Italy's oldest barista What 100-year-old "Nonna Anna" says about the controversial issue among coffee drinkers
Can you still order a cappuccino after lunchtime? 100-year-old Anna Possi thinks so: Everyone as they wish. But she does have two restrictions.
10.03.2025, 06:25
dpa
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Italy's oldest barista Anna Passi has absolved the Germans and other non-Italians when it comes to coffee culture.
- The 100-year-old, who runs a café bar above Lake Maggiore, has no objection to a cappuccino after noon.
- "Who am I to dictate to my guests when they have to drink which coffee?" said Passi. "Everyone can do as they please."
Italy's oldest barista Anna Passi has absolved the Germans when it comes to coffee culture. The 100-year-old, who runs a café bar above Lake Maggiore, has no objection to a cappuccino after noon. "Who am I to tell my guests when they have to drink which coffee?" Passi told the German press agency dpa. "Everyone can do as they please."
The question of whether a cappuccino can still be drunk after lunchtime is one of the big debates in the coffee world.
In Germany this is common practice, but in Italy's more than 130,000 bars it is frowned upon in many places: as a rule, only espresso is drunk in the afternoon. However, the rules have relaxed considerably in recent years, partly due to the large number of tourists.
"Nonna Anna" hasn't drunk coffee for decades
The owner of the "Bar Centrale" in the village of Nebbiuno, who has been working the coffee machine there since 1958, is rather relaxed about it all. "I also have regulars who still like a cappuccino after twelve," says Passi. "And they get it too - no matter what time it is." The only time she doesn't like it is in combination with an orange juice or immediately after lunch, because the stomach is then too full.
This no longer affects "Nonna Anna" ("Grandma Anna") herself anyway: the 100-year-old stopped drinking coffee back in the mid-1970s - because of her blood pressure.