There are few travel experiences that I love more than enjoying coffee in Italy.
Everything about the experience is delightful, from the predictably cool marble countertop to the fun of ordering coffee in Italy to the joy of that first sip of an Italian caffè in the morning.
Between the two of us, we have ordered somewhere in the neighborhood of a thousand shots of coffee in Italy–and along the way, we’ve learned quite a few things about how to order coffee in Italy!
If you’re planning a trip and want to pull off a seamless Italian coffee shop experience from day one, here’s what to know before you go.
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Where to Order Coffee in Italy
When looking for the best place to order coffee in Italy, look for a bar.
There are thousands upon thousands of bars in Italy, virtually of which will feature a marble countertop, some kind of sign stating “bar” or sometimes “caffè” out front, a glass case for pastries/sandwiches, and a gigantic, well-loved espresso machine.
Bars in Italy are all-day affairs, and serve both coffee and alcohol throughout the day (though generally more coffee in the first half and alcohol in the second half, naturally).
Most restaurants will also have coffee on the menu, of course, but for the best coffee and the best cultural experience, head right to the bar.
Different Kinds of Coffee in Italy
Navigating the different kinds of coffee you can order in Italy may seem a bit overwhelming at first, but ultimately it’s quite simple.
Every single coffee I’m going to outline here comes down to a few ingredients: coffee (what non-Italians think of as espresso), milk, and in one case, alcohol. That’s it.
No alternative kinds of milk, no alternative sweeteners, no sugary Starbucks-esque concoctions: in Italy, coffee is a more simplistic affair.
Here are the kinds of coffee to be aware of in Italy.
Caffè
“Un caffè” is the simplest and most popular coffee in Italy, and it’s what non-Italians would call a shot of espresso.
If you order one, you may sometimes hear this repeated back to you by the bartender as “Un caffè normale?” which literally translates to “A normal coffee?” and figuratively translates to a good-natured, “Just to be clear, you know you’re not getting a giant cup of drip coffee, right?”.
Caffè Doppio
A double shot of coffee.
Some say this is more for tourists, which may very well be true, but I can’t give it up and must confess I order them just about every morning that I’m in Italy.
The more Italian way to drink two shots of coffee, though, would simply be to order one caffè, drink it, and then ask for the second.
Caffè Lungo
A “long coffee” is the most similar coffee on this list in taste and feel to the filtered coffee us Americans tend to drink at home–even more so than the infamous Americano (more on that one below).
Made by pulling a “long” espresso shot (lungos can take up to a minute to pull), a caffè lungo tends to have twice the volume of a caffè and a milder flavor as well.
Caffè Corto (Or Ristretto)
The opposite of a caffè lungo, a caffè corto (or “short coffee”) has even less water than an average caffè, and is the densest form of coffee in Italy.
Caffè Hag (Or Decaffeinato)
A shot of decaf.
Cappuccino
A caffè cut with steamed milk and foam, served in a small mug or cup that is larger than a tiny caffè cup but much smaller in volume than even a “small” coffee in the USA.
Americano
Undisputedly the most touristy of all these drinks, you aren’t likely to walk into a bar and find an Italian drinking an Americano.
Made of a shot of coffee cut with hot water after it is pulled, I’m of the (admittedly biased) opinion that there’s no reason to ever order an Americano until you’ve at least tried more Italian coffees.
If a straight caffè is too much for you, consider trying a caffè lungo or one of the next few drinks listed below.
Caffè Latte
Coffee served with hot milk, generally served in a larger glass than even a cappuccino.
Caffè Macchiato
Translated as “coffee marked” or “coffee stained”, a caffè macchiato is a caffè “marked” with a dash of steamed milk.
Latte Macchiato
A latte macchiato is essentially the mirror image of a caffè macchiato: a shot of milk “marked” with a dash of coffee.
Caffè Corretto
Translated to “coffee corrected”, this is spiked coffee–one shot served with an additional shot of liquor, commonly grappa.
Cioccolata Calda
Not a coffee drinker but want to enjoy coffee culture in Italy?
Try a hot chocolate–it’ll likely be the richest hot chocolate you’ve ever ordered in your life!
How to Order Coffee in Italy: Vocab Tips + Language
In order to say “I would like a coffee” in Italian, the only phrase you need is “Un caffè, per favore”, which translates as “A coffee, please.”
You can swap “un caffè” for any of the coffees listed above.
If you’d like to be more formal, you can expand into “Vorrei un caffè, per favore”, which is “I would like a coffee, please” in Italian–but that’s really way too formal for most bars and unnecessary.
A few more Italian words and phrases you might like to use when ordering coffee in Italy are:
Buongiorno. — Good day.
Buonasera. — Good evening.
It’s always appreciated to start with a nice greeting and attempt some Italian right off the bat!
Grazie. — Thank you.
You can also use “grazie mille” for service above and beyond the norm, which is literally “a thousand thanks” and is used like “thank you so much”.
Uno, Due, Tre, Quattro, Cinque — One, Two, Three, Four, Five
Arrivederci. — See you later.
“Ciao” is a bit less formal than arrivederci and can be used as both hello and goodbye–but it’s best to feel out the formality of the bar first, and possibly save it for repeat visits.
Un bicchiere d’acqua, per favore. — A glass of water, please.
This will often be given automatically with your coffee, but you can always ask for it in a pinch!
Caldo/Freddo — Hot/Cold
Zucchero — Sugar
If you like sugar in your coffee, you probably won’t need to ask for it–either there will be small packs sitting on the bar, or (more often) a large, communal jar of sugar you can take from.
Un Cornetto, Un Brioche — A Pastry
You may also want to know cioccolato (as seen in “un cornetto cioccolato”, or a cornetto stuffed with chocolate–and chocolate usually means Nutella) and crema (a vanilla cream, similar to pudding, also used as a stuffing).
One Euro is a solid going price for a caffè.
That is speaking very, very generally of course, but it’s a good rule of thumb.
It’s fairly easy to find a caffè for .80-.90 Euro off the beaten path, even in major cities, and also easy to pay 1.2 Euro or more near the biggest tourist attractions in Italy.
… but that assumes you do as the locals do and stand at the bar.
In Italy, it’s typical to drink your coffee standing at the bar, leaning against the marble countertop and using the communal sugar to sweeten it if needed.
If you choose to sit down, expect the price to jump dramatically.
Cash is expected when ordering coffee in Italy.
Some bars accept credit cards for larger transactions, but it’s unlikely that they’ll accept it for a couple Euro worth of coffee–much better to have small bills/coins on hand to pay for it.
You don’t need to tip.
Tipping culture in Italy varies depending on where you are and what you’re doing, but a tip is never expected for coffee at a bar.
Don’t specify the size of your coffee.
You’re not ordering a small, medium, or large caffè–you’re ordering a caffè, and it will come in a designated caffè cup.
The size of your coffee in Italy is generally dictated by the kind of coffee you order, not the amount you would like.
If you’re grabbing a coffee for breakfast, consider picking up a pastry as well.
Italian breakfast consists of coffee and maybe a pastry–especially cornetti, Italy’s answer to croissants, which you’ll most commonly find stuffed with Nutella or cream.
Some bars are also pastry shops that bake their own treats, but most often, a bar will buy a supply of pastries at the beginning of the day, and when they’re gone, they’re gone–come early if you’re picky!
Don’t ask a cappuccino after around 11am when ordering coffee in Italy.
Everything about eating in Italy revolves around digestion–and that includes coffee.
You may have heard before that drinking a cappuccino after breakfast is frowned upon in Italy, and the reason for that is simply that the milk is considered difficult to digest and not suited for having after a meal like lunch or dinner.
This ties into the Italian breakfast ritual above–in Italy, a cappuccino at breakfast is either a large part of a meal or an entire meal unto itself.
Of course, Italians are used to tourists ordering them at all times of day, and will definitely serve you a cappuccino after dinner and most likely never say a thing about it–but if you prefer to do as the Romans do, so to speak, keep this rule in mind when ordering coffee in Italy!
… and definitely don’t ever order a “latte”.
If you’re clearly a tourist, you’ll most likely get a good-natured clarification, but if you’re located off the beaten path or the bartender is feeling particularly sassy, you’re likely to end up with a straight glass of milk!
Coffee “to go” isn’t an option.
Coffee in Italy is intended to be drunk at the counter, and unless you’re in an extremely touristy area, there’s approximately a 0% chance of there even being a to-go cup on the premises.
When ordering coffee in Italy, come with the plan to drink it there (it’s more fun that way, anyway).
Pay attention to how the locals pay for their coffee.
When researching how to order coffee in Italy, you’ll likely come across two theories on how paying for coffee is handled.
The first (and arguably more “official”) advice is that you pay at the cash register first, hand your ticket to the bartender showing your order, and then they make your coffee.
The second theory is that you order and drink your coffee first, and then pay on your way out the door.
We only have our own experience to go on, but after visiting literally hundreds of coffee shops across Italy, we have only ordered coffee the “official” way by paying first maybe 5-10 times, if that, and we haven’t found it particularly common for locals (especially regulars) to pay in advance either–and believe me, we people-watched very carefully after finding out that we were potentially ordering our coffee wrong!
We have found that it is much, much more common to simply order, drink, and then pay–and more often than not, if the coffeeshop isn’t particularly crowded, it’s a bit of a moot point anyway because the person pulling the shot and the person manning the register are frequently one and the same.
Our advice?
If the bar is particularly busy, crowded, or simply bigger than average, hang back for a minute and watch how the locals are handling things–this is when you’ll most likely need to pay in advance.
If the bar is dead or there’s only a couple of other customers, just order politely at the bar and follow the bartender’s lead from there.
If you find a bar you love, keep coming back!
This is one of our favorite features of coffee culture in Italy: even over the course of a week, you can develop a temporary semi-regular status at your bar of choice, get into a comfortable routine of ordering coffee in Italy, and potentially develop a rapport with your bartender(s).
We have spent four months “living” in various cities in Italy (two months in Rome, one in Florence, one in Bologna), and our first goal each time is to find “our” bar(s) near where we are staying so that we can develop a routine and keep returning again and again.
If you order the same thing each time and come by daily, it probably won’t be long until the bartender memorizes your order!
If you don’t love the first bar you go to, try a few more–sometimes it takes a couple of tries to find the right balance of friendliness, cozy vibes, excellent Italian coffee, and pastry selection.
