Olive Nation Blog

ITALIAN COFFEE

Posted by John Rusnak in coffee, Aug 27 2009

While it may be true that coffee does not grow in Italy, still when one thinks of Italy and Italian cuisine, coffee is one of the first things that come to mind. Practically anywhere you go in Italy from the finest restaurants to the corner Tabacchi store or even the airport, one thing you can be sure of is that you will get a good espresso or cappuccino. Italy is a country of coffee aficionados who would never visit any establishment serving bad coffee. Great coffee of course, starts with the best beans. The best beans make great coffee, it is that simple. But before we get to the coffee the beans have to be chosen carefully, blended and then roast the beans properly. Blending is very important. The blends preferred in the south of Italy, for example, tend to produce stronger espresso. Since 1999 the Italian Espresso Institute (I.N.E.I.) has defined and certified the qualitative standards to be met by Italian espresso. This is your assurance you are drinking authentic and highest quality Italian coffee. So when you want the best, buy the best!