Everyone at least once in life has dreamed, like movie stars, about drinking coffee in a cardboard cup on the way to work. COVID-19 has also brought to our country what is a not Italian trend and an unusual way of drinking coffee. On the street, in the car and in the office instead of the counter and the coffee bar table.

However, in spite of the new fashion Italians still prefer coffee served in the classic way: glass or porcelain cup and a biscuit or chocolate candies … like a real spoiled person.

The world of take-away however with the pandemic has also peeped in and even older people have adapted to drink espresso or cappuccino in a recycled paper cup and walking around feeling, why not, even a little younger.

Takeaway coffee at the bar

In the Anglo-Saxon world, espresso, latte macchiato and cappuccino have always been popular for take-away together with a classic brioche empty or filled with jam or chocolate. This trend and fashion of take-away coffee at the bar also came to Italy when 2020 forced many bars to offer only in this way the best traditional Italian espresso.

However, preparing espresso and coffee for takeaway at the bar is much more than decanting the drink into the paper or plastic container, and take-way coffees are not drunk immediately but after a few minutes, leading baristas to deal with some elements:

– Temperature of the drink and maintaining it

– Type of blend/single origin coffee we use

– Quantity of the drinks

– Possible filter/brewing coffee proposal

The coffee blend must also be suitable for take-out and take-away consumption, and it becomes essential to choose a quality espresso, which allows the crema to be preserved even during the long take-away times. For this, green light to the Robusta variety, which gives the coffee more flavour and body than the traditional Arabica, which is more suitable for consumption at the counter or sitting comfortably at the coffee shop table. In this way, with the right variety of coffee you can have a creamy and pleasant take-away espresso, which has nothing to envy to the one in the cup.

Why Italians do not drink take-away coffee

For the past few years, Starbucks has also opened in Italy amidst different feelings like “Finally” and “No” of Italians, unable to give up espresso at the bar and unwilling to buy the big cup to take on a walk or to the office.

In a report filmed by the BBC, James Reynolds investigated the mystery: why do Italians say no to coffee to go? The answer is simple: the time in which people drink coffee in Italy, which averages is 40 seconds flat. The all-Italian way of drinking coffee involves speed, unlike in the Anglo-Saxon world, and this affects the temperature of the coffee.

Starbucks coffee, designed to take the customer from the counter to the desk in the office, in a journey that can take as long as 30 or 40 minutes, is served at a hellish temperature. The goal is to keep the drink hot for as long as possible. Not suitable for Italian coffee. The perfect espresso should be served at a temperature of about 88 °C, in a strictly hot cup. This way you can consume the shot in just 40 seconds.

Take-away coffee – A fashion born with the lockdown

After months of lockdown, we had welcomed takeout at coffee shops to rediscover a gesture that is as simple as it is daily: drinking espresso with friends. Merchants immediately jumped at the opportunity to display the “it will be all right” sign and raise their shutters again with a new way of consuming the cup: the take-away one.

Portioli customized takeaway products

This take-away coffee drinking trend continues to this day, and Portioli wanted to respond by offering a set of practical and environmentally friendly items that complement bars offerings, for an elegant and professional take-away service. These are napkins, scoops, take-away glasses, lids and take-away packages for people who want to taste their favourite blend in the office, on a walk or simply outdoors.

All that remains is to complete the bar equipment with these solutions dedicated to those who, out of trend or to feel younger, take inspiration from the Anglo-Saxon world and like to ask at the counter for a take-away coffee.