The Italian Culture of Coffee - Conversation, Family and Love

Enjoying a cup of Lavazza espresso with my family --made with my new Philips Saeco Espresso Machine

What is it about espresso and Italian families?  The one food element in an Italian family that often brings us together and gives us a sense of comfort at family dinners, occasions and most events.   Since I was little, growing up in our Italian household --I always thought coffee was normal where even kids could drink it.  I remember my father even putting a little bit of coffee in my bottle as a baby. Granted I may have been a hyper baby, but ask any Italian and they say they put a little coffee in the latte.    As I got older,  you realize that having a cup of espresso is really a lifestyle.  There is style, etiquette and a lot of emotion that goes into espresso.  Often when we would visit my family in Italy over the summers, I remember my Uncle Franky taking such pride in boiling the espresso, waiting, stirring the sugar and then serving it right away so it wouldn't lose it's savory taste or heat.    Not only did making espresso at home become such an important element in our family, but it also signified a time for family to gather, talk,  digest and really slow down to enjoy the moment.  You think -- 'Really does espresso do all that? I say, yes... if you go to Italy and someone invites you for an espresso,  you better accept!  If you deny someones invitation for an espresso at home or at an espresso bar you're basically saying 'I don't want to invest in that slow down or in conversation or time with you.' -(Yes --That is the translation--no, not really literally but Italians can get dramatic..)  I laugh as I write this, because to someone who doesn't know or understand the Italian culture you could say, wow Italians take their espresso as serious business.  I confirm that! 

Recently, I received a Philips Saeco Syntia Espresso Machine along with Lavazza coffee beans from the awesome teams at both companies.   I have to be honest with you,  I've never made espresso in a machine like this, espresso was always made in the old school pot called a 'bialetti.' The only time you would see an espresso machine would be if I went to an Italian coffee bar.  

My first time experience with making the espresso in this machine was beyond any appliance experience, the machine is so easy to use, it tells you exactly what to do, what you need and it respects the process of making espresso so much, that you end up respecting the machine.. it sounds silly, but I honestly want to spend a lot of time now really perfecting and make variations on my espresso.  

I was unsure how I was going to make the espresso,  let's be honest, when I make espresso I'm usually in company-- and by company I mean by my loud, overly involved family. So I wanted to wait when I knew I could share my espresso first time experience with my family.  I'm not kidding.   In setting the machine up I had my mother and father in on it too, my mother really loved looking at all the intricate details of the machine and was so impressed with the taste and 'crema' of the espresso. 

The quality and taste of the espresso was beyond my expectations and my family's.  Let's be honest as Italians we are very critical of food and especially the holy espresso. My sister, Maria was so in love with her cup that she asked if she could take my espresso machine home with her.. of which I said no, but she can come over when she wants.  My brother Santo, wanted to try the cappuccino variation and asked me "Marg, what do we need, what kind of milk should we go buy so it comes out perfect?" I mean this Philips Saeco espresso machine turned my family into a competitive bunch of baristas -- of which I have to laugh.. my family is a sit-com in itself.   So, I had to fight everyone off not to take my machine home with them, now they're begging to use it or for example my brother is moving into a new home soon and gently hinted "you know Marg, that would make a nice house-warming gift.."  I told him .."Sure Santo..." --yeah right.. you're not touching my machine." 

So what turned out to be a first time experience using my Philips Saeco Espresso Machine, turned into a night of conversation, family and lottttssss of love.  I love my new machine, the coffee beans from Lavazza were also as my mother says, "speciale"-- the brand Lavazza is something we grew up using our whole lives, so when I told my family I have Lavazza beans to use in the machine, they all immediately nodded with approval, because any Italian knows and uses Lavazza coffee.   Lavazza is also history to me -it's a familiar staple in the Italian family.  Overall, if you're going to invest in a way of etiquette for espresso making the Philips Saeco 'Espresso Perfetto' machine will fulfill your needs and supersede your expectations.  Grazie a Philips Saeco e Lavazza! 

To learn more about the Philips Saeco machine visit:

http://www.saeco.philips.com/

To learn more about Lavazza:

http://www.lavazza.com

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Espresso Is The Breakfast Of Champions In Italy.

I can remember from an early age, my mother and father putting a little bit of coffee into my milk with my breakfast. When I would go to Italy and sleep over at my cousin's house my aunt would prepare a bowl of latte with a splash of coffee in it that went along nicely with my breakfast biscotti. Most people and especially here in the USA, no doctor would say to do that for the fear your child would be bouncing off the walls. Not to mention the American diet is filled with sugar and tons of other toxic ingredients and this is probably the biggest reason why a doctor would say that today.

Drinking coffee is really like a staple ingredient in the Italian diet, they drink it sporadically all throughout the day and can visit "the bar", not the alcohol bar but coffee bar located at every corner usually in Italy. I think coffee gets such a bad rap here, but really the consistencies are different. Here we drink large cups of coffee with tons of either milk or half and half. There you drink literally a shot of espresso with some sugar and that's it. What's better? I think the small shot of espresso, rather than a cup of fat and sugar.

Coffee has become like a family member in my parent's house. My father has a fit if the coffee runs out at night and then he's panicked that there is no coffee for the morning. Or if the coffee pot breaks he's literally heart broken. He made the transition to regular cafe Americano years ago and now is a proud supporter of Maxwell House. But, give him a shot of espresso and his eyes light up. Its safe to say yes, coffee may be addictive but scientifically the benefits of coffee are really quite good. I'm no doctor, but Italian research has indicated that the antioxidants present in coffee help arteries and the heart. But I would also say, coffee in moderation is good. I believe in the Italian diet because their way of eating consists of moderation and not overkill of one ingredient. We could learn a lot by the way the Italian eat.

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