The tradition of "suspended coffee" in Napoli

Everybody knows that coffee is one of the most popular elements of the Neapolitan tradition, but it is not commonly known that there is a little story behind it, better known as the “suspended coffee”.

The usage of the “suspended coffee” started during the Second World War, when, in very hard times, people used to pay two cups of coffee: one for themselves and the other for someone who couldn’t  afford it.

The philosopher Luciano De Crescenzo, described "il caffè sospeso” as follows:
“When someone is happy in Naples, instead of paying a cup of coffee for himself, he just pays another one for someone else; it’s like offering a cup of coffee to the rest of the world.”

Buona domenica a tutti!