Caffè Sospeso

In Naples, there has long been a tradition known as the caffè sospeso: coffee in waiting. When you order one coffee, you can pay for two cups. The second cup, the sospeso, can then be enjoyed later in the day by a Neapolitan who cannot afford a cup of coffee.

Ordering a caffè sospeso (Italian) or cafè suspiso (Neapolitan), translatable into Dutch as uitgestelde koffie (postponed coffee), is a tradition in the coffee bars of Naples. When a customer, as an expression of their prosperity or generosity, orders a caffè sospeso, they pay for two coffees but receive only one. The second coffee is reserved for the next customer. That person can ask if there is still a coffee “in waiting” and drink it to the health of the first customer. This practice has been part of Neapolitan traditions for years but is less common today.

It is seen as a form of altruism.