The coffee clubs are a very interesting phenomena to watch in Italian cafes. If you were to be a fly on the wall in any Treviso cafe the influx of patrons in a day resembles the actions of a tide. As water rushes in for a split second and disappears again as quickly as it came in. If one Italian enters the cafe for a shot of caffeine, eight more, usually pairs of fur coats or suits will inevitably follow. The waitress will be run off her feet for approximately 2 minutes before everyone is served, thrown back their macchiatos, placed some change on the tray and out the door with a "ciao regazzi".
It is a fascinating natural custom. We English, perhaps all foreigners, of course get a look,
'Ah foreigners, they know a'nothing about how a'take a coffee in Italy!', as we bizarrely choose to savour our coffee experience rather than treat it as if it were a vital injection imperative in order to stay vertical!
There are so many things we English don't understand about the way cafes and coffee works in Italy - like the Cappuccino incident - I foolishly ordered a cappuccino after midday! The waitress laughed authoritatively at me when I placed my order in pigeon Italian. She wasn't laughing at my Italian (my accent's pretty hot!) as I later was told by a local. They explained to me that a cappuccino is only a morning beverage and not to be had in the afternoon.
"Ordering a cappuccino after midday, oh you English, serious. You're crazy!" Oh that we are. what was I thinking!
My observations have led me to a conclusion that the many cafes in Treviso have patrons that are loyal to a cafe foremost for the brand of coffee. Cafes are divided, as far as I can tell so far, into the Illys, LavAzzas and Hausbrandts. Now before any Italian is to choose what might be named 'a local', the brand of coffee must be considered over and above location. For instance I found our local is not our local because it's an Illy and I'm not in the Illy club but a LavAzza kinda gal (although I can be convinced to go Hausbrandt but only because my gym's next to one and a post workout shot is becoming a tradition!).
One thing seemingly unites all cafe clubs and that is chocolate. Lindt is the favorite and that is a fact. Oh but we'll talk more about chocolate another time, I've not done enough research into that yet!!!!
Ciao x
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