Never Order a Latte in Italy

Do not order a latte in Italy. Here is why. You are in a beautiful café in Rome. You are tired and you want coffee. You say the word latte, because at home that means coffee with milk. The waiter smiles and brings you a glass of plain milk. No coffee. Just milk. In Italian, latte means milk. Send this to a friend before their trip to Italy.

Ne naruči latte u Italiji. Evo zašto. Nalaziš se u prekrasnom kafiću u Rimu. Umoran si i želiš kavu. Kažeš riječ latte, jer kod tebe kod kuće to znači kava s mlijekom. Konobar se nasmiješi i donese ti čašu običnog mlijeka. Bez kave. Samo mlijeko. Na talijanskom, latte znači mlijeko. Pošalji ovo prijatelju prije njegovog puta u Italiju.

Here is what to say instead. If you want coffee with milk, ask for a caffè latte. If you want a small strong coffee, just say un caffè. Italians drink their milky coffee in the morning, almost never in the afternoon. A little coffee after dinner is fine, but it is small and black.

Evo što reći umjesto toga. Ako želiš kavu s mlijekom, zatraži caffè latte. Ako želiš malu jaku kavu, samo reci un caffè. Talijani piju svoju mliječnu kavu ujutro, gotovo nikad poslijepodne. Mala crna kava nakon večere je u redu, ali mala je i crna.

The waiter in Rome sees this mistake every single day. He is not angry. He thinks it is a little funny. He puts the glass of milk on your table, waits a moment, and then asks kindly, would you also like some coffee in that? Now you know the secret. One small word makes all the difference.

Konobar u Rimu vidi ovu pogrešku svaki dan. Nije ljut. Misli da je pomalo smiješno. Stavi čašu mlijeka na tvoj stol, pričeka trenutak, i onda ljubazno pita, želiš li i malo kave u tome? Sada znaš tajnu. Jedna mala riječ mijenja sve.