Il coffee is one of the drinks symbol of Naples, thanks to the roasting, to the traditional "Cuccumella”And its unmistakable scent. In the Neapolitan capital, coffee is almost never a drink to be consumed on the fly. And especially conviviality, sociality and, often, too solidarity. A tradition linked to coffee, born in Napoli and spread over the decades throughout Italy and the rest of the world, is that of "suspended coffee". It is a solidarity custom whose origin is shrouded by several legends. Suspended coffee is such a famous practice that it has also inspired a film, directed by the directors Fulvio Iannucci e Roly Santos and shot between Italy, United States e Argentina, a novel by the great Neapolitan author Luciano De Crescenzo, ending up being mentioned also in an article of the New York Times in 2014.
How suspended coffee works
Luciano De Crescenzo, in his "The suspended coffee”, Thus describes this habit all Neapolitan: "When a Neapolitan is happy for some reason, instead of paying for just one coffee, the one he would drink, he pays two, one for himself and one for the customer who comes after. It's like offering coffee to the rest of the world". You don't know well the origin of the suspended coffee. Some think that this custom would derive from the discussions that arose in the bar among friends when paying for the coffee for the group. Often in fact these ended up pay for an unsorted coffee. So, instead of asking for a refund, this already paid coffee remained "outstanding"For the next customer. Others think it was born during the Second World War, as a gesture of solidarity, for those who could not afford even a coffee in those difficult times.
Suspended coffee is a act of generosity, especially for those most in need. This practice, however, did not stop at just the cup of coffee offering. In fact, various initiatives have been born on this path, such as the recent "Coffee suspended for research" of the Esse roasting di Bologna, dedicated to the project "Pink is good" of the Umberto Veronesi Foundation, against female tumors. Over the past several years restaurants and companies of food delivery they created the "Suspended plate”, To donate a meal to the poorest. Finally, initiatives such as the "suspended poetry"Or the"suspended book”, Which allow you to share culture with strangers. Naples has launched a wonderful tradition that has spread throughout the world over the years, with various declinations, without ever losing sight of the main objective: the solidarity. This is certainly a practice (among many others) of which the Neapolitans can be proud.
