Trieste Coffee

Trieste became a free port in the eighteenth century and coffee came through it in quantity, first for the whole of central Europe behind it and then for the roasters that set up in the town, one of which is now a global name. The habit stuck at street level and produced a vocabulary used nowhere else. Ask for a nero and you get an espresso; a macchiato is a capo, and a capo in b is the same thing served in a small glass rather than a cup. Nobody will correct you, you will simply get something else. The nineteenth-century cafes with their mirrors and marble are part of it, and so is drinking standing up in twenty seconds.

The main sights

• The local vocabulary - nero, capo, capo in b, goccia, and none of it used elsewhere.
• The historic cafes - mirrors, marble and newspapers on wooden sticks.
• The roasteries - still working near the port, some receiving visits by arrangement.
• The port - where the sacks came in, and still come in.

When to go

Any time of year, though the bora, the cold northeast wind, can make winter walking unpleasant enough that the cafes become the whole point of the day. Autumn is mild. Coffee costs a fraction standing at the bar of what it costs sitting at a table, which is worth knowing before you sit down.

Practical notes

Trieste is off the usual routes and takes a deliberate detour to reach. The historic cafes charge table-service rates that surprise people used to counter prices. The coffee itself is dark and heavily roasted and not everyone likes it. Out of season the city can feel empty, and the bora is a serious wind rather than a breeze.

Nearby

The Carso plateau rises directly above the city; the coast road runs north past Miramare.