The saying “the good wine is in the small barrel” fits the bill if you think about one of the smallest historical coffee shops of the world, “Al Bicerin”, situated in the heart of Turin’s Piazza della Consolata, very close to the market of Porta Palazzo and short walk from Turin’s Dome. The small bistro was inaugurated in 1763 and soon achieved the reputation it still has today, which was obtained thanks to a delicious drink made with coffee, hot chocolate and milk foam, and which would give name to the place: il Bicerin. A tasty mix deriving from Bavarian evolution from the 18th century and consisting of coffee, chocolate, milk and syrup that gained a lot of success in those days. Today, the Bicerin is served in crystal glasses without handle (and indeed called “bicerin”) and by candle light. Even though it only includes three very simple ingredients, the real secret is the doses that are known by the shop holder only. A real magic filter that obtained great success in little time and that is emulated by other coffee shops in town as well, but with different results. You drink the original bicerin only in this small place measuring three per five metres with just eight marble tables. It did not enlarge with other rooms over the years, and that’s the reason why during the time for a bicerin one was able to observe the presence of people belonging to extremely different social classes.
A really democratic public coffee shop and a “national drink of small homeland, beloved indifferently by charioteers and viveurs, seamstresses and ladies” (Tuttocittà 1990). Leading characters like Alexandre Dumas, Giacomo Puccini, Silvio Pellico, Friedrich Nietzsche and also figures like the great statesman Cavour and Italo Calvino used to stop inside. A real artist nest. The place was inaugurated by a man, but sometime after the business passed onto a group of women; since then, it has been managed by the same family. Such female run business made also the fair sex hang out in the coffee shop, which was not common at all for that period, where bars where predominantly attended by males. A unique and distinguishing feature that gave a kind and delicate mark to “Al Bicerin”. A rare place that is absolutely noteworthy, recommended to those who stop in Turin and want to immerse themselves into taste and tradition of the Bicerin, but also in the gourmand hot chocolates and dense zabaglione.
Recommended song for the reading of the present article: Torino – Operaja Criminale
