Substack diary no.150: Monday, 11th. May 2026
Sipping a ‘regular’ cappuccino this morning made me think about some of the snobbery surrounding coffee. I like most of it, but draw the line at a coffee imposter.
For a few mornings now I have, on a whim whose origins I am unsure of, had a ‘normal’ cappuccino, much as you might in a café in France or Italy. A single shot of espresso with a similar amount of steamed milk in what most English people would consider a ‘small’ cup. I suppose I just fancied a change which, considering I have cappuccino every morning, is perhaps understandable.
When I say ‘most English people’ I know some who think that drinking a small quantity of coffee in what they consider to be a stupidly-small cup is just plain weird. That’s a shame, but each to their own. In practice, I veer towards the ‘English’ way and have a double-espresso cappuccino most days – obviously in a slightly larger cup which, if I am out and about, tends to reduce the opprobrium of some of those around me. I can drink my coffee in peace.
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Colin Anderson 