The History of Cafe Americano
American soldiers in France
Doughboys of 1917, farm-boys, not urban sophisticates
but with a little spending money
and in a spending mood
couldn’t stomach that espresso coffee
out of those complicated-looking machines
in those tiny cups.
It wasn’t, so to speak, their cup of tea.
Some enterprising barrista figured it out
Just cut it with water, he figured
half and half
Hot water, so they’ll never suspect
You do that and it will taste something like that weak stuff they drank at home
.
I’m grateful for that accommodation
that product of adventure and compromise
I’ll drink it today and tomorrow
What a perfect mix of the exotic and the domestic
Europe and America
Just right with heavy cream.
Home Economics 