The opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics took place on Friday February 6th, and like all opening ceremonies, it was a celebration of the host nation. That being Italy, the ceremony was a variegated carnival of all the many things Italian gifted to the world by Lo Stivale. Sculpture, painting, opera, fashion, classical music, architecture, all making appearances in the dramatic opening sequence. Which were all great, but real stars of this year’s opening ceremony were quite obviously the cadre of multi-colored dancing Moka pots.
It was all but a forgone conclusion that Italy would hype their coffee bona fides at some point during the festivities. This is the same country that formally submitted espresso to UNESCO for Intangible Cultural Heritage status. But how? The answer? About 50 brightly colored dancing human-sized Moka pots.
Just look at these goobers. How could you not love them? It’s what going to Oz would be like if the means to get there was microdosing your coffee with LSD, also known as the anti-depressant one-and-one. It was, without question, the weekend’s greatest coffee moment at a major sporting event. (The coffee commercials at the other big sports, the Super Bowl, were mostly non-exist and/or terrible. That Dunkin’ ad made me embarrassed for everyone involved. At least Marshawn Lynch’s coffee-as-metaphor-for-revenge Nike commercial was good and cathartic. Meanwhile Bad Bunny’s drinks-forward halftime show had zero cafe con leche, which is the only possible complaint around the otherwise delightful performance.
Reacting to the inclusion, CUNY Professor Giancarlo Lombardi tells NBC that the Moka Pot “an image of Italy” that “really speaks to this little piece of Italy that so many have in their house.” Though he does have slight qualms with them being so colorful. “You associate it to a very specific color.” But with respect to Professor Lombardi, he has perhaps not kept up to date with the many, many variations on the iconic coffee maker.
Thus it seems the Year of the Moka Pot defies all Gregorian logic and has extended into 2026. This puts the United States on notice for 2028, when Los Angeles hosts the summer games. We need to highlight our contributions to the world of coffee. By which I mean the Chemex and avocado toast (which was invented here, and not Australia). If there’s not an anthropomorphic coffee maker and brekkie dancing around with a cartooned version of jolly Dr. Schlumbohm to kick off the next Olympics, it’ll be a real missed opportunity.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
Top image via Reddit
