In Italy, coffee is almost a religious experience.
Each person has their favorite coffee, grind and how to make it at home and where to get it when they go out.
At home, most people make simple coffee using a MOKA or stovetop style coffee pot.
You get your espresso out at a bar, where the machines have been left on, the water is HOT and they have good pressure.
Then decisions how do you want your coffee? No venti latte’s here! Espresso, macchiato, in vetro, in tazza, corretto, cappuccino senza schiuma, caffe lungo, americano.
Recently I was contacted by a new company in America, European Coffee Society, that is importing some of Europe’s best artisan coffee roasters; Hippolyte in Paris, Oliver in Vienna or Andrea in Pisa.
With what it costs to get a crappy, burnt cappuccino or caffe latte from a chain, you can create your own fabulous versions at home in your own kitchen.
I met Andrea Trinci when I first moved here at the family shop,which at the time was next to Roberto Catinari’s Chocolate shop in Agliana. The Trinci family was also roasting the cocoa beans for the chocolate maker. It was always a treat to head out to get both chocolate and coffee, our kind of treasure hunt.
To appreciate what goes into making a better coffee, check out the write-up on each of the coffee roasters. Here is Andrea Trinci’s profile. His coffee is from Huehuetenango, Guatemala, slow roasted over Acacia wood. The beans come whole, shipped when they are freshly roasted and vacuum packed and then in this lovely bag. Since we always buy our coffee ground, we had to go to a friend’s bar and have her grind it for us for our Moka. We immediately made a coffee and share it. We are now her best friends!
Treat yourself! We deserve it! I personally believe we should spend more on quality ingredients to eat and drink.
When you come to Italy, you can make the treck out to meet Andrea in person and stock up! Until then, thanks to Ted, for sharing his contacts and coffee with us!
Once you have had incredible coffee, it is hard to go back!
Trinci’s coffee is beautiful! It’s like visiting Pisa every morning from your home…
Thanks for sharing your coffee contacts with us. A lot of people go out of their way to get the best roasts and blends to make coffee at home. There are advertisements everywhere for this blend from South America or that blend from Africa, etc. Getting the best coffee to roast is not about the source or the blend. It is about getting it roasted properly and most recently….. and never put off grinding your own at home. Use a burr grinder and grind only enough coffee for the immediate batch using beans roasted within three days ago. When beans are roasted the oils retreat into the beans. Then by the third day they have re-surfaced. This is the best time to grind and brew. I buy timely roasted beans by the pound. That pound lasts me a week and a half, when I purchase another pound. Once you have established this method you can then experiment with other blends freshly ground until you hit upon that ultimate cup!
Judy,
Thanks for your kind words and your beautiful pictures.
We of course completely agree with you: “With what it costs to get a crappy, burnt cappuccino or caffe latte from a chain, you can create your own fabulous versions at home in your own kitchen.”
Cheers,
Ted