Want a latte ? How many panini do you want ?

Latte? ... Panini? Who came up with these names?

"Latte" means milk in Italian. It shouldn't be any coffee in that word or in your cup. "Panini" means sandwiches in Italian, more than one sandwich. If you want one, the word you need to learn is "Panino".

But you want to sound sophisticated and you have to use Italian words at breakfast. What you really want is a mild coffee with more milk than usual and a toasted bread sandwich.

So next time ask the "barista" : "I want a cafe latte and a panino".

But what if you want your hot drink with less coffee and more milk, a "Latte Macchiato" is what you need. If you want ham in your panino, that's prosciutto, that's the regular ham. The whole name is "prosciutto cotto" (cooked ham). The "other" (delicious) thinly sliced dry cured prosciutto monopolizing the name is called "Prosciutto Crudo", and means "Raw Ham". You can put anything you want in your panino and you can use different types of bread too.

"Mangia bene, caga forte, e non aver paura della morte".
(Eat well, sh!t well and don't be afraid of death!

a reply to: Trueman

i guess in the united states they mean different things.

i get you though

a grande latte with whatever

thats how you roll with the barista in italy...

this is murica

hey flo. more coffee. extra milk

a reply to: TinySickTears

You know, in Italy you take your coffee everyday in the same place. After a few times, the barista knows the exact amount of coffee you like in your cafe latte. A bad coffee in the morning is a prelude of a bad day. That's why this is important for me. Here in USA I found Cubans are the best coffee makers and also Cuban sandwiches are really good.


Edited for Schuyler

So you know the language and we don't. If we said what you want us to say, we'd never get our order. You ranting about it is not going to change that. You're not supposed to begin a sentence with a conjunction, either, but you do it consistently. In fact, your grammar is atrocious. What the hell does "the barista knows exactly amount of coffee you like" even mean? You make so many English mistakes in your posts that it would take forever to point them all out.

But you know what? Nobody really cares because we know what you mean. Those mistakes aren't very important and are just a result of you knowing the language imperfectly. We speak Italian imperfectly, but you also know what we mean. We both understand each other. If you don't demand perfection from us when we order in one of our own restaurants (which would just result in tremendous confusion) we won't demand perfection from you.

originally posted by: schuyler
So you know the language and we don't. If we said what you want us to say, we'd never get our order. You ranting about it is not going to change that. You're not supposed to begin a sentence with a conjunction, either, but you do it consistently. In fact, your grammar is atrocious. What the hell does "the barista knows exactly amount of coffee you like" even mean? You make so many English mistakes in your posts that it would take forever to point them all out.

But you know what? Nobody really cares because we know what you mean. Those mistakes aren't very important and are just a result of you knowing the language imperfectly. We speak Italian imperfectly, but you also know what we mean. We both understand each other. If you don't demand perfection from us when we order in one of our own restaurants (which would just result in tremendous confusion) we won't demand perfection from you.

All you said is true, but this is about coffee and sandwiches. Also, I don't think this is your fault. The problem probably started with Italian-Americans who forgot the language. Now I came with the right names and you refuse to learn?

a reply to: Trueman

Keep your latte away from my danged coffee! Those of us who drink our coffee and eat our sandwiches like normal folks don't use fancy names for them. We call using fancy foreign-ish words for everyday foods and objects "putting on airs", you know- making yourself feel either intellectually or economically superior by using uppity language to boost your own ego whilst attempting to make others feel "lesser". Using such language in such a manner in fact does the opposite as it shows the speaker's lack of self esteem and psychological need to feel superior. Kinda sad actually.

yeah, I hate going into an American coffee shop and trying to order a simple coffee. These kids are so ignorant they don't even understand what "a large black coffee" means. Heck, I have even tried asking for 'une cafe noir si vous plait' but to no avail. Alas, I have come to the conclusion that none of them know their own product and am reduced to making my own coffee at home.

When I lived in Italy (Ahhhh.....Napoli!) in the early 1980's, you went to a bar to get your coffee (.....bars in Italy are not like bars here in the US).

A Latte is exactly what the OP described: a small amount of coffee with a huge amount of steamed milk.

Most people I saw would either grab an Expresso or a Cappacino.

Lattes were for a wuss.



To hell with a panini, if it was morning, you'd grab a Graffe (HUGE sugar donut...I mean HUGE), lunch in a hurry, you'd go outside to one of the many carts and get a small Neapolitan pizza (they come bigger, but the cart venders make a very small version that is folded up in paper towel for you to munch on) which was pretty much just cooked dough with some tomato sauce and a very small square of mozz cheese on it.

My teen years were great. I got to grow up in Italy....ahhhhhh.......miss it greatly.

a reply to: JDeLattre89

Haha....exactly. I don't know why we need to translate a coffee or a sandwich. I'm trying to improve my English and that is not helping.

a reply to: Trueman

Must be nice to have places where such words are used. Where I live, I order coffee. If I want steamed milk in it, I ask for that.

Maybe people should ignore the billboard and just ask for what they want.

I have a coffeemaker in my kitchen.
I seldom get my order wrong.

a reply to: Trueman

So what you are saying is French Fries are not from France!

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a reply to: Trueman

Thank you for the information. I knew that it really should be cafe latte, as latte is just milk, but also know people are lazy and abbreviate things a lot. Didn't know panini was the plural version or that prosciutto was not the dry cured version of ham. The addition of cotto or crudo makes sense and I will endeavour to correct my very small foreign language skills. Always better to say things correctly if you can. 🙂

originally posted by: dfnj2015
a reply to: Trueman

So what you are saying is French Fries are not from France!

We should get another thread just for that one.