My guess, for the "no cappu after 11 am" rule, is the same as the reason for only getting white sausage until noon in bavaria: cooling. In the times before refrigerators were invented, you had to use up such things as raw veal sausage or milk, that were delivered in the morning by delivery vehicles cooled with ice blocks, while they were fresh.

Thought I'd be learning about Italian culture, ended up learning about lactose instead! You explained it very well James!

Italian here, and no-one is going to stop me from having cappuccino and a pastry at 4-5pm.

He is so organized in his thoughts. It's a treat just listening to him.

No amount of diarrhea will stop me from drinking cappuccinos

One of my best friends growing up was Italian and from how he explained it to me it has more to do with Italians view on food. Italians view a cappucino as a meal. Having a cappucino only for breakfast isn’t abnormal. They also just don’t eat anything substantial for breakfast compared to other cultures I’ve found. If you are asking for a cappucino later in the day they could get confused because you are ruining your appetite for lunch and dinner, the most important meals of the day. So have espresso later in the day if you need coffee but don’t you dare add milk because that will ruin your appetite for the later meals. Also asking for a cappucino after a meal is an insult because that implys that whoever fed you didn’t do a good enough job because you are still hungry if you can drink a cappucino after a meal, again because they consider a cappucino as a meal supplement. That’s how he explained it to me but this could just as easily be an urban myth!

Italians "No cuppachino after 11. It's too heavy" Italian American restaurants: "Here's your 1 lb of pasta noodles drowned in alfredo. Would you like espresso after your 4 glasses of red wine?"

I used to live in Italy. The rule was actually for no milky drinks after 10:30am. Also, drinking espresso after a heavy meal would help digestion. I found this to be true in practice.

"I'm grateful to Italy for keeping a reasonable size" American Starbucks: "GETCHU A 20 OZ SUGARMILK COWBOY!"

Others seem to have said it as well, but my understanding is rather simple: the milk is filling and slower to digest. Because Italians have rather small and sugary breakfasts: Cappuccino e cornetto (croissant) or brioche (basically, any kind of sweet pastry), it's for the sole purpose of getting on your feet. For example, an old-world farmer's breakfast was known as "zabaione," but NOT the dessert cream confection that we normally now associate with that word. It was literally a raw egg yolk, sugar, and espresso mixed into a paste and drunk like a shot before going out to the fields. It's absolutely delicious, and the dessert is a re-imagining of it. The point of Italian colazione is to get the boost of sugar and caffeine to be able to be alert in the morning...the slow burn of carbs and the heaviness of the milk helps keep you full until lunch. But then, the issue is that during pranzo (lunch) or cena (dinner), you are filling up on food. Whether it's pasta, fish, meat, vegetable, usually Italians at home after a meal will have a piece of fruit and espresso. They culturally forbid the application of a large amount of milk (of course, caffè macchiato is always an option at any hour) in part because the idea is that you won't be able to digest the meal properly because it is so filling, the milk will spoil the taste of whatever else was eaten during the meal, and it ruins the pleasure of enjoying the coffee itself. This is a huge part of Itailan coffee cullture: the taste of the espresso is utmost, and adding sugar or milk in any capacity alters that, and so while exception is made for the morning, it is expected that if you are taking coffee (also note, the word used in Italian is always "prendere," to take, and never "bere," to drink, a coffee) you are doing so also to enjoy that specific flavor, even if it has to be slightly sweetened or lightened via the application of sugar or milk. As someone who is lactose intolerant as far as milk is concerned, though perfectly capable of eating dairy foods, I always get into arguments in Italy because naturally I request things like almond milk for my coffee, and I usually prefer a long drink versus a quick shot. However, in Italy, I always follow the rules, especially after a particularly funny scene I inadvertently caused some years back in Florence after an exquisite meal when I just barely asked for a cappuccino with soy milk during dessert. The entire restaurant froze...it was like a scene in a movie! My friends and colleagues were embarrassed and thus I avoid asking for any sort of milk-based, even nut-milk-based, coffee drinks after 12 noon. One last bit, what you say about butter vs oil is very true, however, don't forget that in Southern Italy is where we make the best soft cheeses: mozzarella, scamorza, and many others. I'm not so certain that lactose malabsorption, though decidedly interesting and quite likely involved, is the main culprit. Thanks for the great videos!

I'm Italian, have been living here since I was born. There really is no good reason why we typically only drink cappuccino in the morning, it's just a cultural thing. We tend to associate breakfast with sweetness, the most popular and "quintessential" Italian breakfast is cappuccino and a croissant/brioche, so we are naturally inclined to think of cappuccino as something you drink in the morning. But then again it's lot like the bartender is gonna deny you a cappuccino at 4pm. They might think it's a little weird but nothing more

Also, Italians eat gelato as a mid-afternoon snack or after dinner while walking around. Has milk just like a cap.

Hi James, from a fellow Italian and a molecular biologist who really appreciated you talking about malabsorption instead of intolerance. Big heart for you. Anyway, the reason why most of Italians drink cappuccino only before 12am (not 11), it is just related to its heaviness. Drinking a cappuccino an hour before lunch or close to "aperitivo" before lunch its just difficult to take. Which is not related to lactose malabsorption - can you imagine an Italian who doesn't eat ice cream in the afternoon or after dinner? CRAZY ahahaha. We are weird people who love to keep it simple, that's our style. Same for espresso shots. When we order a single cup of espresso it is implicit for what I call normal shot with 7 gr of coffee. There is no double or even triple shots of espresso for a single cup, it is just too much. Same for food, simple cooking (even if for foreigners it doesn't look simple, it really is) simple and fresh ingredients only. Our cappuccino is 100-125 ml of milk and a normal shot of espresso. Nothing to compare, FORTUNATELY, with those huge cup Americans use to prepare now. Triple shot and 2 300 ml of milk. It will kill me, and I am a coffee and cappuccino lover.

I worked for a company which was part of The Fiat Group, and have worked with many Italians. One Italian work colleague explained to me that the coffee bars, and other shops too, had to pay a considerably higher unit price for electricity in the afternoon than they paid in the morning, and as the steamer for frothing the milk for a cappuccino uses a lot of electricity they often refused to serve cappuccinos in the afternoon. The price of electricity fluctuates with demand, and the air-conditioning units have to work harder when the midday sun is out and for a few hours afterwards, and that is why the demand goes up at those times. That was all explained to me in a rather animated manner after I had suggested that the habit of no cappuccinos after midday might have something to do with the amount of flying insects which seem to wake up at midday and then head for the nearest milky drink available. Apparently cigarettes are the best way of keeping insects away from you, I must have smoked the wrong brand though because I would get lots of bites on summer evenings in Turin.

Italian here too: the ‘no cappuccino after 11am’ rule is an old say from classy people, it’s a rule of behaviors, not anything with diet. Just like you don’t drink alcohol in the morning cause it’ll make you look bad, you don’t drink cappuccino after 11am, cause the day is moving forward and you should get a wine!

Best lecture on lactose intolerance I have ever heard. Thank you.

Started following James about a year ago. As a registered dietitian, I’m extremely impressed with his scientific approach and frequent references to scientific literature. Top notch content, James!

As an Italian I was prepared to argue, but this actually makes a lot of sense and lines up with geographical and genetic differences. I think it’s a very rational explanation. Someone definitely did his homework.

I'm italian and I drink cappuccino whenever I want and I surely have nothing against tourists ordering cappuccinos in my bar after lunch. Nice of you trying to give part of the reasons to intolerance to lactose, but the truth is that sometimes culture can be intollerant to other's habits.

Very interesting video! However, as a French-Italian who happily switches between cappuccino and café au lait, I like to think it's another example of totally arbitrary rule we Italians have like "you don't use cream sauce with that kind of pasta", "you only use dry pasta in this recipe" or "you can eat these two things separated in the same meal, but you can never put them together in the same dish" 😂

Italian here, the "no cappuccino in the afternoon" thing isn't really taken as seriously as most people make it out to be. At least here in the north, might be more felt in the south. Just don't order a cappuccino along with a pizza or we'll make fun of you forever. Looking at you, German tourists!

James when are you going to start reading audiobooks. We need your calming voice in these trying times.

Came for the coffee, stayed for the science. Great video!

That was a brilliant connection James. The quality of your videos is excellent!

could be part of tradition going back when refrigeration was not available and raw milk can only be served fresh in the morning

James. Maybe you won't see this, but your videos really are good. You're one of my favourite KZfaqrs.

Great video, unsurprisingly! The only thing I'd like to add is that italians love to fancy (?) themselves as extremely delicate and fragile creatures and often end up being too apprehensive towards themselves for some weird reason, and that goes way beyond just cappuccino drinking habits. Must be because growing up there, especially in the south (though nowadays I feel it makes a lot less sense to use this distinction) many "mamme" are often overprotective and children grow up with this idea that anything could potentially hurt/kill them. It's the country with the mildest winters in Europe and yet many are always worried about "colpo di freddo" wich is basically the fear of gettig a cold, even just from a light summer breeze XD. I remember going to the beach there as a child and they would give me or my family weird looks for swimming right after finishing my "panino". Nowadays young people laugh at this things and are becoming cultural memes but many still have this attitude towards life and are pretty vocal about it, wich is even funnier, especially if you consider the fact that all this precautions are taken even by people that are heavy smokers or live a very unhealty life, but when it comes to eating they suddenly become hyper-health conscious. Never ceases to amaze me... :D

I went to a small local osteria in Florence a couple of summers back. The waiter explained to us that you shouldn't drink cappuccino after 11 am, because of the sun in the afternoon. He told us that the heat of the sun can upset the milk in your stomach and make the cappuccino feel heavy on your stomach when walking in the sun during the rest of the day.

Looks like James is still using his Skillshare subscription

"Don't drink coffee after 4PM Portuguese : Drink coffee at 11PM"

Had some great discussions about this with my Italian colleagues, they felt horrible for us and told all kind of anecdotes about this. But in the end they needed to admit that it didn't make sense to not drink milk after 11, but eat mozzerella or burrata with lunch or diner. It was funny as we did together a research on the origin of the cappucino. And how they almost 'died' of needing to admit that the origin comes from Austria where they had Kapuziner Coffee. The Italians called the monks Cappucini. And because of the white and brown clothing they wore the coffee became named after that. And it widely became know as cappucino as in Italy they invented the industrialization te eventually the perfection of coffee how we know it nowadays. With a kettle, and a lever to pressure hot water to a cup with freshgrinded coffee, and steampressure to froth the milk.

I was told in Italy that actually they don’t drink milky coffees later because espresso after meals can accelerate and support digestion as it increases vascularity in the stomach. While milky drinks slow it down. Also my guess is that the Mediterranean breakfast is sweet like one croissant with a milky so sweet hot drink like coffee. That’s why they prefer cappuccino in the morning. I liked your explanation very much too, there might be an observation by people during centuries behind it. Very interesting topic. 👏

I like the scientific approach, and the hypothesis is very intriguing. However, as an Italian, non-lactose intolerant (pretty much the opposite) my very own explanation is somewhat different, while related to digestion. Breakfast in Italy is generally light and sweet (if any food is eaten at all), so cappuccino can be perfectly suitable. During the rest of the day, however, Italians tend to consume coffee on two different occasions: right after a meal, and during a break at work. Now, espresso is more suitable right after a meal and we all share this experience: bitterness helps better digestion. During coffee breaks you may see Italians drinking cappuccino anyway, but for what concerns me, since I needed "a break", the kick of the espresso is a requirement.

*me drinking a cappuccino at 10:30 AM* "just in time"

Ah I’d always heard lactose intolerance explained as a particularly Asian trait, never an Italian one! This is so enlightening, thank you. I’ve stuck with (blessed) oat milk since I work in a quiet environment, but now I feel emboldened to experiment with amounts. I’ve always found steamed milk to be kinder on the guts than cold milk though.

I am Scandinavian. Our trad food contains milk and cream. When I grew up, I heard every now and then that Scandinavians were the only culture that wasn't lactose intolerant due drinking milk as a long tradition.

”Oh, that soothing coffee guy” my girlfriend just said. Keep up the interesting work I say! :)

sensational

Born and raised in Northern Italy. Never heard of the 11 am rule. Where I'm from, everybody drinks milk till the day they die. Lactose issues are rare, and are considered a medical condition, not a normal state after childhood.

This matches up exactly with my experiences…. Born half Italian and at approx. 21 years of age, I began to experience stomach distress. It got progressively worse and every doctor wanted to test for lactose malabsorbtion, but I told them, “That can’t be it! I drink milk like you breath air”! Anyways, that was it and it was like losing the greatest love of my life. Over a year of struggling to get used to “NO MILK”. I use a splash of heavy whipping cream in my coffee. It has less than .01% of lactose in it naturally. Zero issues. Thanks for the informative video!

James a video on decaffeinated coffee maybe??

Honestly as an Italian it just feels weird to drink cappuccino in the evening because we usually think of it as something for breakfast. For most of us it's just like the idea of eating cereal for lunch/dinner. It's just...weird.

Of all my weird little mutations, continuing to produce lactase well into adulthood is far and away my favorite

How is it that Italians eat gelato all day?

That was so beautifully put, clearly articulated and so a sign of the changing times. Back in the day, some 15-20 years ago I used to sell food intolerance tests.i remember being round at my sister’s house, she was a junior doctor at the time with two house guests who were also both medics. I was asked what I did for a living and upon sharing a couple of stories I was met “Don’t go bringing any of that shit to us mate, we’re gastroenterologists.” So, thank you James for a lovely, simple explanation of a condition most encounter but few understand.

È VITATO, CI SONO DELLE LEGGI, LA NOSTRA COSTITUZIONE PARLA CHIARISSIMO! Seriously, in Italy cappuccino is a breakfast drink, served with a cornetto (croissant) or biscotti (cookies). Your hypothesis about the origin of this tradition is really interesting, but I have a stronger explanation: fresh milk has been delivered in the morning for ages, we gradually developed a habit that became tradition. We also eat tons of cheese.

When I went to Rome, my guide told me "You will be seen as gay if you order capuccino after 11"... And in some weird italian way it made sense to me - mama mia.

I’ve just discovered your channel. I love how soothing and calming your voice is. You’re up there with the soothing voice greats like Mr. Rogers, Bob Ross, and Morgan Freeman. 😊

Your videos are just so engrossing James, I honestly never expected to love them as much as I do now when I first happened upon your channel. The soft speech, the handy and interesting information and the engaging storytelling make for quite an excellent experience.

From a doctor's point of view, that was a very nice review of the basic pathology and epidemiology of lactose malabsorption due to lactase deficiency! Thank you for that and for the beautiful content you create :)

I have family and friends in Rome and every time I evoked the "no cappuccino in the afternoon" they all systematically answered "tu fai come ti pare", "you do as you wish". I think the rule is considered dated by younger italians and maintained mostly by pedantic purists that like to mock tourists having cappuccino for dinner (which you should if you want, fai come ti pare).

As many already said, is more a cultural thing, since cappuccino and brioche are a classic breakfast. If you ask for a cappuccino after a meal it's like eating a full meal and then asking for egg bacon and beans as a dessert. Just weird. It's okay for an afternoon snack tho, but it must far from lunch or dinner.

My wife, a northern Italian, says this video should be titled,"why southern italians can't handle their milk." They literally eat salami and polenta covered in fresh cream before they go skiing. And cappuccinos ARE much bigger than that in the north.

Last time I was in Italy I asked a local "If you stop drinking cappuccino after breakfast because of difficulty digesting milk, why is it that you can eat gelato all day long?" She just grinned and, using her hands, gave me the best explanation I ever heard. She said "We do it... because we do it."

I've been to Italy and people do order latte and cappuccino in the afternoon just not very often. Many who do so are on shift work so the first coffee of the day has milk and that's it. If you wake up at Noon because you work at 3-4 PM in the afternoon till midnight then you're on a different clock that most people who do correctly stop drinking milk-based espresso in the AM.

Being Italian, really, really badly at absorbing lactose and loving cappuccino I'm happy to see more and more coffee shops, bar and others using lactose free milk so that I can enjoy my 4PM cappuccino (and my 7AM too) with no major inconvinience. I do make them lactose free at home too, the only issue is on the sweetness level of lactos free milk vs normal milk with the first being perceived as sweeter

Wow I learned so much so fast!! James clearly did his research, and presented it with such fluency. 10/10 thank you James!

The reason is that coffee in Italy has a function (actually more than one, that's why we love it) in everyday life. Espresso is used to improve digestion after lunch, leaving a more 'neutral' aftertaste in your mouth. Ending lunch with milk would have the opposite effect, causing a heavier breath and uneasy digestion. We also have espresso after dinner and mostly for the same reasons. It's allowed to have an 'amaro' (called 'the coffee killer') after coffee because alcohol helps with digestion as well. A cappuccino or caffelatte (latte) is what you would have for breakfast because until lunch there are no meals in between, so a more substantial drink is auspicable to keep you going. In Italy every 'food rule' is there to maximise the pleasure, that's another reason why we only drink single shots, more often :D

Recently stumbled across this man's channel and have been hooked ever since. Truly amazing content.

I've seen this vid on my recommended list for at least a year, and now I've finally watched it. Pleasing content yet again.

The depth and breadth of your knowledge on all subjects related to coffee is incredible.

Having lived in Spain for some time the traditions are similar here. Except they have a cafe con leche in the morning and then in the afternoon will go for a cortado or cafe solo (espresso). The reasoning I have heard is that it is heavier and therefore compliments a light breakfast better than a post lunch pick me up. Interestingly, when I lived in Italy the majority of people would actually just drink espressos all day. Even in the morning. Not so many went for the cappuccino. We would meet at the coffee bar before work and choke back an espresso followed by a shot of water and then huddle into the office, but this could have been a time thing I guess

My experiences in Italy are that this 'rule' is something of a meme in their own culture, it's a good way to spot - and make fun of - the foreigner, but ultimately they don't take it too seriously.

Hi James, I greatly enjoy all your videos for their depth and value, but on this one my friend, you out did yourself! Amazing the amount of knowledge, facts, and explanations you give us! Thanks for all your hard work bringing us these videos!

Watching this while my Mexican mother offers me coffee at 8pm

My guess was that: Milk is collected in the morning, and goes off quickly in hot Italian weather. So they only have milk in the morning while it was still fresh. (Before fridges were common) However I am not a 19th-20th century Italian dairy farmer, so I don't know when they were milking their cows.

I am actually Italian and will answer it: lactose has zero jack shit to do with this, we drink hot chocolate and eat ice cream and cheese after 11am just fine. It's because cappuccino is highly ritualized as a morning drink, just like meals are highly ritualized with separate dishes whether they are carb-based or protein-based, that's it.

It's very interesting your explanation but I think you missed something in Italians' habits - I speak as northern Italian with only northern origins thou -: most of the times people drink coffee at the bar during the week they do it after lunch before returning into office right for digesting more easily and not falling asleep because of digestion. Drinking milk after eating lunch makes food very hard to digest and makes you sleepy whether you are intollerant or not to milk. So people drink cappuccino even in the evening if they really like it and they like milk but almost never after a meal and rarely during working time. People intollerant to milk never drink cappuccino at all. After all most of the people drink coffee just for havimg some boost and for having a pause during work or a help in digesting A few are passionate of cappuccino..I am one of those that's why I am here searching for some advise for a good coffee machine making good milk foam. Once during a cold winter at 11pm I felt so cold I got into a pizzeria with a friend of mine and had to order first a cappuccino for getting some warmth and then a pizza. My friend played the ashamed one telling me I was like Germans. Actually assuming milk close to tomatoes I feel is not advisable.

Glucose and Galactose sound like a pair of 80s cartoon villains. "Holy Snapping Jacket-Buttons, Batman! Galactose has stolen the Ultimate Space Mallet!"

My best friend is Italian. I was taught this very important point when I stayed with his family in Reggio di Calabria. Got some very odd looks in the coffee bars when I ordered cappuccino in the afternoon.

Thank you. Also, dont get us italians wrong: if I'm hangover i Will have breakfast at 12 and i Will have my cappuccino. Or also in winter afternoon when i want something comforting BUT, BUT, HEAR ME OUT, i work in a restaurant and what makes me really weirded out, Is when people order it as a first drink before anything, OR, to finish a meal. As James explained himself cappuccino Is perceived as a bit of a meal in itself, It can be an Afternoon snack in rare occasions, but it is most definetely not perceived as a "digestive" contrary to espresso.

Super interesting ... when I'm in Italy, I've always been afraid to order a cappuccino in the afternoon because of the comments I would get (my wife, on the other hand, orders away, and couldn't care less!). I always thought it was just one of those customs with a reason lost to history, but this makes SO MUCH sense ... thank you! :-)

James's videos have been one of my favourite things of lockdown.

“Butter eaters of the north and oil eaters of the south” - so mind blown 🤯!

The only person I enjoy watching/hearing ads from!

This video taught me so much, both in fundamental knowledge, as well as curious (or general) knowledge, that I am dumbfounded to express it.

After having my first and probably only bistecca Fiorentina, the restaurant asked me if I’d like any coffee with my dessert. I said sure, I’d like a cappuccino. This was a huge mistake, and they laughed at me for a solid minute. Then when I jokingly asked why they’d serve cheesecake for dessert if dairy was bad after 11, I got some very angry stares by the owner. Still a 10/10 experience, best steak of my life.

I guess I’m Italian at heart! I’ve been following that rule for a long time, with some exceptions of course! Love coffee and love learning about all aspects of coffee through your channel! ✨

That's interesting. I used to live in the south of Spain, Andalucía. They drink Cafe con Leche at all hours of the day and night. Locals are served in a glass 4" high by aprox 2-1/2" wide, but tourists might be served in a coffee cup. I bought some of the Duralex 8-1/2 oz glasses so I can make it more authentic at home: 5 oz of hot whole milk and 1.6 oz (50ml) of a Bialetti moka pot shot of Torrefacto coffee, plus one packet of sugar (optional). Torrefacto coffee means a percentage of the beans beans are misted with sugar during roasting, which gives the coffee a distinctive flavor found only in Spain. All the Spanish bars and cafes serve Torrefacto coffee made in commercial espresso machines, but Spaniards make it at home in a Bialetti moka pot. They usually use a mix of 20% to 50% Torrefacto beans with the naturally roasted beans. It's almost impossible to get Torrefacto coffee outside of Spain. I ordered Spanish 'Catunambú Mezcla' ground coffee from an importer here in the USA, but the grind was too coarse for my moka pot. It's a pour-over grind. They also have a whole bean Torrefacto Mezcla I can order, but I don't want to spend money on a good burr grinder - besides, Spaniards make it at home with pre-ground coffee. So I'm having to settle for illy pre-ground moka coffee, which is very good!, but it doesn't have the distinctive Spanish flavor of Torrefacto coffee. If anyone is interested in learning how to make moka pot coffee the way ALL Italians have always made it since the Bialetti moka pot was invented in Italy, check out Annalisa J channel. Thanks to her simple traditional instructions, my moka pot coffee is perfect every time!

Bro the voice quality is amazing

Netflix is gonna pick you up for something some day. Mark my words. You’ve got a vibe for everybody, man. Thanks for even thinking to make this video, didn’t know it was a thing.

I want to see James try the Keto diet "Buttered coffee". Should be interesting.

The reason is because any authentic Italian coffee bar will have a nonna who milks a cow for each order. Nonna usually takes a late-morning nap around 11 and thus cannot milk any cows. By the time she wakes up (around 12:30-1:00), it's already time for her to start making the Gnocci for dinner.

Great explanations of coffee and lactose. Thank you!

Growing up one of my best friends was Italian, the dad explain to me, that the only time they would have cappuccinos is in the morning, because it helpsto fill you up and gives you energy, but for the rest of the day you would drink espresso because you don't need to fill up anymore you just simply want to enjoy the coffee and get the boost that the coffee gets you.

Meanwhile me: Drinks double sized cappuccino at any time of day. Still falls asleep as soon as I hit the bed.

Subscribed due to speaking so calmly, eloquently and with that SERXY accent

RIght, I was having a good laugh about this channel yesterday. Turns out, it could be my new favorite channel.

My Italian professor in college said he couldn't drink coffee because it made his heart palpitate... he also smoked about 3 packs a day! Allora! 🇮🇹

This is making me rethink my decision to have cornflakes at 10pm

This has to be the best explanation of lactose intolerance I’ve seen

As an italian, I had no clue on the reason for this rule, this was super interesting and so well researched. On a side note, we do drink "caffè macchiato" after lunch time, but it's an espresso with equal amount of milk (more or less milk depending on taste) so it's not as hard on the digestive system as a cappuccino.

I'm grateful that you made it through the video without saying "fart".

All I can think of is Anchorman saying “Milk was a baaaaad choice.”

While working in Abruzzo (1991-1992) I got the impression that milk was two things: (1) Something for children and (2) something associated with breakfast. At my place of work I anecdotally observed cappuccino consumed more in the breakroom coffee bar during the mornings by American expats and a few Italian women but even then not many. That is, even in the morning very few Italian men were drinking cappuccino. I do not claim to be immune to confirmation bias. I do find James Hoffman's lactose angle interesting and do not discount it. I don't at all dispute that Italians are generally do not tolerate lactose well and neither does my wife (from Abruzzo). Lactose malabsorption could explain why I didn't see much cappuccino ordered even in the early morning. However it is hard to say that Italians would drink more cappuccino without this factor. I could see it as most do put sugar in their caffe'. But of course it would not be consumed as much today anywhere if not for the 1990's boom starting in the American Pacific NW which included making it into a dessert with caramel, cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate, hazelnut, peppermint, etc.. On a tangent, I have heard some people say they feel milk is more tolerable if boiled or steamed. I find this odd as these same people, like most everyone, drink pasteurized milk.

I discovered I was lactose 'mal absorbent' thanks to coffee. I'd always eat breakfast with my dad and order a coffee with milk and get a stomach ache along with slight diarrea immediatly after. It took a while, but I eventually correlated the effects with having just drunk milk with the coffee and once I started ordering it black it all stopped.

why does this guy look like a cup of coffee

All the times I've been to Italy I ordered cappuccinos in the evening and nobody complained or said anything. I wouldn't have it after a meal, but as a mid-afternoon drink at 5 or 6pm I'd say it's very pleasant.

Makes so much sense.. you always make sense!

I love this explanation, it provides insights of a possible root cause for this 11am rule. Obviously now there are also cultural factors that kicked in. I am not lactose intollerant but for me drinking cappuccino in the afternoon is unconcievable. It reminds me of those turists traps in Rome's city centers with waiters grabbing customers from the pavement; there you can see a constant presence of cappuccini for lunch, aperitivo, dinner; you can also see people eating at 4pm (ewwwww) and pizzas with all kind of crap on top.