Pasadena vs. Parma Coffee Culture

Ordering a cappuccino at Peet’s in Pasadena:
Step 1: -Good morning
-Good morning, what can I get you?
Step 2: -A cappuccino please
Step 3: -What size?
-Medium
Step 4: -What type of milk?
-Whole
Step 5: -For here or to go?
-To go please
Step 6: -That will be $3.30
-(Hand over credit card)
-Debit or credit?
-Debit please
-Please enter your pin
Step 7: -Do you need your parking ticket validated?
-No, thanks.
Step 8: -Your name?
-Emily (mind you that my friend Claudia and I went to Peet’s at least twice a week for 4 years and they still didn’t know my name or anticipate my order, though I will admit that I didn't always get the same thing.)
-Thanks Emily. They will call your name.

Ordering a cappuccino at our favorite little neighborhood bar in Parma, Bar Gnocla:


































Step 1: -Ciao Luisa!
-Ciao ragazzi!
-Come stai?
-Bene, grazie, e voi?
-Molto bene
Step 2: -Due cappucci? (Cappuccio, literally meaning “hood” (or the plural "cappucci"), is how a cappuccino, or “little hood,” is often called in Parma.)
-Si, grazie
Step 3: -Vi porto al tavolo. (I'll bring it to you at the table.)

Step 4: Instead of paying when you order, if you are going to have it at a table rather than having it at the bar, it is common to pay when you leave. A cappuccino costs $1.40 and I haven’t seen anyone paying with a card, but rather with euro coins.




















While paying we usually chat with Luisa the bar owner and her employees about what we are going to do for the day or they teach us some Italian and we teach them some English. Because the ordering is so simple, it frees up time to chat about other things.
















Italian perceptions of American coffee:
While ordering coffee at various places including our bar we have also been chatting about the differences between American coffee and Italian coffee. A couple of the observations I have heard are “Americans drink a liter of coffee!” or “Americans drink coffee like it is mineral water. This can’t be good for you!” When a professor in Modena recently took me to coffee, when he asked me what I wanted and I said “un caffe macchiato,” his response was “brava.” I think he thought I would be ordering a caffe Americano (which I will admit I do sometimes order in the States). I doubt I will order that back at home again though. Now I think it would seem enormous. Before I didn't usually order something small like a caffe macchiato because I was sad when it was gone so fast, and I liked to have something to sip on while working or talking with a friend, but now I appreciate a simple espresso or macchiato much more. It is nice to have something small and strong with a great taste, which leaves you wanting more rather than wishing you hadn't had so much. Here is a picture of two caffe macchiati, which we like to have in the late afternoon. They cost 1 euro even each, or the same as a normal caffe (espresso), and it is nice to be able to just give a simple coin at the bar.