Lezione Numero Nove/Lesson Number Nine
Watch a video clip:
Lesson 9, Part 1: Opening Lecture
Un Caffè Per Favore
Watch a YouTube video featuring a famous Italian song about coffee:
Un ospite speciale/A special guest: Fiorenzo Omenetto, Professore di Ingegneria Biomedica a Tufts.
See Professor Omenetto's TED Talk on Silk: The Ancient Material of the Future.
Let's refresh some vocabolario!
- il bar in Italia is not a place where they serve just alcoholic drinks, but it refers also to a coffee house. People drink coffee at the bar all the time, mostly standing at the counter (Italian coffee is so small that you do not need to sit or carry it with you to drink it).
- caffè really refers to espresso, and it is served in a tazzina (una tazza piccola = a small cup).
- there is no small, medium, large: you either simply ask for un caffè (regular size), or caffè doppio/caffè lungo (double/long: it has a little more water) or caffè ristretto (literally "shrinked", more concentrated, with less water).
- caffè macchiato caldo, "stained" with a tiny bit of warm frothed milk. macchia = spot, stain macchiare = to stain, caldo = hot.
- caffè macchiato freddo, served with a tiny bit of cold/freddo milk on the side, in a small jug.
- cappuccino, served in a cup, it needs no explanation, but if you order cappuccino in the city of Trieste you may be disappointed, as they would serve you a miniature cappuccino, similar to a macchiato caldo. Trieste has its own coffee vocabulary that you may want to check before a trip.
- marocchino (Literally "from Morocco"): espresso, frothed milk, cocoa powder, served in una tazzina.
- caffè corretto espresso "corrected" with a shot of liquor, typically grappa or Sambuca.
- caffè d'orzo, espresso made from barley, it is decaf and the taste is different, worth trying. It can be ordered in all the variations, just like a normal caffè.
- caffè decaffeinato or caffè HAG (from the name of a common brand).
- d'estate (di estate, during the summer) you can find caffè freddo.
- caffelatte (or caffè latte) is the American latte. We make it mostly at home for colazione, it is very rare to hear anyone ordering un caffelatte al bar.
- a casa, everyone makes caffè by using the italian coffee maker, called caffettiera (also called moka, or Bialetti, from the name of the original brand).
A photograph of the Italian coffee maker called Bialetti, moka or caffettiera. This is the way most Italians make coffee at home. (Image courtesy of ispivey on flickr.)
More songs about caffè:
- Fabrizio De Andrè—Don Raffaè (Live 1991). January 10, 2009. YouTube. Accessed May 13, 2013.
- Zecchino d'oro—Ninna del Chicco del Caffè. September 14, 2009. YouTube. Accessed May 13, 2013.
Compiti/Assignments
- Prepare un tiramisù.
- Complete the exercises below.
Esercizi/Exercises
Complete the exercises for Lesson 9 (PDF).