Neapolitan coffee goes to the sea

Article by Michele Sergio published in Il ROMA on 05 August 2018

Eduardo De Filippo said so and he was right: a Neapolitan can renounce everything except a cup of coffee. Coffee is the classic drink of our city, the drink of the Neapolitans, a social catalyst, a fundamental unifying element of people. It is, again, the excuse to meet a friend or to woo a lady. But when summer comes and there is organized to go to sea how do you reconcile the sea with coffee? The Neapolitans prefer the sunny beaches of Campania but also Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia are very popular among the Neapolitans.

It often happens to see the classic Neapolitan families on the beaches of the Bel Paese, grouped in large groups, a bit ‘messy and not really silent. When lunchtime the mothers open baskets and bags full of every good of God: omelettes of macaroni, cutlets, sandwiches, fruit and, inevitable, coffee. Hot in the thermos ordinance or even and more often, cold, grainy, in the glass bottle.

The nearby beach umbrella, perhaps not southern, always amazes us of these local customs, limited to a sandwich and a glass of water. So it happens that the Neapolitan mother makes, so to speak, the honors of home by offering coffee to new summer friends. And when the neighbor, after having tasted cold coffee, compliments the lady, she explains the preparation technique.

Prepare the coffee with the mocha, sugar it to taste and let it cool for a few hours. Then pour in a plastic bottle and place it in the freezer. The next morning, when the coffee is now completely frozen, put it in the bag for the beach and take it to the beach along with other foods. When it comes time to drink coffee, the bottle is shaken vigorously, making it become grainy and poured into the glasses.