Costa are out to win more trade by doing research studies to prove that coffee lovers like their coffee better than their rivals Starbucks, Nero etc.  They claim 7 out of 10 coffee lovers prefer Costa coffee.  I’m not surprised.  I wouldn’t go in Starbucks if you paid me and my other half likes soya milk in her coffee, which Costa do at no extra charge.  But, and this is the real reason I’m writing this, why do all these places go on about great Italian coffee?  We have been going to Italy twice a year for several years now and we have yet to buy a decent cup of coffee anywhere in Italy and certainly nothing that compares with Costa coffee or the coffee we make ourselves at home.  Typically the coffees we’ve had in Italy have been expensive, small, often bitter and between cold and lukewarm.  Where did Italy get this reputation for good coffee?  Did they once deserve it and have gone downhill or what?  Anyone with the answer, please enlighten us.