Talk about your sweet jobs: Conde Nast Traveler freelancer Mark Schatzker is currently traveling around the world and blogging about it. Schatzker picks up on some interesting points. Recent posts have covered everything from the lingering Austro-Hungarian and German influence in Northern Italy to why the smoked fish of Lake Baikal rules.
Schatzker’s take on Italian coffee culture and the much-vaunted rule of never ordering cappucinos after breakfast in Italy is an interesting one. You see, he thinks it’s all about food superstitions:
What we haven’t done is adopt Italian coffee habits. For instance, my guess is that no one you know would think it strange to step out of the office at, say, 3 p.m., and come back with a cappuccino. Or a latte, for that matter. Italians think it very strange. (And they think it’s verging on the insane to adulterate a coffee with honey and cinnamon.) The rule in Italy is don’t order a coffee with milk in it after 12pm. In fact, any coffee with milk drunk after breakfast has been finished arouses at least some suspicion. With Federico one morning, I ordered a cappuccino at 10:30 a.m., and his reaction was, “Ehh, cappuccino?”A day or so later, I addressed the matter with Federico. “What’s wrong with having a little milk in your coffee in the afternoon?” Federico made a sour face and said, “Mark, the milk is not good for the digestion.”
Talk about your sweet jobs: Conde Nast Traveler freelancer Mark Schatzker is currently traveling around the world and blogging about it. Schatzker picks up on some interesting points. Recent posts have covered everything from the lingering Austro-Hungarian and German influence in Northern Italy to why the smoked fish of Lake Baikal rules.
Schatzker’s take on Italian coffee culture and the much-vaunted rule of never ordering cappucinos after breakfast in Italy is an interesting one. You see, he thinks it’s all about food superstitions:
[Photo via 80 Days or Bust/Conde Nast Traveler]
