Prende Caffe?

 

Italians love espresso.  And the art of drawing a precisely great shot from your espresso machine (a shot that has a layer of crema at the top) is considered a legendary experience and one taht must be acknowledged with every shot.  ("Oh, that's a nice shot, look at the crema on that!"), And you must (absolutely) add ample sugar to your tiny espresso cup with a very tiny spoon.  

Teresa and I even add whipped cream to the top of ours, what the heck.

The phrase at our house on the weekend mornings is always, "Prende caffe?", which means would you like coffee?

But making espresso really leads to the bigger question,  "Do you want to hang out with me for a while in the kitchen?"

Which leads to, "Do we want to just make an espresso?" (which means "Do you have10 minutes?") or "Do we want to make mochas?" (which means "Do you have 20 minutes?").


And once the process begins with either an espresso or a mocha, the next question is,
"Do we have any biscotti's in the cupboard?" and then, "Do you want the hazelnut one or the chocolate one?"

And once all that is settled, and whoever wants to hang out in the kitchen, has arrived and the smell of espresso is in the air, the drinks are sipped. 

Next, we have to see what's going on outside the kitchen window and what flowers are new for the day.  If there are new blossoms, that warrants a walk outside to check it out.  [We don't want to talk about the days that ALL the beautiful flowers have been snacked, on by a visiting buck, we call Truman.  He's not welcome and neither is his family, no matter how cute a fawn is to look at.]

If we are having a mocha, which takes longer to make and to drink, we might ask, "is there a good movie on TV tonight?" or "if you are going to the store, what is available for $1 in Red Box?".

So the innocent question of "Prende Caffe" can mean lots of things but most of all it means we are having a good day and getting ready for more things to come.

When Teresa needs an infusion for a bleed, there is usually a promise of a latte from the nearby Starbuck's in the adjacent hospital lobby.  No matter if it's in the morning or afternoon or evening.  After all, espresso also comes in decaf.  We don't skip having a daily espresso, latte or mocha unless there are serious medical situations (like those days in ICU).  It's a priority in any Italian's lifestyle. And we only sneak our lattes into hospital rooms if the nurse agrees.  After all a hot latte right before they take your temperature could lead to some bad conclusions in someone's chart.