… or at least when you’re not in Italy … don’t drink Italian coffee.

OK, so granted Chris and I are a bit picky about espresso. Real Italian espresso, when properly made, is a wonderful taste sensation. Really. However, order it outside of Italy, and it’s not even close to being as flavorful, in our experience. It’s often the case that the espresso comes out too watery, or too hot, or too bitter.

However, until a couple of weeks ago, we have always been able to make it through a whole cup, even if it wasn’t all that good.

But we met our match in Reutlingen, Germany, a town that’s 10 minutes by train from Tübingen. A cute little town,with a very interesting Cathedral that we still haven’t had time to take photos of, we had gone to there to do an errand or two. As a break, we stopped to get a coffee and snack at a bakery/cafe. The rhubarb pastry we had as the snack was pretty good, actually. However, the cappuccino (an espresso + milk drink) wasn’t good at all. I managed to drink half of it and decided I’d had enough.

A little while later that morning, we decided to try another cafe, which looked very cute and very popular. So, with hopes high, Chris ordered an espresso and I ordered a cappuccino.

I should note that in Italy I don’t usually just drink espressos, without any milk. However, when I think the espresso might not be that tasty, I will offer it with some kind of milk as a defense against a bad cup of coffee. It hadn’t really helped at the first cafe in Reutlingen, but at least I was able to drink half.

So, in the second cafe we wait for a while — as I said, the place was popular and busy — and then we finally get our drinks. I taste my cappuccino, and realise that it has a burnt flavor to it. I try adding a lot more sugar, and take another sip. No luck – still a horrible burnt flavor. Chris takes a sip or two of his espresso, practically empties the small sugar bowl into his cup, and it’s still not potable. Blech. I think the problem had happened at the point when the coffee beans were first roasted, which I believe they did themselves in that cafe.

I think this was the first time we ever walked away from a cafe leaving two nearly untouched cups of coffee behind. Which has now lead to our new rule: when you’re not in Rome … or at least when you’re in Reutlingen … don’t think about ordering the coffee.

Or, if you do, don’t drink the coffee, just take a few fancy reflection photos of the place setting … Just a thought.

At least the photos turned out better than the coffee.  😉