Italy has so many coffee variants (oftentimes with names which mean a different type of coffee altogether abroad) that it can get a little intimidating to order without an Italian speaker by your side. Well it did for me in the beginning and I'm glad to have finally got the hang of it, or that's what I'd like to tell myself! To give you an example: Caffé (espresso), Macchiato (espresso with a dash of milk), Coretto (espresso with added liquor), Doppio (double shot of espresso), Lungo (espresso with more water and caffeine), Mocaccino (cappuccino with a little hot chocolate and cream), Affogato (espresso served over a scoop or two of ice cream), Caffè d'orzo (not really coffee, but made with barley), Caffé al ginseng (coffee with ginseng extract) and the list goes on and on... Even though I was used to drinking coffee since teenage, it's only after spending time in Italy that I truly understood what good coffee was and developed the taste for it. During my time there, more often than not I'd have at least one shot of caffeine a day and occasionally that'd go up to 2-3!
My favourite order was and still remains -
"Un macchiato, per favore, con un po' di più latte. Grazie!" (A macchiato please, with a little extra milk, thank you!)
It's normal to pair your coffee with one of the many pastries on offer, I loved pairing it with a fresh brioche con crema (croissant stuffed with cream) or a fresh fresh pistachio cannoli with sweetened ricotta cream just piped before serving, yum!
One day after dinner I took fancy to trying this cannoli flavoured coffee from Caffè Napoli, a quaint little cafe with particularly beautiful red tile flooring and I found myself there 30 mins before their closing time.
They have an extensive menu of delicious coffee concoctions and even though I wanted to try all, I settled for what I'd come to try.
Cafe Cannolo - a shot of espresso, delicious pistachio sauce, ricotta velvet cream, crumbled cannoli shell topped with some more crushed pistachios
The best part is it's nowhere close to sweet and you do not need to add any extra sugar, as the ricotta cream adds just the right amount of sweetness to balance out the bitter espresso. Trust me - it's DIVINE!
Considering the fact that all cafes in Italy close quite early, even in metro cities like Milan, this place is open till late night on Fridays and Saturdays and reliably satisfies all your late night + all of a sudden coffee cravings, like I keep having (all the while hoping the sleep God's don't run away from me!)
Check it out:
Caffè Napoli - Locations
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