I'm not a espresso connoisseur by any means. None the less, I recently returned from a few weeks in Italy. I didn't bother trying to identify what coffee was being served. or go to any craft places. maybe I did it wrong... I used other means to determine if I'm going to get my espresso from a certain shop.

Because I'm a lowly enthusiast, I don't agree with "don't go where the tourists are". I had a satisfying shots from cafes that I'd otherwise consider to be tourist traps with regards to food offerings and food prices. And also great shots - as well as juice - at some train stations (I.E Monza outside of Milano Centrale). Some for as low as 1.20 euro too! I do generally believe "don't go where the tourists are" can be true for food.

This was how I decided where to go for espresso when I was there:
1) canvas. When sightseeing if there were a bunch of cafes in a small radius I'd visit all of them before deciding.
2) machines. I skipped places without multi group machines. This was the ONLY criteria I used to eliminate based on machines. Having said this, like @Oskuk I was biased if I found a shop with a lever (only saw these in the south).
3) Grinders. Mazzers seemed to be the standard, but not always. I skipped places that seemed like they had a budget grinder.
4) baristas. maybe the most important. While canvassing the cafe, I watched the barista to gauge how confident they seemed. Not be an ageist, but I had more worse shots from younger baristas than older baristas (those who seemed 50+ years older). That's not to say my best shot was from an older barista. I just found them to be more consistent.
5) volume. I tended to steer away from smaller cafes that didn't have as much volume. Not always. But all else being equal this was the tie breaker.

Depending on how many cafes are in a given area; it may not be feasible to decide this way. Also, i prioritized sight seeing and didn't "schedule" coffee breaks. I indulged in them when the mood struck. IMO good espresso was easy to find.


Are you going to the sorrentine penisula? It sounds like you were mostly doing big cities. A lot of the beautiful sights on the penisula are only accessible by car or boat. That said if you like ceramics and pottery, you may want to consider a day trip from
Napoli to Vietri sul Mare. Vietri sul Mare Is one of the few places on the penisula accessible by train.

My family was tired and we missed this town in our itinerary. I wish we hadn't. There are some incredible ceramic factories there, probably among the best in the world. I wish I had brought a carry on suitcase filled with styrofoam pellets just for this town. Moving around the penisula I wa surprised at how much variation there was in the ceramics sold. From what I could discern, Vietri seemed like the Mecca. I also wish I had scheduled a ceramics class for us when there. I digress.

Hope you have a blast!