The One Drink Faux Pas That Gives Tourists Away Instantly When Dining In Italy, According To Rick Steves

Italians have been appreciating coffee for almost 500 years, invented ingenious apparatuses for brewing it, and concocted some of the most quintessential ways of enjoying the beverage. So, when dining in Italy, treat time-honored coffee customs as passionately as you would the vaunted Aperitivo hour.

But it's not just about avoiding coffee drinking taboos that instantly give tourists away, such as the "simple faux pas" of "ordering cappuccino with your pasta," says Rick Steves on his website. Just as a proper espresso (which in Italy is simply "caffè") requires a patient, practiced pull, immersing yourself in the essence of Italian coffee traditions is a great way to savor the country's colorful and complex emotional connection with cuisine and community.

According to food sociologist Fabio Parasecoli, Italians identify so passionately with local produce and ingredients that for them, food is a dynamic symbol of nationalism, and rules on how they are prepared and relished are fervently revered. Soon after coffee arrived from Egypt, it historically held court in coffee houses like Italy's oldest café, the Art Nouveau-draped Caffè Florian in Venice, driving the discourse of intellectuals and artists like Goethe, Lord Byron, and Casanova. Post-World War II, it began to represent rebirth and reconstruction, evolving into a simple luxury that people from all walks of life can treat themselves to. 

Today, "il balsamo del cuore e dello spirito" ("the balm of the heart and spirit," as master composer and native son Verdi once quipped), it's an essential and aromatic indulgence, whether a wake-up call, a quick break during the daily (or nightly!) hustle, a moment of post-meal lingering, or spontaneous socializing.

Coffee is so steeped in the Italian soul that it has its own crucial etiquette secrets, as shared by Rick Steves, and other quirks that American tourists need to know before setting foot into an Italian bar (a universe apart from 2025's top five coffee destinations in America). First, a bar in Italy is what the rest of the world knows as a cafè, and asking for a caffè here gets you an espresso — the default brew so ubiquitous it also goes by "normale." 

This is the neighborhood haven for breakfast, the cornerstone of every street where you'd grab a cornetto (an Italian croissant) and yes, a cappuccino. This milk-heavy (one-third espresso, one-third milk, one-third foam) drink harkens to the days when laborers fueled up for hard work with the carb-centric combination of an ambrosial pastry and a beverage with perk-me-up power. But this same lactose intensity is also why Italians frown upon cappuccinos past 11 a.m., as it's believed to impede indigestion and rattle the metabolic systems.

Also, the cappuccino, or any coffee concoctions served across the Boot, aren't constructed to flavorfully complement the tomatoey, grainy, herbaceous, saucy, at times spicy or fried dishes that make up Italian meals and street food. Instead, choose a wine of the region you're in, or even the house wine, one of the most hyperlocal experiences you can have. If you've not succumbed to a tourist trap, you'll be recommended an elixir of quality — terroir pride won't allow any less. Pair pizza with beer, and for non-alcoholic options, sparkling water delightfully cleanses the palate over long, lingering lunches, and guess what? It facilitates digestion the way a cappuccino can't!