Cappuccino is a morning coffee

A guide to Italian coffee etiquette.

You don't need to go to the developing world to experience strange customs. Just try ordering a coffee in Italy. The first time I ordered a cappuccino in a cafe attached to Milan's main railway station the waiter looked at me like he'd just caught me snogging a nun.

It was a look that mixed disgust and alarm with a dash of disbelieving incomprehension. My Italian was limited, so at first I thought that he had misheard me. I repeated my order slowly and enunciated more clearly. I didn't think it was possible, but he looked even more disgusted.

The Italian businessman standing next to me at the marble counter took pity on me and explained my mistake.

'It is after 10am,' he said. 'In Italy, you cannot order a coffee with so much milk after 10am. This is not done.'

Apparently the Italians regard cappuccino as a morning coffee. Drunk any later in the day and it complicates digestion. I was quickly learning that in Italy drinking coffee was more complicated than I had realised. The simple act of getting a shot of caffeine is invested with all kinds of rituals laden with hidden meanings and consequences. I asked my new friend to guide me through the minefield and asked first what I should order instead.

'You can have a macchiato,' he said. 'It is an espresso with only a stain of milk. This is acceptable at any time.'

Otherwise I could do what the Italians do and order an espresso and drink it like a shot.

I asked if there was anything else I should know and the businessman nodded his head solemnly.

If I wanted to pay what the locals paid, he said, I should follow their lead and drink it at the counter. If I sat at a table I would be charged three times the price.

If I wanted to be served I should pay the cashier first and present the ticket to the barista.

In the morning most Italians eat a pastry with their coffee. These are kept in silver trays on the counter and covered with glass lids. A doughnut is called a bombelone and a croissant is a cornetto.

Different cities and towns have their own specialty coffee drink. He was originally from Livorno where they drink ponce, an espresso served in a glass cup mixed with sugar and rum and presented with a piece of lemon peel floating in it.

The lesson ended and my friend downed the rest of his espresso like a shot of whiskey. In one fluid movement he slammed it on the counter and turned on his heel to leave with a cheery 'Ciao!'

Armed with the knowledge he gave me, I could order a coffee and stand at the marble counter like a local. Soaking up the atmosphere, admiring the gilded coffee machines and the bustle and brio of Italian cafes I gained an insight into the Italian soul that I might otherwise have missed.

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