Come to Napoli. Coffee is just as good, plus it's always 10 degrees cooler in the summer, plus fewer tourists, plus your money will last twice as long as in Rome or Florence (three times as long as in Venice).
I’m a Coffee lover and I really enjoyed this video on coffee around Italy. It was so interesting and I hope one day I can experience it myself. I really enjoyed your take away on this. It was a really good video. Thank you.
Oh thank you so much! You'll have to do your own comparison of traditional Italian coffee and the new wave of specialty coffee existing in the same cities when you come :)
as an italian I always hated robusta. The only real reason they put it in the miscela is because it's super cheap. Italians wanted to stick to the 1.00 eur price for as long as possible, and having a 7g shot of mostly robusta made it possible. Big awful brands like lavazza, illy etc.. "educated" italians into drinking terrible robusta over the decades. I totally hate that. A few places will still serve you a 100% arabica mix for 1 eur. That's the holy grail of classic italian coffee.
yeah, I think Robusta has gotten a bad name over the years and most roasters have used it as a cheap alternative to Arabica. It can actually be very good, just like any other crop, if produced well. It has benefits like double the caffeine, more crema, and unique deep flavours for people who like that. In short, I think both are good, for different reasons, if done properly :)
I currently have an Indian single origin robusta from my local specialty roaster and it tastes absolutely amazing. It still is not my preferred taste, but it makes great classical espressi and cappuccini with lots of crema and I do really enjoy it.
Frankly I have never heard of Robusta for espresso. Maybe brands mix Robusta and Arabica for cheaper price. But I never buy branded coffee, only buy from local roaster, single origin arabica, never more than 1 week old from roast date. People who thinks brand like Illy, Lavazza, Segafredo as the best coffee are very funny. Their coffee are often long past production date. The only brand which I think is rather okay is Malongo.
@@jojoanggono3229 what a conoisseur. never heard of robusta inside espresso? How about Illy, Lavazza, Segafredo. You know those. they are all robusta dominant.
There is nothing wrong with Robusta. It depends on how the beans are roasted, and then pulled. I’ve had great Robusta caffe, poor Arabica caffe, and the opposite. So, don’t blame the beans. Blame the pull. And, also - there are different coffee for different reasons. If you want a quick shot on the way to work, Robusta will be fine. If you want to sit, sip, and enjoy 20 minutes maybe go for that high quality blend or single origin.
Italy are the masters of roasting / blending coffee beans. Nowadays many coffee aficionados are guided by online baristas that preach single origin and roast level not to mention numerous gadgets to fill the puck, distribute, tamp, even circular filters on the puck, thermometer to steam milk LOL, and latte art which many can't seem to live without. I would venture to say it is an art to experiment with multiple origins, roast level of each, % of each to produce the special taste final blend coffee. Definitely more complicated than a single origin. Newer espresso machines may have pressure/flow profiling which essentially can recreate a lever machine on a pump machine. I also like some single origin and roast as well but Italy is the Mecca of espresso/cappuccino. I made my first cappuccino circa 1983 using a Bellman steamer and a moka pot and it was great. First real espresso machine I had was an Olympia Cremina.
Pressure is something taken for granted in machines manufactured now. The ladies who gave you that answer simply are bullshitting you because they obviously needed something to say. The quality of the beans as well as the roast levels has way more to do with ultimate taste. Obviously, the coffee should be fresh, but that,too, is taken for granted.
A while ago I frequent Cafe Duomo in Melbourne. Knew the owner and daughter. They taught me a lot about coffee. They got their beans from a roaster in Lygon St, forgot the name. Duomo uses bean from Santos Brazil.
How about Vienna? I live just outside the Seattle metro area and typically go into the city for specialty coffee. But I then found this traditional Viennese Coffee shop close by (Kaffeehaus de Châtillon). Very different from pretty much all of the shops I've been to. They pride themselves in serving traditional recipes with no substitutions or modifications. Everything must be ordered in the traditional Austrian way (i.e. an espresso is a mokka and all menu items are ordered in German). I even I had to learn how to properly ask for a drip coffee. Not complaining though, love the place. The coffee is unique and some of the best I've ever had. Definitely gained a sense of appreciation for the Viennese coffee culture. Another would be Japan. Really want to visit a traditional kissaten and get a slow, hand drip, cloth filtered cup of coffee from a kissaten master. And of course Japan has their own culture of third wave, so basically you can experience the old and the new. And what they both share is a meticulous attention to detail. It's like they don't care about diminishing returns. If any improvement can be had, no effort is spared.
We are a small team of coffee enthusiast from California. We do restaurants and food review as well. Long story short: almost any food or coffee we tried in Vienna was mediocre. Rome: overrated but mehhh, Riyadh: surprisingly superb! Germany: quality is good, culture is missing. Turkey: Tea drinkers almost solely from Black Sea region. No coffee culture except Turkish coffee which is prevalent. But prevalence does not necessarily translate to culture. Paris: overrated touristy garbage.
its funny when the lady barista was explaining italan likes robusta i was like maybe 80 percent she meant like here in Iran ppl like mostly strong coffee like 60 percent robucta ... 70 percent robusta ... now the male barista explaining the percentage i get that u or they call 20 percent robusta strong ... :) i personally like arabica but culture here is more on the strong dark roast side ...
02:58 asking to guy about cafe liquor but 90% he is from Bangladesh or Vietnam like other 90% of market owners in Rome and most part of Italy. They can’t even speak italian. If you go to Italy to see something authentic, very big disappointment is waiting for you…
Thank you! that has been driving me crazy, Handles are there for a reason and to appreciate a wonderful cup of coffee even if you are a stand at the bar type who is in a hurry, you MUST use the handles! Italy speaks 😉
We are a small team of coffee enthusiast from California. We do restaurants and food review as well. Long story short: almost any food or coffee we tried in Vienna was mediocre. Rome: overrated but mehhh, Riyadh: surprisingly superb! Germany: quality is good, culture is missing. Turkey: Tea drinkers almost solely from Black Sea region. No coffee culture except Turkish coffee which is prevalent. But prevalence does not necessarily translate to culture. Paris: overrated touristy garbage. Sydney: pure garbage. I have no clue how Sydney can possibly dare to have a say in Coffee culture. Fundamental conceptual errors in their careless coffee preparation. California & Seattle: Best ever, where Coffee is a religion
@@BrodieVissers In İstanbul, I’m afraid I would focus on Turkish coffee only, if you are a serious coffee drinker. Riyadh is surprisingly obsessed with coffee. I am not sure how to make a business sense out of it but rows of coffee shops literally next to each other in Riyadh brewing freshly roasted coffees. But again, as a Californian, I find CA & WA coffee scenes on another level. I haven’t bumped into anything like it anywhere in the world….yet! Still looking!
Haven’t been to Sydney or Riyadh so cannot say anything, although judging from your grossly generalized comment as a whole I dare not take any tips from anyone in your organization. However I’ve been to the other cities, and more - and sadly you come off as a very judgemental traveler, one of those that constantly says “oh back in my city, this would never fly.. we would never serve it like this.. etc etc.” I’m pretty well traveled and have experienced a vast variety of food, drinks, coffee, etc, etc - expensive to cheap, Michelin to hole in the wall. You can’t expect things to be at your “level’ wherever you go. It’s a sad way of experiencing the world when u travel with such a closed mind. If you think food was mediocre in Vienna, Rome, and Paris either you have a palette that is so ridiculously snobby or just got recommended some terrible places. I split my time between two of the most expensive major cities in California and honestly, the coffee… is great. The attention to detail, roasting, etc is… admirable. But it gets tiring. Food.. same. Sometimes, I want a humble fast-turn, slightly imprecise Italian serviced caffe. Sometimes I want that anaerobic light roast shit from a single source a few hundred meters up in some mountain in the middle of Indonesia. Have an open mind, stop being such an immature child. And lastly - your sentence in regards to Germany, “quality is good, culture is missing” had me and my friends laughing pretty hard. As one of them said “these so called enthusiasts went to a whole different country and forgot to experience culture.” And yes, we know you were referring to coffee culture mostly, but again - we can’t exactly do much with your grossly generalized statement anyways. Thanks for giving us a good laugh. I don’t care if u comment on this or not, I don’t have my comment notifications turned on anyways
@@s.e.3252 Agreed. I live in one of the “coffee capitals of the world” as the dude above so mentions, a city along the west coast.. not difficult to guess. Anyways, the quality even at the best, most “innovative” newest wave places are inconsistent at best. Like you said, disinterested baristas, poor quality control (especially once the place decides to expand) and just overall lack of training and knowledge transfer to new staff. Sure the core ingredients and sourcing are top notch but what’s the point if your people don’t know what the hell to do with them? I go to Italy often for work and sometimes pleasure and it is true you won’t find the newest wave shit there. Although in recent years there have been more niche cafes doing some new things. But even at all the typical tabacs, or small coffee bars the quality of the coffee you get is consistent. It’s old school, it’s not shit you sit there swirling trying to figure out tasting notes etc but it’s good. For example, when I go to Rome specifically I always stay at the same place and there’s this coffee bar two doors down. It’s nothing special….frequented by blue collar and early morning workers. The caffe (espresso) is better than the shit I’d pay for at some of the fancy places in my city. I have to pay $4.50/5 back home. Here I pay $1.50/70 (euro to usd). And it’s excellent each time doesn’t matter who makes it. Rich crema, not bitter, perfect pull, and just overall a better PQR. I will still enjoy a nice new wave coffee but I’m very picky where I get it.
The way you describe the tasting notes of the espresso really tells me nothing as a viewer. What do you mean by “obviously on the darker side, but sweeter”? Italians dose 14 grams for a dopio. Compared to the modern espresso dose, that’s 4 grams less, so it’s gonna be on the lighter side if anything. And you just can’t describe the taste notes to be darker and sweeter at the same time. Similarly, when you had that ristretto, you described it as, more acidic but sweeter at the same time. If it’s more acidic, it’s gonna taste more sour if anything else. I just can’t stand pretence. If you don’t know or don’t understand something, just say you don’t. Nobody’s hating you for that.
Come to Napoli. Coffee is just as good, plus it's always 10 degrees cooler in the summer, plus fewer tourists, plus your money will last twice as long as in Rome or Florence (three times as long as in Venice).
I'll put it on my list!
I’m a Coffee lover and I really enjoyed this video on coffee around Italy. It was so interesting and I hope one day I can experience it myself. I really enjoyed your take away on this. It was a really good video. Thank you.
Oh thank you so much! You'll have to do your own comparison of traditional Italian coffee and the new wave of specialty coffee existing in the same cities when you come :)
as an italian I always hated robusta. The only real reason they put it in the miscela is because it's super cheap. Italians wanted to stick to the 1.00 eur price for as long as possible, and having a 7g shot of mostly robusta made it possible. Big awful brands like lavazza, illy etc.. "educated" italians into drinking terrible robusta over the decades. I totally hate that. A few places will still serve you a 100% arabica mix for 1 eur. That's the holy grail of classic italian coffee.
yeah, I think Robusta has gotten a bad name over the years and most roasters have used it as a cheap alternative to Arabica. It can actually be very good, just like any other crop, if produced well. It has benefits like double the caffeine, more crema, and unique deep flavours for people who like that. In short, I think both are good, for different reasons, if done properly :)
I currently have an Indian single origin robusta from my local specialty roaster and it tastes absolutely amazing. It still is not my preferred taste, but it makes great classical espressi and cappuccini with lots of crema and I do really enjoy it.
Frankly I have never heard of Robusta for espresso. Maybe brands mix Robusta and Arabica for cheaper price. But I never buy branded coffee, only buy from local roaster, single origin arabica, never more than 1 week old from roast date. People who thinks brand like Illy, Lavazza, Segafredo as the best coffee are very funny. Their coffee are often long past production date. The only brand which I think is rather okay is Malongo.
@@jojoanggono3229 what a conoisseur. never heard of robusta inside espresso? How about Illy, Lavazza, Segafredo. You know those. they are all robusta dominant.
There is nothing wrong with Robusta. It depends on how the beans are roasted, and then pulled. I’ve had great Robusta caffe, poor Arabica caffe, and the opposite. So, don’t blame the beans. Blame the pull. And, also - there are different coffee for different reasons. If you want a quick shot on the way to work, Robusta will be fine. If you want to sit, sip, and enjoy 20 minutes maybe go for that high quality blend or single origin.
I'm learning! With most of the good expresso bars that I go to in California, their coffee is just too mild for me.
❤️ from the PHILIPPINES 🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭
Italy are the masters of roasting / blending coffee beans. Nowadays many coffee aficionados are guided by online baristas that preach single origin and roast level not to mention numerous gadgets to fill the puck, distribute, tamp, even circular filters on the puck, thermometer to steam milk LOL, and latte art which many can't seem to live without. I would venture to say it is an art to experiment with multiple origins, roast level of each, % of each to produce the special taste final blend coffee. Definitely more complicated than a single origin. Newer espresso machines may have pressure/flow profiling which essentially can recreate a lever machine on a pump machine. I also like some single origin and roast as well but Italy is the Mecca of espresso/cappuccino. I made my first cappuccino circa 1983 using a Bellman steamer and a moka pot and it was great. First real espresso machine I had was an Olympia Cremina.
haha wow did not expect the shout out to the blue jays and the skydome in this video. Ontario represent!
haha, you can take the boy out of Ontario, but you can't take the Ontario out of the boy
Pressure is something taken for granted in machines manufactured now. The ladies who gave you that answer simply are bullshitting you because they obviously needed something to say. The quality of the beans as well as the roast levels has way more to do with ultimate taste. Obviously, the coffee should be fresh, but that,too, is taken for granted.
I agree, I think they didn't know lol
Can you get a flat white coffee in Rome?
You can if you go to certain specialty “third wave” shops like some i mentioned
Go to Firenze!!! - or Venice - Venice had the first coffee house in the western world, back in the 1500s.
Oh wow that sounds great! I would love to go back to Firenze, or to Venice for the first time
Well that woman really knows what she is doing. Great job.
which one? there were several ;)
Come to Australia - great coffee !!!!!!
A while ago I frequent Cafe Duomo in Melbourne. Knew the owner and daughter. They taught me a lot about coffee. They got their beans from a roaster in Lygon St, forgot the name. Duomo uses bean from Santos Brazil.
Go to Australia to drink milk
How about Vienna? I live just outside the Seattle metro area and typically go into the city for specialty coffee. But I then found this traditional Viennese Coffee shop close by (Kaffeehaus de Châtillon). Very different from pretty much all of the shops I've been to. They pride themselves in serving traditional recipes with no substitutions or modifications. Everything must be ordered in the traditional Austrian way (i.e. an espresso is a mokka and all menu items are ordered in German). I even I had to learn how to properly ask for a drip coffee. Not complaining though, love the place. The coffee is unique and some of the best I've ever had. Definitely gained a sense of appreciation for the Viennese coffee culture.
Another would be Japan. Really want to visit a traditional kissaten and get a slow, hand drip, cloth filtered cup of coffee from a kissaten master. And of course Japan has their own culture of third wave, so basically you can experience the old and the new. And what they both share is a meticulous attention to detail. It's like they don't care about diminishing returns. If any improvement can be had, no effort is spared.
We are a small team of coffee enthusiast from California. We do restaurants and food review as well. Long story short: almost any food or coffee we tried in Vienna was mediocre. Rome: overrated but mehhh, Riyadh: surprisingly superb! Germany: quality is good, culture is missing. Turkey: Tea drinkers almost solely from Black Sea region. No coffee culture except Turkish coffee which is prevalent. But prevalence does not necessarily translate to culture. Paris: overrated touristy garbage.
Nice video. Check out the music of Resphigi. He did great music about the Appian ay.
Come to Croatia
Yes! It's definitely on my list this year
In love with Rome spirit .Please share the location of the liquor shop :)
Thanks! It's near the Trevi fountain: Via di S. Vincenzo, 15, 00187 Roma RM, Italy
its funny when the lady barista was explaining italan likes robusta i was like maybe 80 percent she meant like here in Iran ppl like mostly strong coffee like 60 percent robucta ... 70 percent robusta ... now the male barista explaining the percentage i get that u or they call 20 percent robusta strong ... :) i personally like arabica but culture here is more on the strong dark roast side ...
My fist coffee love was in Germany. But I think the Viennese really know coffee. Maybe go to Vienna.
that's definitely high on my list!
02:58 asking to guy about cafe liquor but 90% he is from Bangladesh or Vietnam like other 90% of market owners in Rome and most part of Italy. They can’t even speak italian. If you go to Italy to see something authentic, very big disappointment is waiting for you…
Use the handles
Thank you! that has been driving me crazy, Handles are there for a reason and to appreciate a wonderful cup of coffee even if you are a stand at the bar type who is in a hurry, you MUST use the handles! Italy speaks 😉
How about to Taiwan?
Yes Taiwan would be amazing too!
Traditional and real Italian espresso is strictly first wave… none of the contemporary tricks. It’s very much a commodity product.
Robusta is included not only for popular economy but for caffeine strength
Thank you for the video. You should visit Tokyo, once Japan opens up.
Great idea, that was one of the first countries I explore coffee and I loved it :)
I was addicted to espresso till it caused me Panic attacks 🙈
yes, everything in moderation, it can happen to anyone
We are a small team of coffee enthusiast from California. We do restaurants and food review as well. Long story short: almost any food or coffee we tried in Vienna was mediocre. Rome: overrated but mehhh, Riyadh: surprisingly superb! Germany: quality is good, culture is missing. Turkey: Tea drinkers almost solely from Black Sea region. No coffee culture except Turkish coffee which is prevalent. But prevalence does not necessarily translate to culture. Paris: overrated touristy garbage. Sydney: pure garbage. I have no clue how Sydney can possibly dare to have a say in Coffee culture. Fundamental conceptual errors in their careless coffee preparation. California & Seattle: Best ever, where Coffee is a religion
Hey that sounds awesome! I'll be visiting Istanbul this weekend to check out the coffee scene, any tips? Also hope to visit Riyadh sometime soon
@@BrodieVissers In İstanbul, I’m afraid I would focus on Turkish coffee only, if you are a serious coffee drinker. Riyadh is surprisingly obsessed with coffee. I am not sure how to make a business sense out of it but rows of coffee shops literally next to each other in Riyadh brewing freshly roasted coffees. But again, as a Californian, I find CA & WA coffee scenes on another level. I haven’t bumped into anything like it anywhere in the world….yet! Still looking!
Haven’t been to Sydney or Riyadh so cannot say anything, although judging from your grossly generalized comment as a whole I dare not take any tips from anyone in your organization. However I’ve been to the other cities, and more - and sadly you come off as a very judgemental traveler, one of those that constantly says “oh back in my city, this would never fly.. we would never serve it like this.. etc etc.”
I’m pretty well traveled and have experienced a vast variety of food, drinks, coffee, etc, etc - expensive to cheap, Michelin to hole in the wall. You can’t expect things to be at your “level’ wherever you go. It’s a sad way of experiencing the world when u travel with such a closed mind. If you think food was mediocre in Vienna, Rome, and Paris either you have a palette that is so ridiculously snobby or just got recommended some terrible places. I split my time between two of the most expensive major cities in California and honestly, the coffee… is great. The attention to detail, roasting, etc is… admirable. But it gets tiring. Food.. same. Sometimes, I want a humble fast-turn, slightly imprecise Italian serviced caffe. Sometimes I want that anaerobic light roast shit from a single source a few hundred meters up in some mountain in the middle of Indonesia.
Have an open mind, stop being such an immature child. And lastly - your sentence in regards to Germany, “quality is good, culture is missing” had me and my friends laughing pretty hard. As one of them said “these so called enthusiasts went to a whole different country and forgot to experience culture.” And yes, we know you were referring to coffee culture mostly, but again - we can’t exactly do much with your grossly generalized statement anyways.
Thanks for giving us a good laugh. I don’t care if u comment on this or not, I don’t have my comment notifications turned on anyways
I don't know, my experience with coffee in general (drip, espresso, capuccino etc.) In usa has been garbage, inconsistant, uninterested baristas...
@@s.e.3252 Agreed. I live in one of the “coffee capitals of the world” as the dude above so mentions, a city along the west coast.. not difficult to guess. Anyways, the quality even at the best, most “innovative” newest wave places are inconsistent at best.
Like you said, disinterested baristas, poor quality control (especially once the place decides to expand) and just overall lack of training and knowledge transfer to new staff.
Sure the core ingredients and sourcing are top notch but what’s the point if your people don’t know what the hell to do with them?
I go to Italy often for work and sometimes pleasure and it is true you won’t find the newest wave shit there. Although in recent years there have been more niche cafes doing some new things.
But even at all the typical tabacs, or small coffee bars the quality of the coffee you get is consistent. It’s old school, it’s not shit you sit there swirling trying to figure out tasting notes etc but it’s good.
For example, when I go to Rome specifically I always stay at the same place and there’s this coffee bar two doors down. It’s nothing special….frequented by blue collar and early morning workers. The caffe (espresso) is better than the shit I’d pay for at some of the fancy places in my city.
I have to pay $4.50/5 back home. Here I pay $1.50/70 (euro to usd). And it’s excellent each time doesn’t matter who makes it. Rich crema, not bitter, perfect pull, and just overall a better PQR.
I will still enjoy a nice new wave coffee but I’m very picky where I get it.
The way you describe the tasting notes of the espresso really tells me nothing as a viewer.
What do you mean by “obviously on the darker side, but sweeter”? Italians dose 14 grams for a dopio. Compared to the modern espresso dose, that’s 4 grams less, so it’s gonna be on the lighter side if anything. And you just can’t describe the taste notes to be darker and sweeter at the same time.
Similarly, when you had that ristretto, you described it as, more acidic but sweeter at the same time. If it’s more acidic, it’s gonna taste more sour if anything else. I just can’t stand pretence. If you don’t know or don’t understand something, just say you don’t. Nobody’s hating you for that.
Just can’t watch a video with people wearing masks…sorry…too bad maybe you can use AI to edit it all…