When I lived in Rome, "taking a coffee" (or, prendere un caffè) gave me heart palpitations. I never mastered the speed, system, or standing-up-ness of their counter culture.
I desperately craved a grande skim latté. No — I desperately craved a grande skim latté TO GO, which is absolutely impossible, as anyone who's ever visited Italy knows. Of course, when I moved back to New York, I missed those stubborn Italian coffee snobs with their rituals and their rules.
Source: http://nymag.com