Espresso Toscano

Notes on the above parameters: Shots were pulled on our Durham Training Center La Marzocco FB80 using LM double basket.

As everyone knows, espresso is quintessentially Italian. Less commonly known, however, is the fact that as one travels around Italy, espresso flavor changes dramatically. Just as Northern Italian cuisine is very different than the cuisines of Southern Italy and Sicily; espresso in Milan is dramatically different than in the espresso bars of Palermo. As students of coffee, we've immersed ourselves in regional Italian espresso, and our espresso blends are our studied renditions of these amazing coffee traditions.

In the coffee bars of Siena, in the heart of Tuscany in Central Italy, every coffee drinker chooses the coffee used to make his espresso: caffe forte, "strong coffee," or caffe dolce, "sweet coffee." While visiting there, I became fascinated with caffe dolce: the sweet, caramel tones, and copper-colored crema were captivating and delicious. I returned home determined to create a tribute to the sweet coffee of Siena, and so Espresso Toscano was born. Toscano has been a favorite of ours since then; its sweet dark chocolate and caramel notes are perfect for the cappuccinos and ristrettos we live for. We’ve recently reformulated the blend to emphasize the sweet chocolate notes that accompany Toscano’s classic butter-caramel sweetness. We love the chocolate and caramel in this coffee!

After many weeks of testing and tasting, we believe we've hit the "sweet spot" with each of component with our signature espresso roasting technique, which stands as a modern-day homage to the slower, wood-fired roasters of traditional Tuscany. A staple of this blend continues to be Fazenda Ipanema "Dulce," a profoundly sweet, dry-processed coffee from the famous Ipanema estate of Brazil (perfect for a caffe dolce, no?). This coffee lends notes of chocolate, caramel, and nuttiness to the blend, and is roasted in the "slow" Italian style.

Another key component in this blend is the magnificent coffee from our partners at the Gayo Organic Farmers Association in the mountains of Aceh, Sumatra. This coffee is beautiful on its own and lends a clean, creamy dark chocolate character specific to espresso. Once you dial in with this sweet classic, we think you’ll have a new favorite.

- Peter

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