Postcard from Sorrento - Coffee

The coffee of Naples is famous. Probably, it’s been developed to a fine art because anything you can inhale the fragrance of that is not Naples after a six month refuse collectors strike is a good thing. I had ‘un café’ waiting for my hydrofoil. What you get is a cup of water to cleanse the pallet, then a cup of coffee which is basically half a measure of espresso. You drink this and then listen to the blood hammering in your ears as your heart rate climbs to the anaerobic level.

In Sorrento there are many little bars where you go in, order your café, toss your Euro down, doss the coffee back and then bounce off. I found a wee bar and ordered my café. The barista threw the tiny cup down on the counter. Just as I thought ‘rude git’ and grasped the handle, I remembered from the guide-book that the cups are kept in trays of boiling water. They think that scalding coffee tastes better from red-hot ceramic – this, I think, must be a by-product of living near a Volcano.

It did taste spectacular though. Apparently, I was unable to talk coherently for about half an hour afterwards.