The unspoken rules of coffee in Italy are hard to navigate as a tourist — and I learned that the hard way. During a recent trip to Italy, I discovered that Italian coffee culture is quite different than coffee culture in the U.S. In the U.S., no one questions you if you order a cappuccino at Starbucks at 5 p.m., because anything goes. Yet, in Italy, I got some interesting stares when trying to order a late-afternoon cappuccino.

After I was asked, “Are you sure?” by a woman behind the café counter in Rome, I soon learned of the unstated “cappuccino curfew” in Italy. Here’s what to know about this cappuccino “rule” and why you won’t catch many Italians drinking a cappuccino after 11 A.M.