[lxgr]

That's in fact exactly what I love about espresso in Italy and some other European countries: It's ubiquitous, fast, cheap (even cheaper if you drink it standing up!), and as a result a commodity and not something pretentious.

I also don't remember ever having had a bad cup of espresso in Italy. If it ever happens, I'll just walk a few steps down the street and chase it down with a decent or good one.

[noirbot]

But that is, in itself, a normalcy bias. I don't generally like Italian roast coffee. It's too oily and generally upsets my stomach. It's not a flavor or style I like in espresso. I'm not going to claim no one should like it - clearly people do, but if you don't like that, Italy is a really bad place to live because it's so orthodox about its espresso and doesn't support "pretentious" places that may serve something that doesn't taste "normal".

Just because a specific style has been around for years doesn't mean it's the only valid style that's not "pretentious".

[reverius42]

The best thing about espresso in Italy, besides it being universally drinkable (assuming you like espresso at all), is that last time I was there it was still only 1 euro. Drop a coin on the bar and get an espresso shot, any time.

I assume it's more like 2 euros now.