James Joyce, Trieste, and the Birth of Espresso Culture

When you picture a writer hunched over a cup of black coffee, furiously scribbling the next great novel, you might imagine a Parisian café or a New York diner—but for James Joyce, it was the coffeehouses of Trieste that fueled his creativity. Between 1904 and 1915, and again later, this Irish expatriate wrote some of his most iconic works in the coffee-scented air of this Adriatic port city, long before espresso became a global phenomenon.

Joyce lived in Trieste for over a decade, during which he wrote Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and began conceptualizing Ulysses—all while likely sipping early forms of pressure-brewed coffee that would evolve into modern espresso.

The Coffee That Shaped Joyce’s Trieste Years

Joyce arrived in Trieste in 1904, a time when coffee preparation was undergoing rapid changes. Though he was Irish, there’s no evidence he ever drank the cocktail known today as Irish coffee—that drink only emerged in the late 1940s, long after Joyce’s 1941 death. Instead, in Trieste, he encountered a dynamic coffee scene influenced by Austro-Hungarian, Turkish, and nascent Italian traditions.

By the early 1900s, Italy had already seen the 1901 invention of the first commercial steam-pressure coffee machine. By the 1920s, pressurized brewing was widespread, and in 1935, Francesco Illy invented the “Illetta,” the first air-compression espresso machine, in Trieste. This device laid the groundwork for the Illy coffee empire and helped define the city’s coffee identity just as Joyce was calling it home.

A City of Coffee and Empire: Trieste’s Unique Blend

Trieste, though now Italian, was under Austro-Hungarian rule for much of its modern history—a legacy that deeply shaped its coffee culture. When Joyce first arrived, the city was still considered Austrian. Its grand architecture and café traditions reflect this imperial past, particularly the opulent style of Hungarian coffeehouses that once flourished there.

The local coffee scene blended Turkish methods—such as spiced coffee brewed with cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon, often unfiltered with a crema-like foam—with Viennese innovations like milk-based drinks. The 1684 founding of Vienna’s first coffeehouse introduced milk to black coffee, leading to creations such as Viennese coffee, a layered drink with cream, coffee, and syrup that made its way to Trieste along with the empire’s customs.

As Italian writer Claudio Magris noted in Microcosmi, the city retained its imperial character even after the fall of empires. The iconic Lion of Saint Mark on the façade of Café San Marco is a reminder of Venice’s historical ties to coffee, including the Yemeni-inspired “mocha” style, diluted with cream and spices. These heavy-on-milk-and-sugar traditions still inform Italian coffee culture today, seen in drinks like the macchiato variants—caffè macchiato and latte macchiato—which play with coffee-to-milk ratios.

Joyce, Coffee, and the Parisian Connection

Joyce’s time in Trieste was pivotal, but his global literary journey also brought him to Paris. Just three days after arriving there in 1920, he met Sylvia Beach, owner of Shakespeare and Company, at the historic Café Les Deux Magots. It was there that the publication of Ulysses was arranged—an achievement that began with ideas born in Trieste’s coffeehouses.

Though espresso as we know it today was still in development, the pressure-brewed coffee Joyce drank in Trieste was a direct precursor. The evolution from Turkish-spiced brews and Viennese milk coffee to the concentrated shots of espresso was shaped by inventors like Illy and the multicultural coffee traditions of the city.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did James Joyce drink Irish coffee?

No, James Joyce never drank Irish coffee. That drink was created in the late 1940s, long after his death in 1941. He was also living in Switzerland by then and hadn’t returned to Ireland since 1912.

What coffee did people drink in Trieste when Joyce lived there?

In Trieste during Joyce’s time, people drank a mix of Turkish-style coffee (spiced and sometimes unfiltered), Viennese milk-based coffee, and early forms of pressure-brewed coffee. The modern espresso was still developing, but the 1935 Illetta machine by Francesco Illy was a key innovation based in Trieste.

Where did Joyce write Ulysses?

Joyce began conceptualizing Ulysses while living in Trieste. Though the novel was eventually published with the help of Sylvia Beach in Paris, the initial ideas and early work took shape in Trieste’s cafés during his years there from 1904 onward.

What is the Illetta coffee machine?

The Illetta, invented by Francesco Illy in 1935 in Trieste, was the first coffee machine to use compressed air for pressure brewing. It’s considered a direct precursor to modern espresso machines and led to the founding of the Illy coffee company.

Was Trieste always part of Italy?

No, Trieste was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire for much of its modern history and only became part of Italy after World War I. When Joyce lived there, it was still considered Austrian, and its culture reflected a mix of Italian, Austrian, and Eastern European influences.

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