Nov 18, 2020 23:00:00

Why don't coffee-loving Italians drink cappuccino after 11am?

There are various coffee cultures in the world, and they are

drunk in various ways, such as adding spices, combining with cheese, and putting whipped raw eggs on top. Starbucks couldn't make it to 2018 because of its deep roots in Italy. It is said that such an Italian coffee shop 'Bar' has an unwritten rule that 'do not drink cappuccino after 11:00 am'. James Hoffmann, who won the World Barista Championship and was recognized as the best barista in the world, explains why such a rule was made.

Why Italians Don't Drink a Cappuccino After 11am --YouTube


Coffee culture is deeply rooted in Italy, and when tourists go to Bar, they encounter a number of unwritten rules ... Hoffmann says.

One of them is 'I don't drink cappuccino after 11:00 am'.

A clerk at Barr says 'milk is too heavy' as to why he doesn't drink cappuccino after 11 o'clock.

Hoffmann states that 'many Italians are

lactose intolerant ' as a reason for avoiding cappuccino after 11:00 am. Lactose intolerance is also called 'lactose intolerance' and means that diarrhea and indigestion occur as a result of poor absorption of lactose in the body.

Lactose is a disaccharide that is a combination of galactose and glucose (dextrose) .

In order for lactose to be digested and absorbed, it is first necessary to decompose these two sugars, but the connection between the two is

tight, and an enzyme called lactase is required for decomposition.

Many animals can produce lactase from birth. Because babies are breastfed by their parents, they need to be able to break down lactose.

Lactose is said to be less sweet than fructose and glucose. Assuming that the sweetness of

sucrose (sucrose) commonly used in cooking is 1, lactose is about 0.16 sweet. It is believed that this is to prevent the baby from drinking too much while seeking breast milk.

Most animals stop drinking animal milk, such as breast milk, when they start eating solids ...

The only exception is humans, who drink milk even after they grow up.

However, like other mammals, when humans grow up, the production of lactase, which breaks down lactose, stops. For this reason, when you drink milk, undecomposed lactose remains in your abdomen and becomes food for the bacteria, which causes gas generation, indigestion, and diarrhea.

It is said that 65% of the world's population cannot break down lactose.

On the other hand, there are differences in the proportion of lactose intolerant population depending on the region due to factors such as 'places with a long history of raising cows as livestock and places without it' and 'places with climates where milk can be stored and places where it is not'. It is said that there is.

In addition, lactose is partially decomposed in the process of fermentation of yogurt and kefir, making it easier to digest and absorb.

The same is true for cheese, and hard type cheese contains only about 5% lactose compared to milk.

For this reason, many people with lactose intolerance even in Italy, which eats a lot of dairy products called cheese. Studies in Italy show that there are more people with lactose intolerance than in other countries, and less people with lactose intolerance in the north than in the south, Hoffmann said.

In Italy, cappuccino with plenty of milk is often drunk, but the cups in which cappuccino is served are very small, and the amount of milk used is about 100 ml. It seems that few people experience the symptoms of lactose intolerance if it is about 150 ml at a time.

Italians often drink cappuccino in the morning, so the experience of 'don't drink more than two cups of cappuccino a day' has led to the recognition that 'you shouldn't drink cappuccino after 11am'. Hoffmann explained that. For this reason, Hoffmann says it's actually okay to drink the first cup of coffee in a day, or even a small amount of the second cup, after 11:00 am.