Tom Douglas

Caffe Ricchi, Florence/ by Shelley Lance

Caffé Ricchi, located in the Piazza Santa Spirito- a charming square complete with Renaissance church, benches, trees, and farmer’s market- serves what I would consider a perfect espresso.  Not that I made a systematic study, but exploring Florence, packed as it is with the lion’s share of the world’s Renaissance masterpieces, requires at least one if not two daily stops for espresso to clear the mind in the afternoon.

For a simple shot of espresso, you don’t need to say the word “espresso” in Italy.  Just ask for “un caffé, per favore,” and you will recieve an espresso, because drip coffee is not served. (The closest you can get to drip is a caffé americano, or espresso diluted with hot water.)

The astonishing thing to me, is the fact that you get decent to marvelous espresso seemingly everywhere in Tuscany- whether in a restaurant, caffé, or bar- but also at the train station, airport, or the gas station’s convenience store directly off the autostrade!  Your espresso will be served to you quite speedily in a little china cup, and, if you like, most of these places will also make you a fresh-squeezed-to-order orange juice as well.

In the airport caffé in Florence- which looked pretty much like any airport fast-food joint- we purchased two quite decent espressos and two decent croissants stuffed with marmeletta (jam) for 4 euros (about $5)- I’d like to see that at Sea-Tac!  (By the way, for some reason, the Italians refer to a croissant as a “brioche,” even if the sign reads “croissant.”)

But, back to Caffé Ricchi- before your shot of espresso, you’ll probably want to buy a scoop of their excellent gelato.  I ordered a scoop of crema- creamy and mellow- plus a scoop of intensely flavorful pistachio.

June 20th, 2009