I'd LOVE to know WHERE any of these, but especially a DECENT, just decent, espresso may be found, unless you live in Europe?? I live near a Starbucks and a Peets. Neither offer a decent espresso, let alone a decent cappuccino. I agree that it's necessary to begin with a good espresso for any coffee drink listed here. And here is the rub. A good espresso doesn't need an equal amount of sugar to calm the bitterness. Yet this has been the case for me Only one coffee house... LA SCALA .. in Walnut Creek, CA seemed the only place I could go for wonderfully creamy cappuccinos I could enjoy even without sugar while hearing (barely) a modern Italian music mix. I was back in Rome, could have been Donner on the V.Vemeto! Sadly, this is no longer true. For whatever reason, their coffee is as poor in taste as Starbucks etc. Saving on a cheaper coffee bean roaster? What a shame. Reading about 10 coffees one should try, all I can say is that this topic is useless unless you live in Italy, or France, or Spain... Austria? Germany?

It would be unfair unless I mention New York's great cafes and coffee houses. MY ex husbands Cafe Pane e Cioccolato in Manhattan is one. New York has MANY places, like Ferrara in Little Italy. Who knows if it's still there?? But, apart from the few places in America one can find good European coffee, I find that only bY investing in a good coffee maker, capable of making creamy espressos and using the top brands like Lavazza, Illy, is it possible to avoid disappointment. MY sincere apologies to those places who have always done justice to their coffees. Wherever you are, possibly in San Francisco, I cannot understand why it should be necessary to travel further than a short walk for a good coffee. Spoiled in Rome.