Ever wonder where the concept of coffee shops came from in the first place? Find out how Italy’s old school coffee shops paved the way for a world wide phenomenon of coffee shops.
The coffee shops that we see spanning over the landscape at large are all inspired by the coffee house central of the world; Italy. The water way city of Venice was the first region to receive the drink through the Venetian trade ships. It took a while for the drink to sink in to the minds and hearts of the Italian people due to reasons other than the drink’s taste. But once the Italians got over the initial buzz they realized this was one of the most unique drinks they have ever had. Soon enough Italian coffee shops dotted the Italian landscape serving the drink in various forms from which most of the coffee drinks in the world have originated.
It was the year 1683 when the foundations for the first ever coffee house were laid down in the city of Venice. The name of the coffee house was simply the name of the drink that they served; caffee or café, because the drink was new and it needed to be presented to the public at large. Hence the name spoke loud and clear about what was going on under the roof. It is here that the coffee culture began to take its roots. The laid back environment, good conversations and tasty bites to eat were all the things that defined the Italian coffee shops.
Old Italian Coffee Shops
Unlike most of the coffee shops that we find today full of over joyous youth and useless bickering the Italian coffee shops in the good old days were the hang out spots for the intellectuals. Chess was the official game of the coffee shops and philosophy, politics and just about anything worth talking about was talked about inside these little huts. The different kinds of coffee drinks scented the place with the sweet aroma of the coffee beans which created an ambiance quite unlike what the Italians were used to at that time. Italian coffee shops in those days were taken as a symbol of class and casual comfort.
The Italian coffee shops had their own ways of making the drink. They used lower quality Robusta beans out of which they made an extremely strong brew. This led to great innovations such as the cappuccino which features coffee with lots of steamed milk and other different flavors of the drink. Italian coffee shops have been inspiring all the little coffee shops you see all around the world ever since the good old days. You will be surprised to know that even the world famous coffee joint Starbucks is inspired by a 1983 Italian coffee shop in Milan. Much of the different coffee drinks on the menu have been taken directly from the menus of the traditional Italian coffee shops.
Today there are many Italian coffee shop wannabes that seek to model their cafes according to the traditional Italian ones. They try and build up a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere that is trademark of the old school Italian coffee houses. This is why today coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages and it is popular in all social classes as well as age groups. In fact Italian style coffee shops have become the ideal hang out spots for the youth of today.
