Do you have Italian coffee?

As a Belgian roaster, the question that keeps coming up is: Do you have Italian coffee? The answer is always no, because there is simply no coffee growing in Europe... Coffee trees grow exclusively on the equatorial belt between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. However, you can ask for Italian roasted coffee.

So why do some consumers think that Italian coffee is the best in the world?

The answer is quite simple and the consumer is partly right. When you taste a coffee in Italy you are rarely disappointed. Indeed, the last link in the chain, that is to say, the person who will make your coffee at the machine will do his job properly. And that's where the difference is made.

There are several important players who will intervene and who will make sure that you will enjoy a good or bad coffee.

There are 3 actors, the grower, the roaster and the barista.

The farmer:

The first is the grower. You can buy excellent Colombian coffee from a small family finca, or you can go for price and quantity and buy poor quality beans. Whether you are in Italy or Belgium, you have access to the best or the worst plantations. It's up to the roaster to make the right choice through a coffee importer or to source directly. In any case, the final choice is up to the roaster and his desire to roast a good coffee or not.

The roaster:

The second stakeholder is the roaster itself and there are two types. The artisanal roaster and the industrial one. The first one will privilege the small exploitations and the farmers who seek to obtain the most qualitative coffee possible. He will carry out an artisanal roasting which will not exceed 220 degrees at the end of roasting and which will last between 15 and 20 minutes. The second will have an opposite approach. He will privilege quantity over quality and will opt for an industrial roasting. That is to say, a cooking at 1000 degrees which will last between 3 to 4 minutes and which will leave a bitter taste on your stomach.

The barista:

Finally, at the end of the chain comes the barista. This is the person who makes your coffee when you order it in a local bar or restaurant. And it is precisely this link that is missing in our company. Making a good coffee is not as easy as you might think.

The grind must be perfect and the grinders must be carefully adjusted every day in order to obtain a dense and unctuous crema. A small espresso coffee will have a different grind than a lungo and can only be made correctly if the barista has two grinders at his disposal. It is also important to ensure that the machine is well maintained. A machine in bad condition will give an unpleasant taste in the mouth. It is also important to pay attention to the extraction time. A coffee that flows into your cup in 15 seconds will be too light and bland, while a coffee that flows in 50 seconds will be too bitter.

The beans are not different and the roaster is not to blame.

In Belgium, we don't have this coffee culture and often this is where the problem arises. This is what makes the difference between the excellent coffee you drink in Italy and the not so good one you taste here. It is therefore the last link in the chain that we need to train better in Belgium so that the coffee is as good as in the boot.

The roasters have nothing to do with it. There are some very good roasters in Belgium. And it is not the fault of the bean itself. Whether you are in Italy or elsewhere, your coffee will never come from a European country. Coffee only grows between the two tropics. Italian coffee does not exist but it is often better to taste there. It is up to the restaurant owners to train their employees better and to you to change your habits at home, to learn how to make a good coffee and to equip yourself with the right equipment. And you will see, the coffee will be as good at home as in Italy ????