Ok, dumb question... I'm not a fan of straight Latte/Cappucino/Espresso, will I be able to find a sweetened and/or skim milk version of a coffee drink at ye olde neighborhood cafe when I'm in Italy? What Italian specialties will I find, and what should I try/ask for?

If you order a latte in Italy, you'll get a glass of milk. That's what latte means.

And generally speaking, Italians don't drink those sickly sweet caloric frappy things we consider to be coffee drinks here in the USA. You'll probably have to just load your coffee up with extra sugar. If you want skim milk, order latte scremato.

What other interesting drinks are available at cafes? Are there any drinks native to Italy that I should try when I'm there?

limoncello....lol

Get up on the wrong side of the bed today StCirq?

Amaretto, Campari, Acetto, sirropi in countless flavors. And you might want to try a caffé alla valdostano for a bit of a kick.

What are Acetto and caffe valdostano? The others I've heard of and tried before.

I could be wrong, but I predict that once you're in Italy, and once you taste the coffee drinks there, you won't have any more questions.

Seriously: coffee in Italy is a whole 'nother ball game. Coffee in the USA -- even the best -- is equivalent to hamburgers in Italy. They don't know from burgers, we don't know from coffee.


Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy....

Caffe Corretto is a fave of ours. Espresso with a shot of grappa.

If I remember correctly, grappa is an.... 'acquired' taste. Any recommendations for something that might be a bit more palatable?

Espresso.
Cappuccino.
Caffe con latte.

Those <i>are</i> their specialties!

Add sugar if you need it, but I guarantee: you won't.

Caffe latte...Cafe con leche is Spanish, Lucie Italians don't have &quot;con&quot; preposition.

Thanks, kenderina. I am really bad. I constantly confuse Spanish &amp; Italian. Oy. (Hey, at least I said latte, not leche, right?!)

Right !! Don't worry, in some things both are similar and it's easy to make a mistake

I know you don't say con with caff&eacute; latte, but con is most definitely an Italian preposition!

Yes, sorry, I've made a mistake I looked for it on a dictionary and I couldn't find it but now I have looked to another one and yes, it exists in italian too Thanks, stCirq !

Well, given that it means &quot;with,&quot; as in Spanish, the language would be hard put to exist without (senza) it!

Cafe macchiato--an espresso with a dollop of steamed-milk foam, served in an espresso cup--is pretty good.

By the way, as I remember, Italians usually drink cappucino in the morning. Of course, it is available in the afternoon also, if you'd like.

I would suggest that you also try hot chocolate. I had a great one in Milan. I just don't drink too much of it because of the calories. But it was so good, so rich, almost like a chocolate bar melted into a liquid.

Wonderful hot chocolate in Florence at Rivoire. Sweeten up a cappucino anywhere in Italy and you'll be hooked.