the italian espresso coffee is in danger

The espresso coffee

is in danger

In Italy it's getting harder and harder to get a decent cup of espresso coffee

The espresso for Italians is a ritual and an irreplaceable pleasure. For a foreigner, Italian espressos might all seem the same, but they're not. A part from a "ristretto" (=strong and short to drink only the best part of it), a "doppio" (= a double if lacking energy) and a "lungo" (=long, to help digestion), which are the basic different ways to drink it, there is a ritual and more important differences that are going to disappear with globalization.

The Italian coffee for espresso and "Moka" machines (the caffetiere every Italian has in the kitchen) is generally a mixture of premium coffee beans. The most popular mixtures in Italy are: Arabica, Robusta and Liberica. They all have different characteristics and - like wine - have to be served at different times of the day.

A smooth breakfast "miscela" of coffee beans is the first thing any Italian desires in the morning to get that smooth but strong kick to wake up and start the day. The rich aroma of a breakfast mixture fills the kitchen at home - it makes the day ahead look better. But most Italians are so fussy that they cannot go to work without a quick little cup at their favorite cafe in town, generally next to work or near home. A dash of milk will knock the bitter edge off it, transforming it into a "macchiato".
After the usual heavy lunch, almost nobody in Italy can go back to work without a strong black shot of an Arabica coffee bean mixture. This choice will be repeated later in the afternoon, when the boring routine of the job has sapped one's energy..

So far this ritual was only cut short abroad, when finding a good cup of coffee turns in a nightmare for any Italian. But now the new "McCafe" chains and big groups (such as Nestle', Philip Morris, Procter&Gamble, Philip Morris and Sara Lee) are distroying this pleasure in Italy also by monopolising the coffee market. It happened first in the US, it is happening everywhere now in Europe and the first big coffee chains are appearing here and there in Italy.

Big "McCafes" (which Italians say sell a kind of dank dishwater they call coffee, but that does not smell of taste of anything near coffee) are opening in strategic points in Milan and Rome. They would not be a menace for the small Italian cafes (that sell good quality espresso), because it is unthinkable that Italians would like their products, but it is a menace for the good quality coffee plants in developing countries.

In developing countries, the leading chains are edging small family-run coffee businesses out of the market, undercutting them and leaving them to go hungry.

The product these big chains sell is cheaper because of its lower quality. The huge demand for poor quality beans has completely changed the coffee market. They are imposing their low prices on producers and the small poor farmers in Colombia, Mexico and Brasil, cannot afford any longer to cultivate their high quality but low yield product because it is overpriced for the big demand.


	The espresso coffee is in danger In Italy it's getting harder and harder to get a decent cup of espresso coffee The espresso for Italians is a ritual and an irreplaceable pleasure. For a foreigner, Italian espressos might all seem the same, but they're not. A part from a "ristretto" (=strong and short to drink only the best part of it), a "doppio" (= a double if lacking energy) and a "lungo" (=long, to help digestion), which are the basic different ways to drink it, there is a ritual and more important differences that are going to disappear with globalization. The Italian coffee for espresso and "Moka" machines (the caffetiere every Italian has in the kitchen) is generally a mixture of premium coffee beans. The most popular mixtures in Italy are: Arabica, Robusta and Liberica. They all have different characteristics and - like wine - have to be served at different times of the day. A smooth breakfast "miscela" of coffee beans is the first thing any Italian desires in the morning to get that smooth but strong kick to wake up and start the day. The rich aroma of a breakfast mixture fills the kitchen at home - it makes the day ahead look better. But most Italians are so fussy that they cannot go to work without a quick little cup at their favorite cafe in town, generally next to work or near home. A dash of milk will knock the bitter edge off it, transforming it into a "macchiato". After the usual heavy lunch, almost nobody in Italy can go back to work without a strong black shot of an Arabica coffee bean mixture. This choice will be repeated later in the afternoon, when the boring routine of the job has sapped one's energy.. So far this ritual was only cut short abroad, when finding a good cup of coffee turns in a nightmare for any Italian. But now the new "McCafe" chains and big groups (such as Nestle', Philip Morris, Procter&Gamble, Philip Morris and Sara Lee) are distroying this pleasure in Italy also by monopolising the coffee market. It happened first in the US, it is happening everywhere now in Europe and the first big coffee chains are appearing here and there in Italy. Big "McCafes" (which Italians say sell a kind of dank dishwater they call coffee, but that does not smell of taste of anything near coffee) are opening in strategic points in Milan and Rome. They would not be a menace for the small Italian cafes (that sell good quality espresso), because it is unthinkable that Italians would like their products, but it is a menace for the good quality coffee plants in developing countries. In developing countries, the leading chains are edging small family-run coffee businesses out of the market, undercutting them and leaving them to go hungry. The product these big chains sell is cheaper because of its lower quality. The huge demand for poor quality beans has completely changed the coffee market. They are imposing their low prices on producers and the small poor farmers in Colombia, Mexico and Brasil, cannot afford any longer to cultivate their high quality but low yield product because it is overpriced for the big demand.