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What is a cafe sospeso?
Thanks for asking.
Cafe sospeso literally translates to English as a suspended coffee.
It's an Italian tradition whereby cafe customers pay for an extra coffee that will be put aside for a poor person to claim at a later time.
The Café Suspeso idea can be extended to other types of food and it's seen a revival in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It's believed the Café Suspeso tradition was born in Naples' historic Gambrinus Café around the start of the 20th century.
The idea was simple.
If a person felt like they had had a lucky day, they would pay for two coffees instead of one.
The second suspended coffee would later be given to the first poor person who asked for one.
And by the way, you can suspend other items too.
The concept is not just limited to coffee.
It could be a sandwich, bottle of water or pastry for example.
Nice idea.
Is it only the Italians who are big on solidarity then?
A similar principle has existed in Turkish bakeries for centuries relating to bread.
A customer asks for two loaves of bread and tells the baker the second one is Eskide Ekmek, translating to bread on a hanger or suspended bread.
Back in Naples and Italy.
The tradition slowly became less common, perhaps due to the post-war economic boom, globalization and ever-expanding tourism.
That was the case at least until 2011, when the mayor of Naples called for a return of the tradition by creating a dedicated day called the Giornata del Caffè Sospeso.
This development created a buzz on social media, and the practice of paying it forward became known in other countries.
Many appreciated this show of solidarity.
From then onwards other types of businesses picked up on this in Europe, North America and Asia.
So how do we know for sure that what we pay forward actually gets given out to a person in need?
Well, in the interest of transparency, the business owner usually keeps the receipts on a spike or writes down what's available on a board in plain sight.
But in reality, not every cafe sospeso is given out.
Not necessarily because of stinginess, but because those in need won't always dare to ask for one.
It's not natural for many to just walk into a cafe or store and ask for something for free.
So outside of Naples, the idea has struggled to last for a long time.
But the Café Suspezo hasn't thrown the towel in just yet.
During the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lockdown measures have aggravated existing inequalities, with the poor struggling to get by even more than usual.
A new custom of suspended food shopping has emerged.
Where, you ask?
In Italy, of course.
It's become known as Spezza Sospesa, beginning in Milan and spreading to other cities like Rome and Naples.
The motto of the initiative is as follows.
Those who can should give, those who can't should take.
There you have it.
Now you know what a café suspeso is.
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