a touch of milk to stain the milk (as the name suggests), while a caffè latte has more coffee.

A “cappuccino”. This is an espresso topped up with hot, foamed milk. Some baristas will ask you if you want chocolate (“cacao”) on your cappuccino. Many places just serve cappuccino without chocolate.

A “caffè corretto”. This is an espresso with a splash of liquor.

A “caffè americano”. An “american coffee” doesn’t exist here in Italy. If you order an “American coffee,” you’ll get an espresso with hot water added.

As well as normal coffee, most cafes have decaf coffee (“decaffeinato”), “caffè d’orzo” (made with barley) and tea.

Coffee doesn’t usually come with any sugar in it. Instead, it’s up to you to add sugar, usually found in either jars or packets there on the counter.

You can taste Buosino the traditional local coffee in Varese. See pics at the bottom of the page.
Buosino is a chocolate-coffee beverage excellent served hot in the special transparent cups with a dash of milk foam and sprinkle topping of chocolate, served with the chocolate spoon.
For the summer, we recommend preparing it in a siphon bottle with 10% fresh cream and serving it cold with or without ice in an attractive glass.
The product contains no preservatives or flavouring. http://www.buosi.it/italiano.html

The Rules
In most cafès and bars you are served and then you pay at the cash desk (“cassa”) when you leave, but in rail stations and busy bars in city centres for example you may well need to pay first and then give your receipt (“scontrino”) to the serving person (some “gelaterie” do the same thing). You may see a notice with something like “rivolgersi alla cassa” or “munirsi dello scontrino”.
There are also rules that are difficult to fathom about whether you go to the bar and get your drinks and then take them to your table, or whether you wait for someone to come to take your order, or whether you go to the bar and order what you want and then go to your table and wait for the someone to bring them out to you.

In most places, you pay the same amount for a coffee at the bar or at the cafè as you would for a table. But not always. If you are drinking at a place with a central, expensive location, like the main square of a city, then you might well pay more to have your coffee at a table, especially in tourist areas. Again, it’s not easy to tell what the rules are.

Croissants
And when it comes to coffee and cafes there are croissants. Except that in the south and in central Italy (basically anywhere south of the Apennines) they are called “cornetti” and the north they are called “brioche” or “croissant”.

Croissants in Italy often, especially in the north, come filled with jam (“marmellata”) or “crema” (a sort of custard) or “Nutella”. This is fine if that’s what you want but can be an unwelcome surprise if you weren’t expecting it. Sometimes there is a tell-tale hole where the sickly sweet stuff has been injected, but other times it is not apparent. If you want a plain crossaint you need to ask for a “brioche vuota” or a “cornetto semplice”.