This Common American Dessert Order Is Considered Odd At Restaurants In Italy

You might already know that it's weird to drink cappuccinos with lunch in Italy and that ordering them after dinner is a big no-no, but what might surprise a lot of people is that ordering a regular caffe (or espresso) in Italy can also be a faux pas if you happen to order it with your dessert. Ending your Italian meal with an espresso is not only common in Italy, it's essentially expected. But it's standard for it to come after your dessert course — not with it. To gain more clarity on the subject, we spoke with Nick Leighton, an etiquette expert and host of the podcast, "Were You Raised By Wolves?"

He shared, "Ordering coffee at an Italian restaurant isn't rude, per se. But if you want to do it the Italian way, you'd typically have just an espresso after the dessert. It's like a digestif." He doubled down on the notion against having coffee with milk anytime after the morning saying, "Anything with milk, like a latte or cappuccino, would definitely catch the eye of an Italian." As Leighton points out, a strong coffee acts as a digestive beverage; it not only tastes good, but it also gets your stomach acids going, so naturally, it's perfect to drink at the very end of a meal. If you want to order anything else after your coffee in Italy, it's traditional to opt for a digestivo, or a small shot of after-dinner liqueur that you sip on. Another common practice is to basically blend your coffee and digestivo by ordering a caffè corretto. This is a shot of espresso with a splash of liquor in it, like Sambuca, Grappa, or (my favorite) Amaretto.

I don't often order dessert at restaurants but when I do, I always order an espresso to go with it. The combination of something sweet and something hot, rich, and bitter to go with it works so well. Even the Italians recognize this, as is evident with their classic sweets like tiramisu (a dessert with competing origin stories) and affogatos. As it turns out, there's some science that may explain why many people love the after dinner combo.

A study conducted by Journal of Food Science found that caffeinated coffee changed taste perception and made sweet things taste less sweet, effectively making dessert feel like a less overwhelmingly sugary experience. Surely, humankind's brains react the same scientifically whether you live in America or Italy, yet the cultural norms still differ, with coffee traditionally served after dessert in Italy.