I
have a secret that I am shy to admit and it is this: I now like
espresso more than American coffee. I know, I need to have my
American citizenship taken away from me. My father has already said
that I am not American anymore. How did this happen you might ask?
I have been religiously drinking (flavored) American coffee out of
my high tech Braun coffee maker since moving here almost four years
ago. My in-laws were nice enough to buy it for me for my birthday
the first year I moved here because I was panicking without a way to
make my favorite coffee. And then my parents and my best friend
started sending me my favorite coffee flavors so I could continue to
enjoy a tradition of drinking coffee that I have been practicing all
my life. Then one day, I guess it was about a few months ago now, I
finally admitted to myself that I like espresso more than American
coffee. American coffee now tastes weak to me.
A
good strong espresso with a touch of hot milk now seems 'normal'.
I have a cappuccino in the morning (espresso with a bit more milk and
lots of 'froth'), a 'macchiato' after lunch (an espresso with just a
small amount of warm milk) and now sometimes after dinner, I will have a 'caffé
normale' (regular espresso without milk, and a little bit of sugar).
I read somewhere that Italians believe that espresso 'closes' the
stomach after a meal. And I believe that too now. After I have
had my espresso, I feel like I am done eating...like I can turn the
eating machine off and just relax. This comes in handy
when I am dieting and trying to avoid dessert...I will just order an
espresso. Of course if we are out in a group, I will order my
espresso after everyone else has finished their dessert because
Italians, if you recall, do not think you should drink your coffee
WITH your dessert. I think this has something to do with the
'closing of the stomach' belief for how can you close your stomach
while you are simultaneously shoving food down it?
After
awhile, things start to come together and make sense or maybe it's
just me? Am I slowly becoming Italian...one espresso at a time?
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