Dear Piero
As a half Italian half Turk who a few years ago would have argued that there is no coffee like the "caffe" ordered at a bar in Italy, I sympathise with your experiences. I too used to think that the coffee roasted by, say, HasBean, was far too acidic for my tastebuds. It has been a long journey for me to recognise that some (but not all) acidity adds a component to coffee that is undoubtedly positive and can make a coffee come alive. As I tried more and more coffees and started roasting coffee, I learned to like dimensions in coffee that I originally never appreciated. I had a similar experience regarding music, where I used to hate bebop and free jazz, but as I listened to more and more music and got better at playing, I ended up falling in love with precisely the music that I could not stand to start with.
I think much of the love for acidity in this country comes from the fact that coffee roasters drink a lot of filter coffee (where only the "good" acidity comes out) but in espresso acidity can be overpowering and taste sour. There appears to be a general consensus on this forum that acidity and sourness are totally different things... but this is formally untrue. There is no formal taste component called "acidity". Sourness is the sense that detects acidity (see for example
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taste#Sourness), i.e., a pH lower than 7. I believe that when acidity is controlled and balanced by sweetness in an espresso, people will call it "bright", whereas when it is overpowering like unsweetened citron pressé, people will call it "sour". A bright espresso, while quite different from our average Italian "caffe", is definitely something that you can get used to and learn to like.
There is nothing wrong with discussing differences in tastes and I deplore the reaction of Jasonscheltus who interpreted your friendly email as a criticism of people's taste in coffee. Your post never suggested that your taste is in any way superior to others, only that it is different. There are more descriptors for coffee than just "good" and "bad", and therefore there can be as many views and appreciations of coffee as there are coffee drinkers.
Welcome to TMC!!
Quest M3 - iRoast2 - Mahlkönig Vario - PIDed Gaggia Classic at home - - Electric Cezve/Ibriki and Iberital MC2 at work - Aeroporess - Hario TCA Syphons - Hario Skerton and Porlex Hand Grinders - Chemex