Un Espresso, per Favore

by Michele Alonzo (School Amici Director)

Art in a Cup

It is probably the sentence that any beginning Italian students is able to say when entering a café in Italy “Un espresso, per favore”. But it may be more complicated than you think if you consider how many types of coffee beverage you can order in Italy.
As well illustrated in a famous 1997 Bozzetto’s animated cartoon, comparing the habits of Italians with all other Europeans, having a coffee in Italy may require an extensive tutorial.
It is a fact that you can have at least a dozen of different variations of beverage with coffee to enjoy la dolce vita. The following list describes the most common types:

Doppio: two regular espresso in the same cup (50 ml)

Lungo: A longer espresso, containing more water and therefore less strong (35 ml)
Ristretto: A concentrated espresso; a very strong coffee! (20 ml)
Macchiato caldo: Espresso with a few drops of warm milk
Macchiato freddo: Espresso with a few drops of cold milk
Corretto: Espresso with a shot of liquor (grappa or anisette)
Con panna: Espresso with whipped cream on top
Freddo: Cold espresso served with ice in a glass
Cappuccino: Espresso (1/3) with warm milk (1/3) and milk froth on top (1/3)
Caffè mocha: A cappuccino topped with cocoa powder
Caffelatte: A glass of warm milk with an espresso added in it
Marocchino: Cappuccino with chocolate dusted on top
Affogato: a scoop of vanilla gelato topped with a hot espresso
Decaffeinato: Espresso made with decaffeinated coffee

Classic espresso is technically hot boiled water mixed with ground coffee beans in a specific ratio. That is the key word: ratio. In fact there are approximately 0.3 ounces of coffee to one fluid ounce of water in a single shot espresso.  About the same quantity is used to prepare a drip-brewed coffee cup, which instead contains 8 fluid ounces of water. So it is intuitive that the concentration of an Italian espresso is eight time the one of a regular average cup of coffee at an American restaurant.

Also due to the higher than atmospheric pressure involved, in the first case the mixture of water and steam reaches temperatures well above 100 °C, causing a more efficient extraction of caffeine and flavors from the grounds, and resulting in a stronger brew than the one obtained by drip brewing.

Moka Express Bialetti

It is thought that the word “espresso” originates from the procedure to prepare the coffee, by which hot water is forced at high pressure through the aromatic ground powder. However, this word in Italian also means “speedy, quickly”; in fact there are treno espresso (a faster train), and raccomandata espresso (a piece of mail delivered quicker than regular mail).  Considering that Italians are always on the run because chronically late, I would lean toward the second origin…

The history of Italian coffee goes back to the late 1800’s when Angelo Moriondo in Turin first presented a patented way to prepare the hot beverage having water pressurized by steam passing through the ground coffee. A few years later other Italians improved the procedure by introducing on the market an espresso machine that could make a coffee in a few minutes.
But the popularity of homemade coffee really became widespread with the introduction of the mass produced Moka, the machine invented by Luigi De Ponti and patented for businessman Alfonso Bialetti in 1933. Still today the Bialetti company produces the “Moka express”, an aluminum pot with bakelite handle, which has become an iconic design, and considered a piece of art displayed at the MOMA in New York City.

The difference between the homemade coffee and the one you order in a café is the pressure of coffee extraction, which is about 22 psi in the Moka and 130 psi for a real espresso. Also the foam emulsion produced by a Moka is not as dense as the crema (literally cream) that you can taste on top of a single shot espresso.
 

San Marco Square, Venice

Whatever type of coffee you order, if you are on a budget, make sure that you sip it just standing at the counter. Sitting at a table can double the price and if you happen to be on San Marco Square in Venice, an espresso can easily cost you about ten dollars! You could say “Who cares, I am in Italy”. And that’s exactly what counts. How can you have a bad time when you start your day tasting the unique aroma of caffe' espresso, in front of the Venetian Laguna or the Spanish Steps, with a street artist singing Volare…
 

Italian Art in a Nutshell (#2)

by Kris Killen Olberding 
(art aficionado, empowered female, and administrator at the Art Academy)

Italian Art in a Nutshell features a follower of Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi, and her masterpiece "Judith Slaying Holofernes,” 1618-20. 

Gentileschi was a highly accomplished early Baroque painter with the rare distinction of being a female artist of the era who achieved a high level of respect and fame. Born in Rome to a painter, Gentileschi worked alongside her father in his workshop, and like him, she was profoundly influenced by Caravaggio. Her work often depicts strong, female protagonists from mythology or the Bible. This particular work is gory and violent, telling the dramatic tale of the widow Judith who sought revenge against Holofernes, the general who besieged her town. Judith seduced him, got him drunk, and with the assistance of her maid, decapitated him with his own sword, taking his head as a trophy for her people. Caravaggio's influence can be seen in the bold brushwork, vigorous action, rich hues, and dramatic play of light illuminating the dark and horrifying moment that Judith attacks Holofernes.

Speculation abounds that Gentileschi was attempting to exorcise her own demons through such works of female empowerment, since she herself was famously the victim of rape at the hands of her art instructor. The lengthy trial that followed was very public, and the artist herself was openly tortured and interrogated during testimony. Amazingly, the court ruled in her favor, and her rapist was sentenced to one year in prison, which he never served. In an attempt to restore her virtue, Gentileschi’s father arranged a marriage for her in Florence, where the brash, young artist thrived, displaying tremendous skill at marketing herself and her work to the rich and famous, including the Medici family. To this day, she stands as a symbol of indomitable female spirit, and continues to hold her place in history as one of the boldest, most defiant, and progressive artists of her time. This painting resides in the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence.