Professional cooks, however, still today use saucers to test for salt for example in hot soups, as this is a very effective and quick way to cool down hot liquids. It did not take long, however, for this custom to be considered inelegant, or even offensive, and it soon fell into disuse. How? It was poured on it to be drunk from the saucer itself. In those days, the saucer was used to cool coffee. If coffee cups appeared in Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries, saucers arrived much later, only during the 18th century, and immediately took over, so much so that they became the protagonists of a custom that today, we would think we were dealing with a madman.
Today we know coffee cups as an integral part of a set that also includes a metal or, for more frugal occasions, plastic spoon, and a saucer, almost always matching the cup in both color and material composition. However, this was not always the case. Decorated in most cases with a variety of motifs, from geometric to floral and landscape, they were the ones who welcomed coffee to our tables when it arrived in Europe during the 17th century.Ĭoffee cups and the strange way to use them The spread of the coffee cup in Europe seems to date back to the Middle Ages, more precisely to the time of the Crusades, when armies of subjects of the Pope and the Christian religion went to Islamic lands to fight against the ' infidels'.Īccording to the most attested historiographical sources, in fact, tableware services in majolica or porcelain already in the 15th and 16th centuries included the beloved coffee cups, with a narrower bottom than the upper part, with or without a lid, but all without a handle. The Arabica variety is one of the main components of the coffee we all enjoy on our tables today. Arabia, or in any case the world beyond the Mediterranean Sea and the natural borders of Turkey and the Caspian Sea, always comes up when talking about coffee. The Italian word for cup, ‘la tazza’, seems to have its origin in the Arabic ' tassah', an ancient traditional glass in the Middle Eastern world in which drinks were customarily served. But where did the cup come from? Who was its inventor and what etymology lies behind its name?
#Espresso cups full
Although coffee can also be served in a glass, the porcelain cup seems to be the ideal key to serving a drink to its full potential, as the intrinsic characteristics of the material allow it to retain heat for longer, thus helping to enhance the taste of the coffee itself as fully as possible. Here we will deal with the instrument, the vector, through which this " black ambrosia" touches the lips and tickles the palate of everyone every morning, every evening and (why not) for some even every night.įor centuries, the cup has been the perfect container for coffee, far more suitable than a simple table glass, a delicate goblet or a small glass inlaid with the most varied motifs. Two of the most pregnant sides of Naples, poetry, and coffee, find the perfect amalgam to support another character that has enduringly belonged to the people of Campania: charm and the ability to exalt beauty in all its forms.Īt the centre of the notes, amidst deep voices and vibrating strings, always her, the dish and drink that resides in the hearts of enthusiasts and simple consumers around the world, but above all on the Italian peninsula: coffee. In these short verses, now engraved in the singing history of the Belpaese, the beauty and uniqueness of a woman are told through a metaphor with an intense and decisive flavour: a cup of coffee. These are the words of one of the great composers of Neapolitan music, one of the most distinctive and ancient sounds of the entire Italian panorama, whose main exponents include celebrities such as the late Roberto Murolo and Pino Daniele, as well as present-day stars such as Nino D'Angelo and Gigi D'Alessio.
Underneath you hide the sugar and on top, instead, you are bitter, Roberto Murolo, A Tazza 'E Café). (But with these manners, oh Bridget, you look like a cup of coffee. “Ma cu sti mode, oje Bríggeta/ Tazza 'e café parite/ Sotto tenite 'o zzuccaro,/ E 'ncoppa, amara site.”