While it were the Arabs and the Turks who brought coffee to the European continent, it are definitely the Italians who made coffee drinking an art. It was also probably via the italian word caffè (from the Ottoman Turkish pronunciation Kahveh of the Arabic qahwah) that the word entered English around 1600.
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Italians prefer Arabica over Robusta blends, because of their richer flavor and lower coffein content. The coffee beans are also roasted and grinded in a typical way to confer the coffee its typical crema. Many of the famous historic coffee houses produce their own Arabica blend, which gives their coffee a unique taste and quality.
The caffé, both the beverage and the place where you consume it, form an integral part of the italian culture.
Without exaggerating one may say that the art of preparing and drinking coffee in Italy is comparable to the tee ceremony in Japan, although it is not as time-consuming an activity, as Italians are always in a hurry.
