Italian Coffee & Coffee Culture

In 2022 I travelled to Italy for the amazing Milan Coffee Festival.

I soon learned that Italians in the coffee industry think we are a little nuts down in Australia. When they found out I was from Melbourne a common reaction was “Melbourne, wow, they take coffee seriously in Melbourne.” They think we are nuts here, but they definitely have great respect Melbourne’s coffee culture.

The coffee culture in Italy is so different to what we experience in Australia. Coffee is just simple in Italy. It’s not a luxury. It’s not over-complicated. It’s not pretentious. It’s just something you do. And most Italians do it 3-4 times per day. It’s part of life.

I really enjoyed joining in and doing coffee in the Italian way. The stand up espresso bars are just so good. They are so quick and so relaxed. It’s so nice to sip a thick, gloopy Italian espresso as you stand there and watch the world whiz by.

The experience reminded me of just how much I enjoy dark roasts. When I got back to Melbourne I decided to push my beans (typically a medium roast) a little darker. Some customers liked the change and some didn’t. We all have different taste buds and we all like different flavours in our coffees, so I decided to add more bean options, and started offering different types of Coffee Beans including a dark roasted Italian-style bean.

My Italian trip was so great. I learned so much. Thanks to my many amazing customers for supporting my business and for allowing me to live my coffee dream every day.