FLORENCE - A Florence cafe has paid a high price for failing to display the cost of a cup of coffee.

 Ditta Artigianale in Sant’Ambrogio was fined 1,000 euros after a customer disputed the two-euro price tag of a decaffeinated coffee and called the local police.

 Not only was the customer irked by what he deemed to be an overpriced cuppa, but also the fact the price was not displayed – it is only available in the digital menu with the Qrcode.

 Café owner Francesco Sanapo took to Facebook to vent his frustration with the “absurd” law and to defend the elevated cost –  

 “I think that with everything that is administered in bars today, this law has so much absurdity and should be changed, otherwise 99.9 per cent of bars and restaurants would easily be wrong,” wrote the multiple award-winning barista.

 Mr. Sanapo also pointed out that the decaffeinated coffee in question was “from a Mexican plantation, prepared with great professionalism by my baristas.”

 “I am ready to pay for my mistakes,” he wrote. “But no one should be scandalized if paying two euros for an espresso: it is a mission and I will continue it with my head held high.”

 Backing the sentiments of the café owner was the president of the small business association Confartigianato Imprese, Alessandro Vittorio Sorani – “Not considering the quality of a product where there is a great deal of work behind it is something that saddens me deeply,” he said. “You pay for quality and it benefits everyone.”

 Serena Nobili of Dini Caffe also weighed in – “We are in 2022 but still in Italy we cannot speak of quality when it comes to coffee, in this sector quality is not perceived: it is very serious.”

 cc