We all like it a bit differently - coffee that is! part 1

Jetlag is receding. I'm thankful for that! Naturally coffee has played a part in this transition time, helping me stay up as late as I can to adjust as quickly as possible. I ran across an assessment of some Europeans, plus a few other groups as to how they enjoy their coffee. Having only been in Poland, Switzerland, Italy and Spain this trip, I can only evaluate from my perspective on those four countries. But first, the info I found on another site:

The Italians drink their espresso with sugar, the Germans and Swiss - with equal parts of hot chocolate, the Mexicans - with cinnamon, the Belgians - with chocolate. Moroccans drink their coffee with peppercorns, the Ethiopians - with a pinch of salt. Coffee drinkers in the Middle East usually add cardamom and spices. Whipped cream is the favourite amongst Austrians. The Egyptians are extremely fond of pure and strong coffee. They seldom add sugar to it, nor milk nor cream. They serve unsweetened coffee to mourners and sweetened coffee at weddings. The Italians are the unrivaled World Masters of Espresso. 

For this post I'll write only about Italy. I enjoyed both espresso and cappuccino while there. I will never challenge the concept of the Italians as World Master of Espresso! I did have mine with sugar but did not enjoy it as much as some others. That does not speak to the quality of espresso but rather the fact that I prefer my coffee with a bit of milk or cream. The cappuccino was delightful but as usual for me it was a bit weak - too much milk! Oh, the trials of a coffee snob! (That's me!) They do win hands down on the cold coffee treat!! OMG! The scoopable frozen coffee (but not ice cream) with whipped cream was absolutely awesome!! They called it a 'granita' but it isn't very similar to what we call granitas. Ours are more liquid, sweeter and come out of a special machine. Not these and I'll take these any day! Rome won the gelato contest and Rome again wins for cold coffee treat. Both of those places were around the Pantheon square. If you want specifics, let me know.

More next time on the other countries. :)