Anyone who chooses Italian coffee also always chooses a piece of the Italian way of life. But is it just the portion of Dolce Vita to take at home that is so appealing, or why are the beans so popular? The secret lies not least in the special roasting.
La Dolce Vita at home
Nobody who has ever traveled to Italy and experienced the way of life live can get away from it so quickly: the stylish boutiques in Milan, radiant white sandy beaches on Sardinia, lively history in Rome or the incomparable charm of Tuscany hardly leave anyone cold. There are also warm-hearted people who enjoy good food and, of course, great coffee, which is simply part of the lifestyle.
You can only take the flair in the small café on the Piazza Navona home with you to a limited extent, but the coffee made in Italy can. And it also tastes fantastic in your own four walls. We explain what makes it so good.
It all depends on the bean
Taste starts with the coffee bean. No coffee is grown in Italy, the Italians also use the world’s most popular varieties Arabica and Robusta. In Germany, a coffee that consists of 100 percent Arabica beans is considered to be of particularly high quality. In Italy things are different. Coffee made from Robusta beans is also appreciated here. Because this is by no means of poorer quality, quite the opposite: the growing area and the further processing of the beans are decisive. Mixtures with Robusta are very popular in Italy. The espresso owes its strong, earthy taste and the fine crema to them. But even pure Arabica simply tastes different in Italy. The peculiarity lies in the special roasting.
The fine art of Italian roasting
Before the beans end up in our coffee machines, they go through a long process. After harvesting, they are first cleaned and dried. They then unfold their full aroma during the subsequent roasting. Depending on how the coffee should taste in the end, different processes are used. There are numerous roasting processes and roasting recipes around the world that must be strictly adhered to. Coffee roasting is almost a craft. An unbalanced process will result in a sour drink with an unpleasant aftertaste.
The knowledge of the perfect roast is often passed on from generation to generation in Italy. Over the years, the strong “Italian roast” has developed, which is appreciated by coffee lovers all over the world. It is the darkest of the five classic degrees of roasting and gives the caffè its unique properties.
Coffee made in Italy: strong and wholesome
The exact degree to which the beans are roasted and how the Italian coffee tastes in the end also differs from region to region. As a rule of thumb, the further south of the boot you are, the stronger the coffee. The aromas vary from chocolaty-sweet to fruity to strongly tart.
Almost all varieties have in common the fact that the strong roasting results in a coffee with a higher bitterness. At the same time, the acidity is particularly low. Compared to German filter coffee, it also contains less caffeine. These properties make Italian coffee delicious and extremely digestible. To really understand the special features, there is only one thing that helps: try it yourself.
