My husband is passionate about his coffee. At home, he grinds the beans, froths the milk, and enjoys his cup with breakfast. He makes himself an espresso while working from home in the afternoon, but he never drinks coffee after 4.

Except in Italy.

For the past two weeks, Mike “Sweetie” Francini has enjoyed his coffee fix from Venezia to Roma with Firenze in between. He’s had a cup at the Zurich airport and again in Roma. He consumed small cups of the brew on a train.

When his coffee arrived at the end of a meal or in the company of a luscious pastry, I started documenting the ceremonial downing of each hot brew.

I am a blogger, after all.*

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I learned (about ten minutes ago) that according to ellianos, Italy had its first taste of coffee in the 17th century when the “bustling port city of Venice became one of the first European hubs to import coffee beans from traders of the Ottoman Empire.”

In the late 19th century “Italy introduced espresso to the market. Espresso isn’t a specific type of Italian coffee. Rather, it’s an efficient and concentrated brewing method that can be used on any type of coffee bean. This new Italian method completely changed the way people enjoy coffee around the globe.”

*I prefer tea, which has been my hot beverage of choice my entire life. Dad hailed from England after all and my Nova Scotia-born mum drank instant black coffee. It wasn’t really a choice at all.