Order Coffee in ITALIAN Like Pro: DON'T DO THIS

[@Tavoshel]

"agua con gas" is used in Spanish, that's why people try to copy this into Italian

[@magyarbondi]

Well, it definitely gives you gases. 😅

[@jecko980]

Lol my german cousin says that too

[@Dredfullart]

Same for portuguese. Either "água com gás " or "água gaseificada". Some people also say "água das pedras" but that's a brand name. (Meaning water from the rocks)

[@noamto]

Gracias!

[@oliv3iraDan]

​@@Dredfullartágua das pedras?!? Aonde?

[@VictorAnsem]

13:39 I am Italian and have been almost everywhere around the country. Fun story: one day I was in Torino, Northern Italy. I went to a bar and asked for a cornetto. The barwoman was a little angry about it for some reason and said "You mean a croissant", pronouncing it the French way. Never happened again anywhere else. Makes me laugh even 8 years later.

[@johnnada1917]

We have the same regional differences in Greece too.😂

[@ilgufo1146]

In Piemonte, considerando la sua vicinanza alla Francia, non è strano trovare queste piccole eccentricità

[@hhh6400]

In Milan they would have thought you asked for green beans😂 they use the word "brioche". It happened to me, I'm from Rome and I call it "cornetto"

[@ROMANTIKILLER2]

Being upset for saying "cornetto" seems to be excessive, but being original from the Torino area, I have always called it and heard it called croissant.

[@PC_Simo]

@@ROMANTIKILLER2 Her being upset about it makes me think she was a French immigrant 😅.

[@guilhermeteixeira7095]

6:45 I'm Brazilian and in Portuguese we say "água com gás" and I also think that in Spanish they also say something like "agua con gas", so maybe people who say that in Italian are foreigners who speak Portuguese and/or Spanish and assume that it is said the same way in Italian just because it is a quite similar romance language.

[@QuirkyQuillify]

Travelling in Italy at the moment. As an Asian person, Italians automatically speak Ennglish to me. So I had few occasions to practice my admittedly poor Italian. Yesterday when I ordered "due caffe", the barman replied "espresso?" He wanted to make sure I didn't order the wrong item 😂

[@sahej6939]

Is due a double shot?

[@QuirkyQuillify]

@@sahej6939 I believe a double shot is called caffe doppia. Due caffe means two cups of coffee (espresso). 😊

[@massimilianoish]

If you had been italian, he would have not asked. By the way...Due caffè means two cups, double shot is caffè doppio.

[@onniecroci7102]

Sometimes when you order a coffee, the barman may ask you "liscia o gas" about kind of water that you prefer a side of your coffee (a glass-shot of water, aside your coffee, usually drink after the pastries/croissant and before your coffee). Common experience here in Bologna. I'm Italian but I really enjoy the way you speak English, the accent, the manners and how clearly you explain each language and culture issues, even Italian. Thank you

[@2dimitropolis370]

As a Serb, I drink a lot of italian coffee, but in Serbia, if someone sees you standing and drinking cofee at the bar, they would think you are crazy... Or someone died so you are in such a hurry😂😂😂 Greetings for our neighbors ❤

[@Zz_Mike-Hawk_zZ]

Greetings 🇮🇹🇷🇸

[@Mortablunt]

Kosovo LMAO. Metohija LOL! KLA>Srp NATO 1999

[@yome7580]

Haha Italy is not your neighbor

[@lellab.8179]

"Un caffè corto" can also be "un caffè ristretto". I've never used "corto" and most of the people I hear call it "ristretto" ("Un ristretto, per favore"). I live in the north of Italy, by the way, so that might be the reason. Oh, and I am the odd one that always says: "Mi fa' un caffè, per favore?" and I mostly use "per cortesia" instead of "per favore". 😂 By the way: "per cortesia" is another way of saying "per favore" or "per piacere", but I think that, nowadays, is the least used one.

[@patavinity1262]

The 'acqua con gas' thing must be as a result of foreigners learning Spanish ('agua con gas' being the normal way to refer to sparkling water in that language) and assuming it must be something similar in Italian. If I had to guess, I think these are probably mostly American tourists saying that as Spanish is the only foreign language the majority of Americans have some familiarity with.

[@livedandletdie]

The problem is, In Spanish they don't use as many diminutive terms for stuff in the first place, Italian has a lot of diminutive terms for a lot of things. So that's probably why foreigners who learn Spanish have that problem.

[@barnard-baca]

Non è vero. In Messico noi abbiamo moltissime forme parlate. “Un cafecito” ad ess. In Italia, comè in Spagna, Portogallo e altre paesi, “ un café ES un café”, Saluti, auguri a voi…

[@patavinity1262]

@@livedandletdie Actually, diminutives are very commonly used in Spanish.

[@patavinity1262]

@@barnard-baca In Spain too, it's completely normal to say 'un cafecito'.

[@brendanward2991]

3:25 - In English _to double down_ does not mean the same thing as _to double_ .

[@Fitzrovialitter]

Your fact has gone over everyone's blinkered head.

[@manuelramospetruchena4620]

Every single time I get to explain countable vs uncountable, I end up in a lecture about a mug a coffee and a cup of coffee. Just because of intensity. Excellent video Metatron! It's funny because in Argentina, many of the Italian expressions (when I translate them to "Argentinean"), they don't sound polite. And the tips you're giving to an English speaker, also work here in a way. I won't get tired of saying it. We Argentineans speak Italian in Spanish. However that works. But I found it amazing how much of Italian sounds familiar. Great video!

[@Lusitani74]

Funny in Portugal you literally ask for "Água com gás" ....as for coffee it's pretty much the same with a few twists.

[@Gricky]

The fact that this content is free should be illegal. Great stuff!

[@SweetBananaDigital]

I’ve visited Trieste several times in the past 10 years, to the city of Trieste itself and to Opicina. One of the first times I visited, we were coming into a restaurant from the rain and I was very cold. I asked the waiter for a hot tea, just thinking that I wanted something hot that could come out quickly. The waiter looked at me like I was crazy and refused. My friend told me that, in Italy, hot beverages aren’t consumed *with* a meal, only during breakfast or after a meal, like a dessert.

[@xamela1]

Great video! Foreigners including myself are probably borrowing 'Acqua con gas' from Spanish into Italian. That is how it is said in many Spanish speaking countries but totally makes sense that it wouldn't necessarily exist in Italian.

[@chrisingersoll2364]

You have done it again 👏 I get coffee in Italy every day, and still I learn from the Metatron.

[@s_wong]

My Italian mother (born in Calabria) drinks cappuccino at whatever time of day she likes. So it would seem there are exceptions. 😉

[@shalottsmirror]

I always order cappuccino in the afternoon if I want a hot drink, expecially in winter. I'm from the north though. But I never saw an italian drinking it during lunch or dinner, that really screams "tourist" 😅

[@morgar88]

I'm hungry and I want to visit Italy now! You're starting to convince me to learn Italian. I've been watching more videos in Italian and I understand the majority, so why not learn to speak it too? In (European) Spanish, "agua con gas" sounds normal, so maybe those foreigners were Spanish?

[@yannsalmon2988]

Apart from the language used and a few specificities, this is exactly how it works too here in France. You could literally translate the Italian expressions into French and 90% of this video will be applicable in France. We also have the distinction between the coffee at the counter or at a table. There’s no price difference unless the table is set outside and maybe not even then. Note that people generally take the coffee at the counter if they are coming alone. If they are with friends, depending on how much time they expect to stay chatting or how familiar they are with the barista, they’ll generally get a table for more comfort. In little restaurants where you come for lunchtime on workdays, you will also often see people taking their after lunch coffee at the counter rather than at their table, because it’s a nice way to spend the time while waiting for your turn to pay your meal, as you often pay at the counter in those kind of restaurants. Regarding filtered coffee, it’s a little more common in France though mainly made at home, but it’s much stronger and shorter than American coffee. We do have things like Starbucks in all major cities, and it seems much more common in France than in Italy. There’s no tipping in France, unless you really had a wonderful time at the place and you really want to show your appreciation. If you do tip, there are no rules, you give whatever you think the experience was worth. Don’t forget that in France, service is always included by law in the price, so it’s not like the basic earnings of the waiter depends on your generosity, tipping is just a nice unnecessary gesture. Tips in France are almost always cash, credit card payment systems don’t have this option. If you pay the meal by credit card but want to leave a tip in cash for the waiter, it’s a separate operation, you usually leave your tip on the table for the waiter to take. You’ll often be presented with the note on a little plate, leave your card on it to pay for the meal, then the waiter will give you the plate back with the credit card receipt on top of the note. If you want to leave a cash tip, that’s when you do it, you take your receipt then put the tip on the plate, ideally hidden under the note if you don’t need it (it’s a cultural thing, tips are supposed to be discreet, something only between you and the waiter). If you have no cash but really want to leave a tip, just explain it to the cashier before you pay so he/she can take it into account. It’s overboard to explicitly tip just for a simple coffee, but it’s not uncommon to say « keep the change » when paying for it. Never ever talk loud or brag about tipping, it’s very rude. Kinda disappointed that in Italy too the croissant is the usual breakfast snack that comes with ordering a café in a bar… I was kinda expecting a more Italian pastry. The thing maybe missing from this video, because I’m not sure if it’s also an Italian habit (I would be surprised if it’s not), you’ll often see people inviting friends, coworkers or even just people you just met but start to have a conversation with to get a coffee. It’s very common in France to go in a bar (or more precisely a « Café ») and paying for someone else’s coffee just to have a friendly chat (coffee just being a pretext to hang out together). Note that it’s also customary for you to be the one who treats the next time you are with the person who invited you.

[@jal051]

In english the word invite doesn't imply paying. There's so many americans inviting people to do something who get shoked when they are expected to pay... 😅

[@freakyfishy1]

I was literally about to write the same.

[@massimilianoish]

In Italy, if you invite me, you pay. It would be considered rude any different behaviour

[@massimilianoish]

P.S. italian cornetto is different from french croissant, at least in center Italy, where I come from

[@yannsalmon2988]

@@massimilianoish Yes, I discovered that later. No eggs in the recipe of croissants. The origin of both Italian Cornetto and French Croissant is the same though. I haven’t had the opportunity to taste an Italian cornetto so I don’t know yet how much the taste is different.

[@grawman67]

This is such a helpful video. Watching your content really reignites my desire to learn Italian and Latin again! I'd love to see similar instructional style videos for Italian or other languages. Keep up the great work!

[@aris1956]

These things are often said on some Italian cuisine channels from America or other parts of the world. And then one thing that is never missing, is the story about the Cappuccino. There is always someone who says that Cappuccino should only be taken at certain times of the day and then not anymore !

[@francaisavecrodrigue]

"agua con gaz" come from Spanish is the reason why they say that because usually foreigner learn Spanish before italian and portuguese and try to say something with the help of Spanish and it becomes "acqua con gaz"

[@edspace.]

Just shows how engaging this video is, I stayed to the end even though I do not like coffee.

[@crnel]

7:00 When I was in Spain - At least in the Basque country, they'd say "gaseosa" (Perhaps a brand name?) - for "agua con gas, etc.

[@aris1956]

3:00 “Il pasticciere“ (the pastry chef) is a figure that actually you don't normally find in bars. If it's a bar and pastry shop together (Bar / Pasticceria), then things are a bit different.

[@JP-vj7fp]

Not a linguistic thing, but a cultural thing worth noting. When you order a coffee or whatever in Italy, in many bars first you order at the till and you get a ticket. Then you give this ticket to the barista and he makes your coffee.

[@PandaHernandez23]

In the UK a cornetto is a waffle ice cream cone, sorry to Italians.

[@xneapolisx]

That's because the ice cream cone's name, "cornetto", is Italian. In Italy, cornetto can refer to the pastry, the ice cream a musical instrument, or an amulet against the "evil eye" (in Naples anyway, lol). Cornetto is the diminutive form of corno (horn), not to be confused with "cornuto." 😂

[@PandaHernandez23]

Thanks for the info, as an ambassador of the UK I would like to retract my unnecessary apology! @@xneapolisx

[@xneapolisx]

​@@PandaHernandez23retraction accepted. No need for messy diplomatic rows. Arrivederci...🤘 😅

[@faithlesshound5621]

When the Walls Cornetto was introduced to the UK in 1981, the advertisement on commercial television had a singing gondolier, which must have led many to think that was what the word meant in Italian. "Just one Cornetto, Give it to me, Delicious ice cream, Of Ital- ee." (To the tune of "O sole mio.")

[@PandaHernandez23]

Remember the Gino Ginelli adverts?@@faithlesshound5621

[@LockMacFly]

In Milano there was a restaurant where I couldn't pay not by debit card nor cash. Only credit cards, luckily one of my friends had one. 😅

[@dougjardine8545]

Double up: -- to perform two roles Double down: -- to place a second bet on a losing hand i.e. to insist upon a position which has already been shown as untenable. In Rome, we used to say "ristretto" for "corto".

[@rogeriopenna9014]

What's the reason espresso is the standard coffee in Italy? I heard it is because it was very expensive and it was the way to get more coffee flavor from the least amount of coffee. In the us, their solution was to drink watered coffee. In Brazil, being the largest coffee producer since 1830 and at times producing over 60% of all coffee in the world (today it's only 30%) that was never required. People just used more coffee in the dripper.

[@JimStream939]

Very fine guide for ordering a coffee and paying, well done, Met.🎉 However, it could have contained several more useful Italian phrases in the context. For example, how do you say "Enjoy your coffee!" 😊

[@oleksandrbyelyenko435]

Basically sounds the same as in Spanish

[@riccardob9026]

This is true everywhere, but in Trieste 😀 where they have their own nomenclature. For example, un caffè becomes "un nero," which can be "un nero in b" if you want it in a glass (bicchiere); if you ask for a cappuccino (that you can shorten to "capo" or "capo in b" if you want it in a glass) you get what the rest of Italy calls "caffè macchiato;" if you want a cappuccino you must ask for a caffellatte... To be honest, if you ask for a cappuccino and the waiter is smart and guesses that you are not from Trieste, you can be asked "in tazza grande o piccola?" (in a large or small cup?) Large cup="normal" cappuccino, small cap=caffè macchiato

[@glaucofavot9904]

I think usually in the south of Italy people are more willing to socialize, however, in the north, it depends on if you live in a small town or a big city, if you are going to work or it's a weekend, and so on. Thanks for the video. A domani !

[@Leftyotism]

Un aqua pervavore! No gas per favore!

[@ossoduro7794]

Make caffè sospeso great again!

[@hglundahl]

11:48 I take it, "buongiorno", like" bonjour", covers both "good morning" and "good day"?

[@HighLight43]

The "acqua con gas" thing probably comes from Spain. In Spanish, we call it "agua con gas". In Catalan, "Aigua amb gas"

[@aris1956]

It often happens that in the world Italian things are confused with Spanish. For example a very common thing that happens, many want to say “thank you” in Italian, but instead of saying it in Italian (Grazie), they say it in Spanish.

[@baeber]

I'm grateful for another Italian video thank you

[@romanostuder996]

Ciao, love your channel! Can you pls elaborate on plant based lattes in Italy. What are the known alternative products in Italy; soy, almond milk, oats milk etc. Do baristas know the differences. Do you still get the "I don't know what planet you are on..."? For context, according to a resent article in Melbourne's "The Age" close to 30% of all coffee latte are now plant based milk. Grazie!

[@szveszs]

In brazil we say "Água gaseificada" or simple, yeah, "Água com Gás".

[@luke211286]

Sometimes when I get tired of saying buongiorno or buonasera, I switch it up with "salve". A choice to sound cool but not being informal to a stranger. I love Italian bars. It's the entry level way of practicing one's Italian

[@patchy642]

Isle of Tenerife, Spain, Africa. Another great video, well done! But. . . Would I be right in guessing that you never read the comments left on your previous video? I had mentioned there that your English is amazing, and that almost the only mistake you made was saying "double down" instead of "double up", as I notice you've made the same very light mistake here. As I said then, it's almost irrelevant, just that "double up" has positive connotations, making "double down" sound a bit weird here, as if they were doing something despite the wishes of others. Please keep making such amazing videos, and I'm hoping you'll soon do one on Frisian, a language I hope to learn. As for this video, it's very interesting how similar your points are to what I've noticed about coffee in Spanish here in Spain, except for one thing you've not mentioned, so maybe it doesn't exist in Italian or in English, as it's something that most English-speakers here never get the hang of, but those who do are always then chuffed with how easier it makes things. When it's time to pay after having a coffee or whatever at the bar in Spain, 90% of Spaniards simply say "cóbrame"; very short and sweet, neither rude nor overly formal. I can't find a succinct translation to English, but it means something like "please be so kind as to come and take the money I need to pay you in order to continue with my life, as I'll need to leave here some time today". I wonder if Italian has a similar one-word way of doing this. Best wishes, Patchy.

[@michaelgreico9630]

Could you make a video about places to visit on the Amalfi Coast?

[@lasagnasux4934]

Your description of the culture at an Italian coffee shop sounds very much like a small town diner in America.

[@FrancescoRossi-q4s]

Interesting and useful. Re Starbucks, there are 3 in Milan - Cordusio, Centrale and Garibaldi - but they also serve Italian style coffee - ci mancherebbe - alongside their usual range. Going further afield, how can Italians order Italian-style coffees in Spain? "Café solo" can be very similar to an Italian coffee, or very different depending on the café and the quality of the coffee used. "Café cortado" is similar to Italian "caffè macchiato" and "café con leche" can be very similar to an Italian "cappuccino" if they froth the milk. Perhaps not the very best Italian cappuccino, but similar to what is served in many ordinary Italian bars. "Cappuccino" in Spain is usually the American version, with whipped cream or something similar on top. UPDATE: Yesterday, I spent an enjoyable day in Milan, after a long absence due to Covid, etc. I live close to Milan, so we drove to the nearest station of the Green metro line 2. The first thing I noticed was that the trains now have a continuous corridor (aisle) linking all the carriages. We first went to Van Gogh exhibition at the Milan Museum of Cultures, had our midday meal at at Florentine restaurant, where we also talked about coffee in Italy and Spain with two Andalusian ladies, who were store buyers in Milan for the Fashion Week. They agreed that in Spain many bars spoil their "cappuccinos" by adding cream, which is not the Italian way. They said they preferred cappuccino as served in Italy and I told them about my experiences in Catalonia, where many cafés serve a "café con leche" very similar to an Italian cappuccino. My son-in-law, who, as a genuine Italian, is a connoisseur of food and drinks, commented that, in his opinion, this was due to the different kinds of coffee sold in Italy and Spain and to the roasting ("torrefazione"). Following this "inter-Latin" discussion on coffee, we decided to take our after dinner coffee at STARBUCKS and we went to the one near Garibaldi station, as it is near the Metro line we used. My son in law tried the "Americano" coffee, while I had a decaf "macchiato", which is a small black coffee with some frothed milk on top, which was exactly the same as in an Italian "bar". Starbucks also serves all the other kinds of Italian-style coffee discussed here. They also serve their full range of American style coffee and pastries and my daughter said that I should have tried the "Latte with pumpkin spice", which is apparently their star offering ("Enjoy it topped with whipped cream and real pumpkin-pie spices. 390 calories, 50g sugar, 14g fat). The Italian translation would be "caffelatte con spezie di zucca", a suitable morning drink for Cinderella! My general impression is that the Italian customers go there as they would to an "ethnic restaurant" and try the American food as they would in a Chinese or a Sushi restaurant. Also, the serving arrangements are rather different and similar to those of a self-service restaurant. The only personal touch is that they ask your name so that you can pick up your order at the end of the line, whereas in an Italian "bar" you interact with the person who makes the coffee. We gave them the name Ermenegildo. A last note on Milan. We are "provincials" and my son-in-law asked me if I thought Milan was more or less green than when I used to work there, starting in the 1970s. I said I thought it was more "green", as there are now more trees and little gardens in streets which where before there was no green at all. Apologies for my long message, but I wanted to get a few thoughts "on paper", while they are still fresh in my mind.

[@tathyholmanzi]

In Brazil its also "água com gás"

[@alfreire72]

You gotta come to Portugal and taste our coffee ;) And we say, for example "Bom dia. Um café por favor" :)

[@c0mpu73rguy]

Oh yes! I don’t know if it’s because some of us asked you to teach us Italian but that’s exactly what I had in mind when writing my comment in the last video. Thank you very much ^^

[@arceyes]

Thoroughly enjoyed this video. I worked as a waiter and a barman at an Italian Club in my teens. I don’t speak Italian but I understand all these terms 😂

[@aris1956]

In Italy or outside Italy ? Normally working in an Italian club in Italy you also learn a little of the local language.

[@arceyes]

@@aris1956 In Cape Town, South Africa

[@martin1966]

the reason “gas” is mentioned in other languages is because sparkling water is “water with CO2”, which is considered to be a gas in chemistry.

[@eleftheriaithanatos1162]

In Portuguese we call sparkling water "água com gás", which literally translates to Italian as "acqua con gas".

[@josephturner7569]

I'll tell you about coffee. Milan station. Go for a coffee. Queue up and pay. Get reciept. Go across the room to present said receipt to staff making coffee. Notice tasty pastries, think, one of those would be nice. Go back across room. Queue up. Pay for a pastry. Present receipt to staff. Find table. Sit down. Find coffee is now cold. Repeat.

[@dawsontheology]

In Rome, acqua liscia is rather standard in a restaurant. Also, post-COVID, everyone takes a card for everything. Even for a cappuccino! And without complaining.

[@petelobl]

Don Quixote - man he was a good tipper!

[@victxbr]

In Brazil we call Sparkle Water Água com Gás

[@faithlesshound5621]

So asking for a cappuccino in the afternoon is as much of a faux pas in Italy as asking for porridge or kippers at dinner in England?

[@fabiovalentinuzzi5589]

Yeah exactly

[@ilgufo1146]

But if you are in Italy, and it's afternoon and you want a cappuccino, feel free to drink it. "When in Rome, do as the romans do" is not always a good thing ;)

[@gandirf01]

"Aqua con gas" è un - "amico falso" (faux ami), che viene dallo spagnolo, le persone lo confundano con lo spagnolo, "agua con gas" significa aqua gassosa....tanti saluti dalla Germania e molte grazie per i famosi, fantastici video...

[@marcaustin]

very interesting video. tks brother

[@tapioperala3010]

Oh, I love this video!

[@chabis]

I was told to use "Vorrei pagare (per favore)". It works in Ticino but I don't know if that is what the natives say. It may be more for restaurants where you have to call the waiter and don't go to the bar to pay. There "Il conto per favore" might be the way to go.

[@arx3516]

It's just two ways to say tye same thing. Vorrei pagare = I'd like to pay; Il conto oer favore = The check please.

[@jal051]

Agua con gas is how it's called in spanish, so I guess that's it. I think café americano is supposed to mimic the café made in the dripping coffe maker american homes and workplaces use, not the one Americans have in bars. Before the pandemic in Spain most places wouldn't take a card payment below 10€, but now everything is paid with card. Everything. Even a single café. I haven't visited an ATM in over a year.

[@nicolasinvernizzi6140]

"Agua con gas" is actually how its said in some spanish speaking places. it wouldnt surprise me if that is the reason why some tourist could mix it up.

[@tp230]

People may say "acqua con gas" as a calque from Spanish "agua con gas". More people in the world study Spanish than Italian and they tend to imagine that they can get buy in Italy speaking broken Spanish. Case in point, my (French) mother who always say "acqua con gas" or even "agua con gas" every time she's in Italy...

[@noamto]

What about ristretto? Would that be the same as a "proper" corto?

[@Simemento]

It is. Just less common

[@SpiderboyN2Jesus]

In my experience in the US, I've never been forced to give a tip, it's just really quite rude not to. It's not required, but your waiter will only get a pittance for the work they did waiting your table, but it's not technically required. No one will call the cops on you or try and prevent you from leaving, or anything 😅.

[@DelijeSerbia]

@Metatron's Academy Do Italians ever make a strong black coffee, like we do in Serbia, or Greece, Turkey etc? Can you order that in Italy or would I just get Americana?

[@Epsilonsama]

Good to know that ordering coffee in Spanish is almost the same as Italian. Also good to know about how you guys call Café con Leche in Italian cause that's usually my breakfast. Also feel bad for Americans here cause they used to the brown water they call coffee. But yes black coffee in most places around the world its served in a small cup and it's definitely much stronger. And don't ask for a double serving. Regardless if you in Italy, Cuba or Puerto Rico don't do that. Although in Puerto Rico at least you might find the coffee flavored water that you drink from a big plastic cup if you go to an American business like a Walmart or Walgreens.

[@dknapp64]

In Brazilian portuguese, they say "agua com gas".

[@ellenripley4837]

Genuine question, if I order Macchiato after lunch would I get stares? Lol 😅😂

[@peterbereczki4147]

I heard if you drink your coffe at the counter there is no service fee like if you sit down at a table.

[@yannsalmon2988]

I don’t know if it’s the same in Italy, but here in France it used to be but not really anymore, the price is usually the same. Some places may still have that, but not a lot. Normally you’ll see a card with all the basic prices of a Café stuck to the door or the window, and the older ones still have two columns, one for « salle »(table in the room) and one for « au comptoir »(at the counter). But nowadays they both give the same price, they are remnants of a time when effectively there was kind of a social separation between the blue collar poorer class at the counter and middle to high class sitting at tables to take their drink. What is still now being done though is making you pay more for sitting at the « terrasse », the tables outside in front of the Café/Bar… which is kinda OK when it’s at the seaside or a nice place with view on a park or a fountain, but definitely not when it’s just two small tables crammed on the sidewalk of an heavy traffic street.

[@yannsalmon2988]

Note also that many small bars/cafés were often run by one single person. You ordered at the counter (or just yell your order to the barman from across the room) and then the tenant would bring the drinks to your table (or you went directly to the counter to pick them up yourself).

[@fabricio-agrippa-zarate]

How do I use the word "salve"? I use it with my friends I practice Italian with, but none of us is native speaker, so I've no idea how exactly to use such word.

[@hhh6400]

"Salve" is a generic and hasty greeting, is not very common, usually not used in formal greetings and not among friends. For example you could use it when you meet someone a little older than you(not a formal occasion) and you don't know if is more appropriate to speak in second or third person to the other person(dare del "tu" o dare del "lei"). Personally I think is more appropriate to use "buongiorno"/"buonasera".

[@BakerVS]

Regarding the formality of ciao and buongiorno, where does 'salve' fit ? To me it sounds slightly less formal than buongiorno, but more formal than ciao. Is that right?

[@fabiovalentinuzzi5589]

That's exactly how it is, "salve" is like a Passepartout, you can use it at any hour and with everyone. PS It's not true that you cannot use "Buongiorno" if you already know the barman. If you say "buongiorno Giovanni" it's perfectly ok. I would say actually it's the best thing to say when you see someone for the first time that day. The biggest no go to me is to say "ciao" when it's not appropriate, like when you talk to someone older than you. PPS if you want to be halfway between formal and informal (eg if the barman is 20 yo and you're also 20) you can say "ciao buongiorno" 🤣

[@Plan73]

It's normal to say "buongiorno" if you enter a workplace where you know everyone.

[@BakerVS]

@@fabiovalentinuzzi5589 I reckon it's because buongiorno means both 'good morning' and 'Hello/good day/good afternoon'. When first seeing someone that day, buongiorno is like 'good morning', neither formal or informal. After that, it becomes a formal greeting. Am I correct?

[@fabiovalentinuzzi5589]

@@BakerVS you're 100% correct. I say Buongiorno even to my wife when we wake up :) to sum it up, I would say that early in the morning "Buongiorno" works best and it's neither formal nor informal. Later in the day, buongiorno is more formal. "buonasera" is just formal. In the afternoon you could use "salve" instead of buongiorno/buonasera, it's slightly less formal. Use "ciao" mainly when you part, if you know the other person or if you're both young. Otherwise say "arrivederci" for bye.

[@wurstkocher842]

It would be amazing if you did make videos in italian

[@aris1956]

I bet that then many people will say… but I don't understand anything. Obviously you can put subtitles, but following a video by reading the subtitles is a bit difficult. For me being Italian it would be fine.

[@CrispyCircuits]

As you mentioned about using small denominations, in Mexico, the ATMs happily spit out $500 peso bills. And you can't use them anywhere but for big purchases or in big stores. So always break those down into smaller bills. Credit cards have so much of a history of fraud, you can't use those hardly at all, except at chain stores. Don't bring USD at all. Change just enough into pesos to pay your visa fee in pesos. Huge savings. When you get to Mexico, go to an ATM and pull out pesos right away. Very interesting about the cappuccino. Good to know. How much do people negotiate prices in Italy? Is that a big thing or not? Americans don't tend to negotiate prices very much anymore. Except at pawn shops and garage sales.

[@andreasarnoalthofsobottka2928]

Queria una cervezita.

[@LNVACVAC]

An italian in Brazil asking for coffee would be faced with an answer "Which one?" or simply be served the cheapest most awful dripper option unless he's at a luxury cafeteria. Either you ask for an espresso or you won't get an espresso. And Brazilian espresso is similar to American ones. You are actually getting a very very diluted lungo.

[@OHHnoYOUdidntMAN]

You just made me realized where the English usage of Cafeteria comes from

[@Dredfullart]

That's very strange to me as a portuguese to hear since in Portugal it's almost the same as in Italy 😂 Thanks for the warning 👍

[@LNVACVAC]

@@Dredfullart Cafeterias are High Middle Class businesses in Brazil. Usually most people have coffee in the street at bakeries not caffeterias, or have then from street vendors from thermos. Most clients just want cheap caffeine with sugar. The average person will never drink an espresso, not even know it exists. In cities with 1.5 Million people you will find only 4 cafeterias serving good espresso, and maybe 20 serving borderline bad espresso being veeeeery optimistic.

[@Dredfullart]

@@LNVACVAC Well in portugal we also have our coffee at bakeries or bar/cafés. Cafeterias aren't really a thing for the most part. But the normal coffee is "espresso". Unless you order a specific type of coffee you'll get an "espresso"

[@LNVACVAC]

@@Dredfullart Café = Cafeteria. Our bar is for alcohol. And our bakeries are basically small grocery stores which happen to serve coffee, bread and fried snacks.

[@szveszs]

The "cornetto" in Italy I called "the telephone" as for me "brioche" is other thing, and cornetto for me it's the "gelato nel cono" as in Brazil it's a brand... And the girl almost died laughing after I called the corneto "telefono", but now she knows, they need to change the name I think lol. Normally when I'm not there to drink and eat something I get lost most of times and call just for a "croissant".

[@rogerfoster1201]

Between 20 and 25 years ago I had to regularly visit Milan in Northern Italy, where one of the local financial institutions had a computer system that I used to maintain. I used to find that when it came to lunchtime my Italian workmates would invariably ask me if I wanted to have water "natural" or "with gas". Most of the Italians I worked with had a reasonable working knowledge of English and some were virtually fluent ... having watched this video I can only assume that they mistranslated "Acqua Gassata" into English as "With Gas". Maybe tourists who ask for "Acqua Con Gas" are merely mistranslating the original mistranslation? Personally the term "with gas" always made it sound like I would suffer from extreme flatulence and I would always ask for "Acqua Frizzante" which is what it used to say on the bottles!! Here in England I would normally ask for "Sparkling Water" (if in a bottle) or "Soda Water" (if served from a pump in a pub). Another couple of points. At the end of lunch there would invariably be a discussion about what type of coffee people wanted to finish off the meal. I did ask for a Cappuccino once and was told I was being very strange as it was a bit late!! (nowadays if I try to explain the Italian "cappuccino rules" to people here I tell them that it's seen as a "breakfast drink" and that asking for one at lunchtime is a bit like asking for a bowl of cornflakes mid-afternoon in England). In the end, if I wanted a long coffee, similar in style to what I might expect in Britain, I would ask for "Un Americano con Latte Freddo" and end up with something very similar to a "filter coffee with milk". If I wanted a large "espresso" I would ask for "Un Cafe Doppio". And if one of my Italian workmates just wanted an "espresso" they would usually say "normale".

[@fabiana.4640]

En Argentina decimos agua con gas 😂😂😂. Aunque lo mas común es decir soda. En otro video decías que en Italia no se pide un espresso. Que siempre se pide un caffè. No hacen distinción entre un café de Volturno y uno de máquina?

[@fixer1140]

Lo que aprendí en italiano es que si simplesmente pedís un café, lo primero que todo el mundo piensa es en un espresso.

[@fabiana.4640]

@@fixer1140 sí... aquí también, aunque a veces uno pregunta si es de máquina o de filtro. Observa que en el video en una parte están sirviendo un café de filtro.

[@rudigerk]

Haha Didn't knew Italians are also so much into Sparkling Water, i thought that was a german Thing.😂 Aqua con Gas might be our fault, because that's a common way to express it in german "Wasser mit Gas".

[@quietcat]

this is good to know if I ever go to Italy, because I got burnt once in Germany. I ordered water, thinking "I'm getting some nice mineral water", and got an expensive bottle of, to me undrinkable, sparkling water.

[@chiaradascenzo4130]

Ahahah but if you are in piedmont and torino we just say "croissant"

[@hglundahl]

6:26 gaSata vs gaZata / friTSante vs friDZante - what regions?

[@zondar3086]

"agua con gas": well, that's Spanish, my friend 🙂

[@AlexFeldstein]

"Acqua con gas" comes from Spanish: "agua con gas" which is common to say in Latin America. Being from those parts that would be my first inclination, but early on in my Italian journeys I learned how to properly order caffé and acqua

[@quietcat]

In Portugal it is also called "água com gás".

[@JB-gw8ee]

Agua con gas is what my Chilean girlfriend says but in Spanish of course

[@AstralHealthGuy]

Is salve more formal than buon giorno ?

[@Plan73]

No, it's in between formal and informal. So, not so formal but still pretty polite if you don't know the person. You use it when you arrive, when you go away the classic "arrivederci".

[@AstralHealthGuy]

@@Plan73 thank you

[@vms77]

min 6:45 "agua con gas" is the most common way to say it in spanish...

[@johnnada1917]

Φέτα or feta actually also means slice in Greek!👍❤

[@aris1956]

In Italian, however, it is with two Ts (fetta).

[@johnnada1917]

@@aris1956 Cool thanks for sharing.🙏

[@aris1956]

@@johnnada1917 In Italy instead if we say "feta" (with one T), we indicate that famous Greek cheese. 😊 In Italian with consonants you always have to be careful. If we write a single consonant in a word, it can mean one thing, if we write a double consonant it can mean totally another thing.

[@johnnada1917]

@@aris1956 Actually makes it clearer in a sense... Really interested in learning Italian in a proper way! This is helpful to me... Grazie mille!!!👍

[@massimilianoish]

Yes, double t. But not everywhere: my wife is from Sardegna and, as many sardi, she doesn't have some problems in distinguishing double t

[@tomhalla426]

I sorta think agua con gas is Spanish for sparkling water. Confusing Spanish and Italian is easy for Americans who suck equally in both languages.

[@Leftyotism]

4:14 But why would drinking a cappuccino be difficult? Digestion?

[@Leftyotism]

When I was a kid we often went to Italy for vacation, but I was too young to really learn the language. But I can still count to ten!

[@johncooke8173]

Pay before or after ordering? That’s a video in itself. Takes me a couple of times when I visit Italy to notice its a division of labour only because in UK it’s at the time of ordering.

[@Plan73]

It depends, in the touristic bars (or airport/station bars) usually you pay before, because it's easy to track the clients flux and nobody run away after the coffee :D In a normal neighborhood bar you pay after.

[@johncooke8173]

@@Plan73but not always😂

[@Plan73]

@@johncooke8173 Yes, but usually there is some sign near the cashier :)

[@johncooke8173]

@@Plan73I know, it’s me not Italy and l love it

[@yannsalmon2988]

In France, they usually bring you the note with your drink but you pay when you want by putting the money on it, and they will take it and give you your change back whenever they notice that you paid. Some places may ask you explicitly to pay immediately but that’s considered a little rude. That doesn’t apply when the place is very crowded and you order and pick your drinks directly at the counter, you have to pay immediately because it’s almost impossible to keep track otherwise.

[@sandman5211]

Order an espresso and you may get a train or an old fashioned telegram or a weekly magazine....

[@robertjanssens4381]

ahahahahah specially if someone is near a station....ahahahah

[@BakerVS]

For the cappuccino, would Italians make an exception to the general rule on cold days? For example in the middle of the afternoon (not right after a meal), on a coffee break, and it's snowing outside. Would any Italian have a cappuccino to warm up, or would they still have an espresso (or even a hot chocolate?)

[@fabiovalentinuzzi5589]

Only if you're like in a pastry shop in winter, but a hot chocolate is way more common. The biggest no go, however, is cappuccino right after a meal. It's better to have a cappuccino at 5pm alone rather than a cappuccino at 1pm after a plate of spaghetti.

[@lellab.8179]

I am Italian and I have cappuccino in the afternoon all the time. Nobody has ever told me anything or even looked at me in a strange way. I live in the north, in a city. I don't know if in other places is different. But please, NEVER AFTER A MEAL! 😁

[@Epsilonsama]

I imagine it be like drinking Cafe con Leche in Spanish speaking countries after lunch. That being said me personally if I'm eating a sandwich I order my Cafe con Leche regardless of the hour. 😂

[@ilgufo1146]

When it's cold outside, drinking hot chocolate is not uncommon if you are not in a rush. If you need to just do a quick break, coffee is always better for the average italian. But as someone said before me: when in Italy, do as you like. If you want a cappuccino in the evening, order it and enjoy it without any issues.

[@hhh6400]

I worked in a bar for a year(not a tourist bar), in winter is common among people to order cappuccino, even in the middle of the night (the bar was always open), and never thought it was wierd, it is an hot beverage and it helps when is cold outside. On the other hand it is almost impossible to see an italian order cappuccino during or after a meal

[@karliikaiser3800]

When I was in Italy in 2018 I always asked: Posso pagare? Can I pay? If I wanted to pay, it seemed ok to everyone

[@jamesdulany2176]

Sorry if this is a culturally insensitive question, but I have to ask this: My dad loves coffee, but he loves it in the traditional American way instead of an espresso. How would he order an American-style coffee in Italy? We're going in a month.

[@faithlesshound5621]

Another video said not to ask for a "latte" unless you want a glass of milk. They don't use the Starbucks code.

[@fabiovalentinuzzi5589]

Where are you staying? In bigger cities there are some "American style" bakeries where you can get that kind of coffee. Just do some research. Otherwise in a normal Italian bar if you ask for a "long coffee" you get just a long espresso, and if you ask for an "americano" you get a drink 😅

[@brawndothethirstmutilator9848]

Go to McDonalds. They will have his expected cup of Joe (of the McDonalds quality of course lol).

[@fabiovalentinuzzi5589]

​​​@@brawndothethirstmutilator9848 no they won't. Mc Donald's in Italy have gone a long way in presenting themselves as close as possible to the Italian taste. They don't sell American breakfast.

[@BakerVS]

What do you mean by American style coffee? If you mean drip filter coffee, that'll be hard. Coffee from a moka (stove top coffee maker) is closer to American coffee than an espresso in a bar, and a traditional Neopolitan coffee maker (where you have to turn it upside down to let the water drip through) will be very similar. The trouble is that both are only really used in the home, and the Neapolitan device is also pretty rare these days. Otherwise, if you mean milky coffee, a latte macchiato is tasty. Just don't order a 'latte', since that just means milk. Otherwise, try giving espresso a chance! It's strong, but it grows on you, and really is part of the culture!

[@673AWSF]

Just give me a black coffee. No nothing in it. No cream, no sugar. Just goddamn coffee.

[@TheCreedEvolution]

aqcua con gas is said in spanish

[@Mode-Selektor]

Would a McDonalds be a good place to get an American style coffee? I noticed there were a lot in Italy, so maybe that's just an easier find.

[@fabiovalentinuzzi5589]

Nope. At Mc Cafe they have all Italian things, like cornetto, cappuccino and espresso. Sorry. If you are in a city like Rome, Milan, Florence, Bologna just do some research, there are some "American style bakeries" selling American coffee.

[@bacicinvatteneaca]

@@fabiovalentinuzzi5589 and they're going to cost 3x as much as any other place around them

[@Mode-Selektor]

@@fabiovalentinuzzi5589 that's interesting, I always thought part of McDonald's thing was that they standardize everything on their menu

[@arx3516]

​@@Mode-Selektorthe reason why McDonald's is so successful is that they are good at adapting to the local market.

[@emmanuelwood8702]

il caffe espresso é lo standard in italia.