If you’ve ever ordered an espresso at a bar in Italy, you may have noticed a small glass of water sitting beside your tiny cup of coffee.
This custom is much more common in Central and Southern Italy, particularly in Naples and Rome.
In the North, it is far less widespread. In cities such as Milan, Turin or Bologna, your espresso will often arrive on its own, and you’ll need to ask if you want a little glass of water.
So, what is the water actually for?
There is a tradition behind it — and, if you want to follow Italian coffee culture, you should drink the water before the espresso:
Water first, coffee second
The traditional reason is simple: to cleanse your palate before drinking the coffee.
A sip of water removes the flavours left behind by lunch, a sweet treat, another drink or even a cigarette. It gives your palate a clean start, allowing you to appreciate the aroma and flavour of the espresso properly.
Think of it as a reset button for your taste buds.
Of course, nobody will stop you from drinking the water afterwards. You might simply be thirsty, especially after a very hot espresso.
But there is a funny piece of Italian coffee folklore attached to it.
What if you drink the water afterwards?
Some Italian baristas jokingly see it as a bad sign.
Why?
Because if the espresso was excellent, the argument goes, you should want to enjoy its flavour rather than immediately wash it away.
So drinking water after coffee can be interpreted as an unintentional review:
“Perhaps that coffee wasn’t very good.”
It’s certainly not an official rule — just one of those little observations that makes Italian coffee culture so entertaining.
And in Naples, where people can have very strong opinions about espresso, the joke makes particular sense.
In Naples, coffee is a way of life
Naples is probably the Italian city most closely associated with espresso culture.
Here, coffee is rarely a long, leisurely affair. You might walk into a bar, pay at the cashier, hand your receipt to the barista, drink your espresso standing at the counter and be back on the street a couple of minutes later.
But don’t mistake speed for indifference.
For Neapolitans, coffee is serious business.
The crema, the aroma, the temperature, the balance — and even the bar where you drink it — can all become subjects of conversation.
There is also a charming piece of history behind this relationship with coffee. In the 19th century, coffee sellers known as caffettieri ambulanti would walk through the streets of Naples carrying coffee and milk, selling them directly to people.
Coffee was already becoming part of everyday life — not something reserved for special occasions.
And that tradition of making coffee part of the city’s daily rhythm has never really disappeared.
The Neapolitan tradition of the “caffè sospeso”
Then there is another coffee tradition that says perhaps even more about Naples than the glass of water.
It’s called the caffè sospeso, or “suspended coffee.”
The idea is wonderfully simple.
You order an espresso and pay for two.
You drink yours.
The second remains suspended, already paid for and waiting for someone else.
Later, someone who cannot afford a coffee can ask the barista if there is a caffè sospeso available.
If there is, they get it.
No names. No questions. No need to know who paid for it.
Just a coffee waiting for a stranger.
The exact origins of the tradition are debated, but it is strongly associated with Naples and is often linked to times of economic hardship. One popular interpretation is that someone having a particularly good day would pay for an extra coffee so that somebody else could enjoy one too.
It’s a simple beautiful idea: share your good fortune with someone you may never meet.
So in a nutshell:
The water prepares you for the coffee.
The coffee gives you a moment.
The caffè sospeso leaves a moment for someone else.
That’s why in Italy an espresso is never quite just a coffee.
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