Trieste is a city famous for its coffee – one of the leading coffee purveyors worldwide ILLY, is from Trieste. Ordering coffee in Trieste can get confusing. There are the regular orders: Nero, macchiato, lungo, deca, etc.  Then there are variations on vessels in “tazzina” (in a cup) usually this is default mode so you don’t have to specify or “in B” which is short for in a glass. Why the difference? Some people contend that in glass, the coffee cools faster so you can have your caffeine shot and get back to work faster…(hahaha). Another reason is that in the glass you can enjoy the color of the coffee, the voyage from the thin rim to your mouth allows you to savor the coffee better…

Then there are the order variations, which as you can see from the illustration, are endless! So here’s what to ask for:

If you want a Cappuccino ask for a Cappuccino Grande – there is a cheat if you want a cappuccino but not an enormous one then ask for a “Macchiatone” (this is a Venetian import).

For an espresso ask for NERO, for an espresso in a glass ask for NERO IN B
if you want the decaf version just replace DECA for Nero

If you want a typical Triestine order it’s “Capo in B” which is an espresso shot with a little bit of milk  and foam served in a glass. If you want just the espresso shot no milk but some foam, then it’s “Goccia”.

There are so many famous & historic coffee shops in Trieste, make sure you get to sample some of them. Caffe’ degli Specchi (great views & people watching in Piazza Unita’), Caffe’ Tommaseo (the oldest in Trieste), Caffe’ Pirona (no sitting – much loved by James Joyce and the Triestini and has great pastries), Caffe James Joyce (beautiful art deco coffee salon near the Grand Canal), Caffe’ San Marco (the literary & students’ cafe’ with bookstore inside)….BTW all of these are great for Happy Hour too!