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Cappuccino in a cup, with a spoon
Why is my coffee wet dream so hard to find in this country?
Hello. I have a gripe. It’s been gnawing at me for a while, and was intensified by my recent visit to Rome, Italy, where everywhere you order a cappuccino, it arrives in an attractive ceramic cup on a saucer, with a spoon alongside.
The gripe, first and foremost, is as follows: I don’t want my coffee, any stripe of coffee, whether simple drip or espresso-based, served in a plastic-coated, bleached “cup” with a plastic lid. I don’t want the chemicals, the waste, the burned fingers, but most of all, I can’t stand the basic ugliness of the thing. The sight of it, the flimsy feeling in my hand.
When it comes to my coffee break, it needs to feel elegant. It needs to give me permission to relax. It needs to be restorative. A place and time where I feel compelled to take a deep breath and stay a while.
In Rome, the default was not “to-go” or “disposable.”
The default was beauty, and respect for time, and respect for the individual, and respect for the break. The coffee break. That is, it’s to relax. Not coffee-while-running, nor coffee on the go. It just wasn’t a thing.
We don’t gulp coffee, we sip it. Gently, slowly, with respect and appreciation. At least, I do.
