Stand up for your coffee

“Venetians have long known what standing-desk converts have only recently discovered,” notes Christine Sarkis at Conde Nast Traveller -- “sometimes, standing is better than sitting.” In Venice, she writes, “standing isn't just a way to blend in with locals, it's also a way to save some money. Coffee enjoyed sans chair tends to be significantly less expensive than the same cup enjoyed from a slightly lower elevation.” There’s something “very convivial about this custom,” observes Skye McAlpine in her book A Table in Venice. “With your morning coffee and pastry at the bar comes an exchange of niceties -- a catch up on the weather, the tides, the local gossip -- with the barista or with your neighbors, breakfasting alongside you and jostling for a spot to rest their china coffee cup.”

Cossimmo Bizzarri at Quartz explains the proceedure: “You order and wait about 30 seconds as the café worker efficiently runs through a rehearsed set of gestures: put cup under machine, start machine, place plate on bar, stop machine, serve coffee, attend to the next customer. You pour the espresso down your throat in one shot.”