{"id":27814,"date":"2023-02-14T09:48:27","date_gmt":"2023-02-14T09:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/pending-coffee-history-of-an-ancient-tradition\/"},"modified":"2023-02-14T09:48:27","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T09:48:27","slug":"pending-coffee-history-of-an-ancient-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/pending-coffee-history-of-an-ancient-tradition\/","title":{"rendered":"Pending coffee: history of an ancient tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clearly, we who know about coffee are biased and much prefer the pending coffee, but other such initiatives are also commendable.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let’s find out together <\/span>what the history of the pending coffee is<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is pending coffee? And how does this extraordinary solidarity initiative come about?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

To answer these questions, we leave the floor to Luciano De Crescenzo, one of the most illustrious witnesses of this tradition: <\/span>‘When a Neapolitan is happy for some reason, instead of paying for a single coffee, the one he would drink, he pays for two, one for himself and one for the customer who comes after. It is like offering a coffee to the rest of the world’.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Made famous outside Naples precisely by De Crescenzo’s descriptions, the <\/span>caff\u00e8 sospeso<\/i><\/b> is a typical <\/span>Neapolitan custom<\/b> in which, instead of paying only for one’s own coffee, one leaves a paid coffee for someone else.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A solidarity initiative taken up in many parts of the world, it is still unclear how it originated and who spread it. The most plausible theories on the birth of this extraordinary tradition are two in particular: the first one describes the custom of suspended coffee as a gesture of solidarity towards others, which spread during the period of the Second World War; the second one, instead, places the birth of suspended coffee in bars and taverns, where friends quarrelled over who should pay the bill.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over time, the custom was lost, only to come back into vogue in recent years. <\/span>Leaving a coffee pending<\/b> is a behaviour that has conquered several countries around the world, pushed strongly by the American chain <\/span>Starbucks<\/b>. In many countries, the tradition has been revisited and applied to typical local foods (the most famous being the <\/span>’empanada pendiente’<\/span><\/i>). While the concept of offering solidarity has also been extended to other products, such as books or poems.<\/span><\/p>\n

Clearly, we who know about coffee are biased and much prefer the pending coffee, but other such initiatives are also commendable.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let’s find out together what the story of suspended coffee is.<\/span><\/p>\n

The history of pending coffee<\/span><\/h2>\n

For years now, the custom of leaving a paid coffee at the bar for an unknown person has been back in vogue. And, although it has been received by people in a very positive way, not everyone really knows what the <\/span>history of the suspended coffee is<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, there are more than one legend about the <\/span>origin of pending coffee<\/b>, but there is no official version about it.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the first accounts of this typical Neapolitan gesture can be found in a text by <\/span>Riccardo Pazzaglia<\/b>, a Neapolitan actor and writer born and raised in the Sanit\u00e0 neighbourhood. He tells the <\/span>history of pending coffee<\/b> in his book <\/span>‘Odore di caff\u00e8’<\/span><\/i>, where he associates the pending coffee with evenings spent among friends and arguments over who should pay the bar bill. When there was a dispute in front of the bar as to who should pay for the coffee, instead of getting lost in arguments one would simply leave a paid coffee with a stranger.<\/span><\/p>\n

The second version is not linked to tradition but has its historical roots in the period of the Second World War. To understand how this custom developed, however, one has to go back a little.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the early years of the 19th century, there was an extremely fascinating figure in the streets of Naples, the <\/span>‘caffettiere ambulante’.<\/b> These characters roamed the streets of the city, offering coffee and milk to patrons. Their job was to sell the drink in the street to anyone they met.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In wartime, when destitution was the order of the day, those who lived in better circumstances paid for two coffees, one for themselves and the other for those who could not afford it. According to this version, therefore, the <\/span>pending coffee was born as a gesture of deep solidarity.<\/b><\/p>\n

Pending coffee today<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"
\nOver time, with the post-war economic boom and the newfound prosperity, the tradition of pending coffee had been abandoned. Only in a few establishments did some traces of this traditional gesture continue to remain.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the 1990s, however, first with the publication of Pazzaglia’s book and later with Luciano de Crescenzo’s rich contribution, pending coffee has made a comeback.<\/span><\/p>\n

In his book <\/span>‘Il caff\u00e8 sospeso’<\/span><\/i>, De Crescenzo describes paid coffee as a <\/span>habit of great humanity, motivated solely by empathy.<\/b> Thanks to the Neapolitan author, therefore, pending coffee has once again become fashionable, becoming one of the symbols of the Neapolitan way of life.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Representing this tradition was the <\/span>Caff\u00e8 Gambrinus<\/b>, one of the most significant places in the Neapolitan city. On the occasion of its 150th anniversary, the caf\u00e9 strongly reintroduced this custom, placing a container in the shape of a coffee pot in which to place <\/span>the \u2018pending receipts’.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The Neapolitan tradition of suspended coffee has been greatly supported by social media, where various brands and influencers donate a cup of coffee to their followers and encourage them to spread this extraordinary gesture of solidarity and humanity.<\/span><\/p>\n

In recent years, an annual <\/span>‘Pending Coffee Day’<\/span><\/i> has also been established, set for 10 December. This day of solidarity is generally promoted by social and charitable associations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pending coffee around the world<\/span><\/h2>\n

The solidarity initiative of Neapolitan origin has also spread to many other parts of the world, where it is not only limited to pending coffee, but also covers other types of food.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pending coffee<\/span><\/i> first spread to some European regions, such as <\/span>Bulgaria, Ireland, Russia and Spain<\/b>. However, it did not take long for it to reach overseas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The custom of pending coffee was adopted in <\/span>Canada<\/b> and the <\/span>United States<\/b>, where even the world’s most famous coffee chain – <\/span>Starbucks<\/b> – promoted the initiative. Thanks to Starbucks, pending coffee is continuing its tour of the planet, gaining followers everywhere.<\/span><\/p>\n

Part of the success of suspended coffee in the United States is linked to the name of <\/span>John M. Sweeney<\/span><\/i>, who is credited with the creation of the social promotion Facebook page <\/span>‘Pending Coffees’<\/span><\/i>. The young man, who was very lonely and marginalised, saw the tradition of suspended coffees as an opportunity to make people more open-minded towards their neighbours. The page currently has tens of thousands of followers from every region of the planet.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Latin American countries, suspended coffee has been transformed into the <\/span>empanada pendiente<\/span>, or pending empanada. This is particularly the case in Argentina, a country closely linked to the Neapolitan capital by the figure of Marathon, an Argentinean player and symbol of the city.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brazil, too, has not remained indifferent to the pending coffee, taking up the tradition with great enthusiasm.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other forms of solidarity born of pending coffee<\/span><\/h2>\n

Over time, the traditional pending coffee has encouraged the promotion of many other <\/span>social solidarity initiatives<\/b>. Having landed easily in <\/span>Neapolitan pizzerias<\/b>, where it is possible to leave a suspended pizza for others, the custom has also involved several <\/span>bookshops<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Solidarity initiatives inspired by the pending coffee are:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • The pending book;<\/span><\/li>\n
  • The pending poem;<\/span><\/li>\n
  • The pending coffee network.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    With the support of the Feltrinelli chain of bookshops, the <\/span>pending book<\/b> is an initiative that has been very well received by readers. Started in Sicily, it has found the support of Feltrinelli but has not yet achieved the level of adhesion hoped for.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The idea of <\/span>pending poem<\/b> was launched by poetess Ketti Martino and Pino De Stasio, owner of the ‘Settebello’ caf\u00e9 in Naples. The organisers created a series of meetings and literary events to promote art and poetry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Linked to the world of culture and art, the <\/span>network of pending coffee<\/b> is a portal that promotes events and initiatives in bars, caf\u00e9s and through festivals with a cultural vocation.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Conclusion<\/span><\/h2>\n

    The custom of pending coffee encapsulates a deep sense of empathy and concern for the needs of others, which is essential to rediscover in our time. Indeed, <\/span>coffee<\/b> lends itself exceptionally well to representing the <\/span>concept of sharing<\/b>, because it is a simple product that is truly appreciated by everyone.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Although you cannot always leave a coffee hanging, it is essential to rediscover the essence of sharing even in small gestures, such as inviting someone for coffee or doing an act of kindness without expecting anything in return.<\/span><\/p>\n

    If you want to drink a good coffee, you should do it with the right machine, and remember that sharing makes the aroma even more pleasant. Visit our website and <\/span>discover the right coffee machine for you.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Clearly, we who know about coffee are biased and much prefer the pending coffee, but other such initiatives are also commendable. Let’s find out together what the history of the pending coffee is. What is pending coffee? And how does […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10787,"featured_media":27808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[147],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-espresso-coffee"],"yoast_head":"\nPending coffee: history of an ancient tradition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Pending coffee is one of the most beautiful Italian solidarity traditions, but how did it come about? Discover the history of pending coffee in our article.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/pending-coffee-history-of-an-ancient-tradition\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pending coffee: history of an ancient tradition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pending coffee is one of the most beautiful Italian solidarity traditions, but how did it come about? Discover the history of pending coffee in our article.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/pending-coffee-history-of-an-ancient-tradition\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ponte Vecchio - Macchine a leva per caff\u00e8\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-14T09:48:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/caffe-sospeso-storia.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andra Gatu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@NextreAdmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andra Gatu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pending coffee: history of an ancient tradition","description":"Pending coffee is one of the most beautiful Italian solidarity traditions, but how did it come about? Discover the history of pending coffee in our article.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/pending-coffee-history-of-an-ancient-tradition\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pending coffee: history of an ancient tradition","og_description":"Pending coffee is one of the most beautiful Italian solidarity traditions, but how did it come about? Discover the history of pending coffee in our article.","og_url":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/pending-coffee-history-of-an-ancient-tradition\/","og_site_name":"Ponte Vecchio - Macchine a leva per caff\u00e8","article_published_time":"2023-02-14T09:48:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":750,"url":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/caffe-sospeso-storia.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Andra Gatu","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@NextreAdmin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andra Gatu","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/pending-coffee-history-of-an-ancient-tradition\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/pending-coffee-history-of-an-ancient-tradition\/"},"author":{"name":"Andra Gatu","@id":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/dcf6b674a78f93f04a1845eb2bb4594e"},"headline":"Pending coffee: history of an ancient tradition","datePublished":"2023-02-14T09:48:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/pending-coffee-history-of-an-ancient-tradition\/"},"wordCount":1422,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/pending-coffee-history-of-an-ancient-tradition\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/caffe-sospeso-storia.jpg","articleSection":["Espresso Coffee"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/pending-coffee-history-of-an-ancient-tradition\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/pending-coffee-history-of-an-ancient-tradition\/","url":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/pending-coffee-history-of-an-ancient-tradition\/","name":"Pending coffee: history of an ancient tradition","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/pending-coffee-history-of-an-ancient-tradition\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/pending-coffee-history-of-an-ancient-tradition\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/caffe-sospeso-storia.jpg","datePublished":"2023-02-14T09:48:27+00:00","description":"Pending coffee is one of the most beautiful Italian solidarity traditions, but how did it come about? Discover the history of pending coffee in our article.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/pending-coffee-history-of-an-ancient-tradition\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/pending-coffee-history-of-an-ancient-tradition\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/pending-coffee-history-of-an-ancient-tradition\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/caffe-sospeso-storia.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/caffe-sospeso-storia.jpg","width":1200,"height":750},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/pending-coffee-history-of-an-ancient-tradition\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pending coffee: history of an ancient tradition"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/","name":"Ponte Vecchio - Macchine a leva per caff\u00e8","description":"Macchine per caff\u00e8 professionali ad uso domestico","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/#organization","name":"Pontevecchio Srl","url":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/logo-mobile.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/logo-mobile.png","width":81,"height":80,"caption":"Pontevecchio Srl"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/dcf6b674a78f93f04a1845eb2bb4594e","name":"Andra Gatu","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6786e43adacd10b7ca0654b644311804a78df1c9330651312a1d3fcca6e3653d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6786e43adacd10b7ca0654b644311804a78df1c9330651312a1d3fcca6e3653d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Andra Gatu"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/NextreAdmin"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10787"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pontevecchiosrl.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}