Etimologie e modi di dire italiani: il caffè

di Ilaria Gelichi

Il caffè. Il rito italiano per eccellenza, sinonimo di Italia insieme alla pizza e alla pasta. Eppure, il nome dell’amatissima bevanda non solo non ha origini italiane, ma neanche indoeuropee. La pianta del caffè infatti è originaria dell’Africa e la forma italiana del vocabolo è un prestito dal turco kahve, il quale a sua volta è un prestito dall’arabo qahwa, che in origine aveva il significato di “vino, bevanda”. Dal continente africano la voce si è diffusa in tutto il mondo, con diversi adattamenti a seconda delle lingue.

Il caffè arrivò in Italia per la prima volta nel XVI secolo e la prima città italiana a farne uso fu Venezia, a causa dei suoi rapporti col Vicino Oriente. Le prime botteghe in cui si vendeva caffè risalgono però al secolo successivo, il XVII, periodo in cui il caffè iniziò a diffondersi anche nel resto d’Europa. E’ proprio in questo secolo che nacquero i famosissimi café e coffeehouse di Parigi e Londra, luogo di incontro di letterati e filosofi.

Oggi esistono tantissime varietà di caffè e gli italiani sono spesso bersaglio di barzellette per via delle loro “manie” sul modo di berlo. Il più noto e più “italiano” è l’espresso, un caffè molto ristretto servito nella tazzina di porcellana; c’è però chi lo preferisce in un bicchierino di vetro e chiede quindi un caffè in vetro. Il caffè Americano è un espresso servito in una tazza più grande, al quale viene aggiunta dell’acqua a temperatura ambiente servita a parte. Non va confuso con il caffè all’americana, che non ha l’espresso alla base della sua preparazione e viene chiamato caffè lungo: si ottiene con la stessa macchina dell’espresso, ma facendo defluire più acqua (è il caffè che troviamo negli Stati Uniti e nel Nord Europa).  Il caffè macchiato è un caffè al quale viene aggiunta una piccola quantità di latte freddo o caldo (macchia); il caffè corretto è un caffè al quale viene aggiunta una piccola quantità di alcolico o superalcolico. Il caffelatte, tipica bevanda che gli italiani consumano a colazione, è composto da caffè espresso e latte, servito in una tazza o in un bicchiere. Il latte macchiato invece è un’alternativa al caffelatte, composto da più latte e crema di latte e meno caffè espresso. Per finire, il cappuccino: questa nota bevanda, di origine tutta italiana, è composta da caffè espresso, latte e latte montato a schiuma. Di solito viene zuccherato e accompagnato da croissant o paste dolci, ma attenzione: gli italiani non lo bevono mai dopo i pasti come il caffè, ma solamente a colazione!

 

Fonte etimologia: L’Etimologico di A. Nocentini, le Monnier Università

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A chat with Vincenzo, barman at Café Damiano in Florence

Vincenzo with some students

 by Louisa Loring

There are already many cafes in this area.  What makes this cafe different from all the others?

First of all, clients are treated as individuals, as if they were in their own home, eating their own dishes.  The food we offer is all made here, as it is at home.  We have made the decision to offer dishes that are rooted in traditional flavors of Italy.  Also, we only have 22 seats so we can give individual attention to each customer. 

Where do these recipes come from? Do they come from your family?

No, rather, to bring back the traditional flavors, we have studied various cooking from different Italian regions and towns such as Tuscany, Lucca.  In fact, we have brought back peasant dishes because they are so rich in traditional flavors.  Our menu ranges from peasant dishes to the most elaborate of Italian cuisine. 

And even though these recipes are traditional, do you like making changes to these dishes to make them more modern or do you prefer to keep the recipes as they are?

This is a wonderful question.  In practice, we are trying to bring back original dishes that our grandmothers made.  Many of those flavors have been changed and modified over the years but we aim to keep tradition alive, especially Tuscan tradition.  The best dishes are those made in the traditional way without changes.  

What is a favorite dish of yours that you make here?

My best dishes are those that come from Lucania, where I am from.  There, we make a lot of homemade pasta like Ferraioli/Frizule ca a' mellica and orecchiette with turnip greens.  

Vincenzo making a personalized cappuccino

Change and innovation are important for customers.  How does this affect your menu? Does it change every season?

Our menu is based on fresh vegetables of the season and so, yes, there are big changes.  We are trying to bring back these flavors that people have forgotten over the years to the new generation because these days, many people haven’t had the luck to have a grandmother or mother who cooks well at home.  Those typical, regional, Italian flavors are by now lost, except for those rare grandmothers who are still cooking in a traditional way today. 

How important is local food for you? Do you try and use local products and ingredients?

We pick all our ingredients with attention.  It is important that the produce and products are regional and if possible, directly from the farms and producers because it secures freshness and the best quality possible.  We specifically look to cook with seasonal vegetables.  In fact, right now, there is pasta with broccoli on the menu.  In the summer, you will find pasta with tomato and mozzarella, but you won’t find what you are eating now because we do not use frozen foods or out of season produce. 

I see here that you have many different types of wine.  Are these wines different from what you would find in another restaurant?

Yes, by creating our own menu and with collaborations, we are able to offer a selection of wines from various regions.  When we prepare a traditional dinner with dishes from a specific region such as Lucca, Puglia or Calabria, we also try to choose wines that will pair well with that type of food.  In Italy, the wine possibilities are endless but the characteristics of a Sicilian wine are different from that of the Veneto region.  If you take a wine from Calabria and pair it with a plate of pasta and tomato sauce, it will not pair well and thus, not taste right.   

My personal cappuccino

In speaking with you, it seems you take joy in offering people a good lunch and that you like being surrounded by people.  Did you decide to open this cafe for this reason?

I love to be with people.  I love everyone! I like chatting and meeting new people.  Everyday I meet new people from all over the world; it is really a cultural exchange.  All my clients are wonderful! Here is one, one who comes often. Why do you come here?

‘I come because everything is made with love here.  The menu is always changing and there are lots of choices.’

And she is not my friend, she is a customer who works next door and comes here often.  Everyone who comes here feels at home.  I involve all my customers in the process and thus, they believe in me and they come back.  This is how you create new friends and learn about other cultures.  Today, I have friends all over that I met here and we still exchange holiday greetings.  Only to say, this is something that makes us different.  I want to create a family and those who come here, Italians or foreigners, feel a part of that family.

Lastly, do you have a piece of advice for someone who wants to open a cafe?

If you are going to open a cafe, it needs to be for pleasure, for vocation, for the desire to be with others, not for the business.


WHERE:
Bar Caffetteria Damiano, Via del Parione 46r, Florence - a few steps from ISTITUTO EUROPEO

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Interview with Vincenzo Damiano, Bar Caffeteria Damiano, Via del Parione, 46r

1. Vincenzo, tell us a little bit about yourself ...

My name is Vincenzo Damiano. I'm 47 years old. My starsign is Sagittarius, I'm a bartender, I do it (my work) with love and hope that everyone who comes here feels at home ... and then if you want to know ... I'm married with two beautiful kids ... Andrea and Maria Claudia.

2. Tell us about your Bar Caffetteria Damiano

This bar was created in 2003. It had already been working so much with the students because in front of the bar was a faculty called Faculty of Education that worked with bargirls aged 17 to 18 years.

3. What did you do (and where) before opening the Bar Caffetteria Damiano?

Before starting the bar I went to school. I studied surveying. I came to Florence and I loved the city. And that's when I started working as a bartender. Since then I can not do without this work; it’s like a drug for me. I can not live without this work.

4. What prompted you to start your own business?

The fact is that I love being with people. I love people; the beautiful ones, ugly ones, fat ones, sad ones, and I try in my small way of being able to put everyone at ease in front of me. After almost 25 years in this field of work, one also becomes a bit of a psychologist.

5. Describe a typical day for you

My typical day ... I get up at 7:30am, I come here to the bar ... it's like playing the fool, I get busy, the game, I am the people, laugh, joke ... and then work at the same time. I especially like when I see people who are a bit sad - I try to cheer them up a bit.

6. What is the best thing about working for yourself?

The fact that no one can say anything ... I do not take orders from anyone, but only for myself. This can be a risk though. In practice if you work for someone else and you lose a customer, you won’t lose your job. Whereas when you work for yourself and lose customers, your business may gradually fail.

7. How has business changed since you started?

This is a good question, this activity is now suffering because of the dramatic falls in circulation in this activity as you feel the crisis in all sectors and throughout the world ... but after 25 years of this work I can still enjoy myself because I sincerely make sure I'm really enjoying this job.

8. What is your favourite thing about Florence?

I like the globalism and tourism in Florence; you can talk with somebody from Russia one day, somebody from China another day, somebody from India, America or England another day. Florence is multiethnic: you can meet people from all over the world here.

9. What is your least favourite thing about Florence?

Hypocrisy. In general I do not like hypocrisy, not only in Florence but throughout the world.

10. What advice would you give to young people (who are hoping to start their own business)?

To believe with all their strength so it will have a high power. I wanted to have my own business and with many sacrifices I made it. I think that nothing is impossible; you can live your dreams if you work hard, though you may have to sacrifice a lot.

11. If someone is visiting Florence for a day, what would you recommend they do / see?

One day in Florence is not enough; Florence is such a unique city. But at least visit the Uffizi.