Can you order a cappuccino after lunchtime? 100-year-old barista Anna Possi thinks so: Everyone as they wish. But she does have two restrictions. — Can you order a cappuccino after lunchtime? 100-year-old barista Anna Possi thinks so: Everyone as they wish. But she does have two restrictions. — Photos: Christoph Sator/dpa
Italians are well known for frowning at tourists and their ill-timed coffee requests - not so Italy's oldest barista, Anna Possi.
The 100-year-old, who has been running a café above Lake Maggiore for more than half a century, has no objection to the controversial cappuccino after noon, traditionally a no-go in Italy.
"Who am I to tell my guests when to drink which coffee?" Possi told dpa. "Everyone can do as they please."
The question of whether a cappuccino – an espresso in a larger cup with frothed milk – can still be drunk after noon is one of the big issues in the coffee world.
An afternoon latte, cappuccino or flat white is common in many countries, but in Italy, where there are more than 130,000 coffee bars, coffee with milk after midday is frowned upon in many parts.
Italy's oldest barista Anna Possi in front of her café Bar Centrale. Photo: Christoph Sator/dpa
As a rule, only espresso is drunk in the afternoons. However, the rules have been relaxed considerably in recent years, not least because of the many tourists.
The owner of the Bar Centrale in the village of Nebbiuno, who has been tending the coffee machine there since 1958, has a relaxed view of such matters.
"I also have regulars who like to have a cappuccino after midnight," says Possi. "And they get it, no matter what time it is."
Anna Possi has been tending the coffee machine in the Italian village of Nebbiuno since 1958. Photo: Christoph Sator/dpa
What matters more than the time of day is when and what you've eaten. She doesn't recommend a coffee with an orange juice. The same goes for a coffee right after lunch. The stomach is too full, she says.
All this no longer affects Nonna Anna ("Grandma Anna") herself: She stopped drinking coffee in the mid-1970s to keep her blood pressure down. – dpa
