In almost any language, "espresso" means "Italy". In recent years, the growing popularity of the espresso culture in western society has brought about a flow of visitors to Italy – simply to drink espresso at its source. Italy deserves its espresso reputation. Italians not only invented and developed the first espresso machines; not only turned espresso into a gourmet drink; but also developed the espresso-bar culture.

Espresso became the symbol of Italian society after WW2. The first espresso machine were actually developed earlier, and began to establish the benchmark for Italian coffee: water temperature of between 88 – 92 degrees Celsius; machine steam pressure set at 9 bars; ground coffee weighing between 6.7 and 7.3 grams; flow time of between 20 – 25 seconds and water volume of no more than 30 ccs per cup of espresso.

Earlier, the Italians had already become artists at blending various coffees, roasting the beans and grinding them correctly. In Italy, being a "barista" is an honored career. Baristas have developed a range of coffee and milk beverages, where the milk serves to dilute the coffee concentration by varying degrees. The selection of gourmet coffee drinks was the "missing link" in creating the Italian coffee-bar culture.

Although the various regions of Italy have varying methods and degrees of roasting coffee, one thing is common to almost all Italians, especially city dwellers: Not a day goes by when your typical Italian does not drop in to one of the thousands of espresso bars throughout the country.

Standing at the long bar with its glass counters displaying various bakery items and tramizzini sandwiches or classic ciabatta, our typical Italian will order coffee, usually drink it standing up, sometimes grabbing a sandwich too. Then, within a few minutes, he's gone, back to the daily routine.