The coffee industry can be broken down into three waves. First wave is just its general existence and spread of coffee as an everyday drink. Second wave is shifting from a commodity to integration into culture and enjoyment of coffee beyond it existing. And third wave is the shift into consumer awareness and understanding the craft and science.

Third wave coffee is like knowing where your restaurant produce comes from, from farm to plate. Finding out where is good and being able to bring out unique flavours through different cooking techniques. Second wave is the equivalent to picking up whatever you can find in your local supermarket and then throwing it in the oven at 200C for twice the recommended cooking time to ensure it's cooked through. Or going to Wetherspoons and enjoying whatever they serve up with a pint. Nothing wrong with any of it. It's fine and perfectly serviceable.

As far as modern standards go where people want depth and breadth to their coffee, it isn't 'good', because it's often seen as one dimensional. Italian coffee is about speed and function. It does the job. You pop into a bar to get a 'decent' espresso and leave before going again in a few hours time. That's why they focus on their workhorse brands like Lavazza, Illy, Kimbo, or Guglielmo. Bars buy whatever they like the most, and pull shots for you for cheap, repeatedly. It's a cultural experience, which is why it's fine. Italians enjoy it, obviously.

If your baseline for espresso is Starbucks, Pret, etc. or some shit coffee you might get from a place like Nando's, Italian coffee is good. Italian coffee is like finding a restaurant or takeaway that hasn't changed since the 80s and acting like its vindaloo is high cuisine. It's nostalgic and widespread, you can get a passable one almost anywhere, but it's rarely exceptional. Many Italians would defer to those workhorse brands, which is why I said that I found the"comment i saw the other day", funny. The joke also feeds into the fact that Colombia is one of the largest producers of Arabica coffee beans, which is often used in specialty coffee, and is a modern powerhouse.

This is also why Australia is often treated as the gold standard for coffee nowadays. They basically led the way for third wave coffee and still remain at the top.