{"id":9816,"date":"2015-08-10T16:47:13","date_gmt":"2015-08-10T14:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=9816"},"modified":"2015-08-12T18:02:36","modified_gmt":"2015-08-12T16:02:36","slug":"a-nice-cuppa-in-piazza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/a-nice-cuppa-in-piazza\/","title":{"rendered":"A Nice Cuppa In Piazza"},"content":{"rendered":"

The setting: a sultry evening at the beginning of August, La Piazza di Groppodalosio, a small group of friends and neighbours sit chatting and savouring the first threads of cool air as they make their serpentine way through the overheated village. A small blessing at the end of a long torrid day, one of the hottest, they say, in living memory.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cVi offro un caff\u00e8?\u201d<\/strong> asks Donatella.<\/p>\n

\u201cA quest\u2019ora no, grazie\u201d<\/strong> we reply<\/p>\n

\u201ce se faccio invece\u00a0un t\u00e8?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cmmmh \u2026\u00a0un t\u00e8 lo beviamo volentieri \u2026 ma avete il latte fresco?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIl latte fresco \u2026 e perch\u00e9?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cPerch\u00e9 il t\u00e8 lo beviamo solo all\u2019inglese, cio\u00e8, fatto in una teiera, e con il latte fresco\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOddio!\u201d<\/strong> exclaims Donatella<\/p>\n

\u201cnon ti preoccupare\u201d<\/strong>, I reassure her, \u201cti insegno io\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"circa<\/a>

Ecco come si fa il t\u00e8 all’inglese!<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Donatella disappears into the house, reappearing some minutes later with a lovely tray containing an elegant, but never used teapot, cups, teaspoons, teabags, and an empty china milk jug which I take round to our house and fill with fresh milk (Donatella only has UHT\u00a0semi-skimmed milk \u2026\u00a0yuk!). I explain to Donatella that the tea is put into the teapot and covered with the correct quantity of\u00a0boiling water \u2026 a revelation to her.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUsiamo la teiera per fare l\u2019infusione\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0I tell her\u00a0\u201cci vogliono circa cinque minuti. Poi, il latte si mette nelle tazze prima del t\u00e8, e quando l\u2019infusione sar\u00e0 pronta, si versa il t\u00e8 sopra il latte\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"CB-Morandi-001\"<\/a>

Giorgio Morandi, “Natura Morta”, 1951<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Donatella is both fascinated and amused, but is not a big tea fan.\u00a0Being inquisitive by nature, however,\u00a0she accepts my offer to try a sip of\u00a0\u2018real English tea\u2019. And like many of our Italian friends who are not normally tea drinkers, she\u2019s surprised to find that she likes it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCi hai messo lo zucchero?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNo\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cma non \u00e8 amaro, come mai?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cperch\u00e9 c\u2019\u00e8 il latte che lo rende pi\u00f9 dolce\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cmmmh, \u00e8 buono!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Donatella\u2019s husband, Ivan, is impressed. He enjoys his cuppa, and we begin to compare our little \u2018tea ceremony\u2019 to the importance of knowing how to make a great cup of Italian coffee.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Sai, quando vai in un bar dove non sei mai stato prima, e guardi come il barista fa il caff\u00e8, capisci subito se sar\u00e0 buono o meno, no?”<\/strong> I ask Ivan<\/p>\n

“S\u00ec, \u00e8 vero, loro hanno la loro tecnica. Sanno come trattare il caff\u00e8, e come riscaldare il latte al punto giusto quando ti fanno un cappuccio. Vedi come battono il bricco sul banco un paio di volte prima di versarlo e ti dici, questo s\u00ec\u00a0che sar\u00e0 un buon caff\u00e8!”<\/strong> he replies<\/p>\n

Donatella\u2019s youngest daughter, Chiara,\u00a0is impressed by her mum\u2019s courage<\/span><\/p>\n

“Cavolo mamma \u2026 hai offerto una tazza di t\u00e8 a un Inglese \u2026 \u00e8 come offrire un caff\u00e8 a un Napoletano!”<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

… e questo … che cacchio \u00e8?<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Donatella is proud to have learnt a new skill, and reveals:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cproprio stamattina, mentre sistemavo l\u2019armadio in cucina, stavo per buttare quella vecchia teiera che\u00a0non uso mai \u2026 ma pensa un po’!\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n


\nIf you need any help with translating the phrases in Italian please leave a comment.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

The setting: a sultry evening at the beginning of August, La Piazza di Groppodalosio, a small group of friends and neighbours sit chatting and savouring the first threads of cool air as they make their serpentine way through the overheated village. A small blessing at the end of a long torrid day, one of the…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":9826,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[385888,385890,385889],"class_list":["post-9816","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-italian-coffee","tag-te-allinglese","tag-una-tazza-di-te"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t