Coffee To Stay

I like my coffee to go. So does Krista.

Consuming coffee at work, while starting the workday, has become a ritual for many Americans, and so it is with us. We’ll each order a tall latte and carry it with us to the day’s location. By the time the real work begins, we’re done and probably ready for another.

Not so in the Cinque Terre.


I remember our first visit to the café in Riomaggiore the morning after we’d arrived in January of 2008. There were no “to go” cups, from what we could see, and the complicated nature of the American coffee ordering ritual was lost on our Italian hosts. I’d forgotten to explain that ordering a “caffe” was likely to result in a shot of espresso, and that flavor shots and non-fat whip are non-existent.

Broken Italian and gestured English helped Krista communicate her desire for a double-shot latte to her specifications, and by day three she’d nailed the proper order in Italian. But the biggest adjustment for all of us was to learn to enjoy the coffee in the café, either standing at the bar or seated, and to take our time drinking it. Especially when we had so much work to do and limited daylight hours.

But we learned to relax. We learned to sit. And some of our most productive conversation, planning, and connecting with our local friends took place in that coffee shop.

It also took place over lengthy dinners accompanied by the local wine, but that’s a different subject for another day’s blog.

Start the day with a slooooooooooow coffee. Try it. Sit, read, relax, and nix the to-go cup if you can. See what it does for you. ☺

Sharon