I feel almost obliged to answer as regards my small experience of habitual consumers of coffee in bars in Italy.
Stereotypes often create confusion. It is incorrect to say that all the bars in Italy brew coffee in the same uniform way.
Being born in Trieste i can testify that in this city there's a good average quality of coffee, with some peaks of excellence.
However, traveling in Italy round around I drank trash coffee or even terrible , but sometimes also excellent.
In all cases, the professionalism and passion of the barista is the most important part of the process.
It is true that the espresso, being a product of wide consumption in Italy, has become almost a standard, leaving little room for creativity of the barista.
I currently live in a small town of 6000 inhabitants ; in the old downtown of medieval origin,are coexisting 9 bar and a dozen of other places equipped with espresso machines.
How many of these can make a good espresso? Maybe 2 ..
Yet in the remaining bar there are always full of people who continue to order "un caffè".
This certainly can not stimulate the bartender to make a better product.

I was in Florence last summer and tried to visit as many different coffee bars as I could handle. I appreciated the quick service but must admit I was disappointed by the quality. None of them used fresh coffee and the steam wand was dirty almost without exception. Comparing it to back home I would say that none were as bad as the poor performers here. At the same time none of my cups were really good. The espresso in Italy was very much of the same quality independent of coffee bar, I would say mediocre.

My expectations were definitely too high.

Most of the coffee I had in Rome tasted stale. However, other than the coffee being stale, everything else was great about the cafes. Just wished they used fresher beans. At least, that's my experience.

Abe found a few places in Rome he liked, so did I. Like anywhere, you need to choose carefully.

Visit to Rome and Its Espresso Bars

I also fully recommend San Eustachio near the Pantheon. I have a couple of coffees there every time I visit, which by chance, will be Saturday

You can also buy their greens if you are so inclined.

Was in Rome recently. Sant Eustachio is a gimmick. Tazza D'Oro was rubbish. Had one decent, what I would call a "good" espresso during the 4/5 days I was there. Was an Illy in a little neighbourhood cafe.

Technically there were plenty of decent looking extractions, but there was a running theme of bitter, robusta-y / aged Asian coffee tasting shots, that just are not my thing.

Flip side of the coin

a while ago I was "escorting" a friend/owner of an Italian espresso manufacturer
in an big US coffee show
for 3 days every single espresso he drank
He though they where all from undrinkable to very bad


taste buds?????

Stefano has hit the target!
the habit of certain flavors makes people unable to appreciate the diversity.

when I went to London the first time, the first beer I drank was a shock: it had the same name (beer) but it was totally different from the Italian beer.
After tasting a few (several liters) I began to appreciate it.

roastaroma wrote:
The thing that surprised me is that Italians generally seem as unaware of the necessity of coffee freshness (& what that really means) as Americans. Italians buy a lot of pre-ground, vacuum-packed, for home use, and their whole beans aren't much fresher. Roast dates on the bags are almost unheard of -- it's "sell by" or "use by" dates, just like in the markets here.

I've always found it very interesting how bean freshness/packaging is treated over in Italy, especially given the presence of companies such as Illy (and their "Coffee University") and all of the research done into the chemistry of coffee by them. I think that most Italian cafe's attention to detail in the brewing process can make up for many of the "wrongs" with the quality of the beans you typically encounter. I have to say the best espresso I had over there was in the north (Trieste and the surrounding area), which were an order of magnitude better than what I ran across in the south. (which was still better than 90%+ of what is available in the states) But then again, I also found that for many of the things Italy is known for (especially food, and don't get me started on the mediocrity of pizza there) one can very often find it better someplace else, albeit with a little searching. But any country that can produce an automobile such as Alfa Romeo gets a whole lot of room to err in my book.

Ciao again,

I just got back from a glorious vacation in Italia, this time visiting both north & south (Lake Como, then the Aeolian Islands). I sampled espressi & cappuccini from every sort of venue: train station, airport, & ferryboat to cafes & restaurants, with the usual varied results, all hovering on the "high average" side, not extraordinary. I did not make a point of seeking out Italy's few "advanced" coffeehouses -- but I got a better sense of how Italians regard their everyday cuppa java and how they make it. What surprised me was that often the barista showed little interest in the machinery -- in fact when the machine's name was not prominent on the casing, they often could not even identify the make, let alone the model! From my casual observations, the high-end commercial machine of choice appears to be La Cimbali -- the fancy programmable automatics, never semi-autos. Outside of Florence, it is rare to see a La Marzocco -- perhaps they're just too pricey.

One surprise this time: one of the better shots I had was at my favorite restaurant in Varenna at Lake Como. The chef, a genius in the kitchen, gave me a tour and proudly showed me his new Francis Francis 2-group and the Illy iperEspresso capsules for it. Like it or not, the trend in Italy is towards greater speed and convenience -- and at least some superautos are capable of meeting that demand for an easy, palatable, crowd-pleasing espresso. When I mentioned that I make espresso at home with a lever, I sensed that this was both impressive & slightly puzzling to the natives, like saying that I prefer to write in longhand with a fountain pen.

Anyway, I enjoyed the trip immensely and would have gladly stayed for the rest of my life!