A blonde bean in Rome

Coffee on fast feet

Travel Guide

In 1615 a merchant of Venice wrote: “The Turks have a drink of black color....I will bring some with me...to the Italians” thus introducing coffee to Italy and Europe. I will be forever grateful!

In Asolo, close to Treviso and Bassano di Grappa and not too far away from Venice, the entrance point for coffee, a friend of mine, Maria Grazia Bravi invited me and some friends one grey, foggy week-end in November to her exhibition.

We searched out the best bar obviously in the little village which was easy as it was the central point,  located at a small piazza where we gathered for our morning and afternoon coffee throughout our week end.

The bar was not only serving excellent coffee, it turned out to be famous too for their waitress that won a  competion for being the fastest waitress in Italy.

Feel the draft as she passes by to serve the customers at:

Caffe' Centrale
Address: Via Roma, 72
31011 Asolo
Treviso
Italy
Phone number: +39 0423 952141 ‎

Black coffee, poetry and music

"Do you need rehearsed flattery? Then you'll have to go to someone else. I lie by will and lie good, but always spontaneous. Are you looking for a song to your beauty? Then you'll have to go to someone else. I sing false about the ugly. I'm in love with life, I'm so stupid that I believe in what I do. If you stay, you know what you get:

Black coffee and poetry! Black coffee and dreaming. Black coffee combined with a little self-irony."

When  I was still a teenager this was a very popular song on the chart lists in Sweden. I never fancied the band, Raj Montana Band, very much nor its singer, Dan Hylander,  as I hadn't learnt yet to appreciate the mystery of poetry but this  song for some reason hit home. I recall even buying a ticket to the bands last performance where the mythical Py Bäckman would co-perform.

However.. I lost the ticket just 10 min before the concert.. I hope someone found the ticket and made it to the gig as I lost the opportunity..

For those of you who want to enjoy the song together with me over your cup of coffee as you linger around your laptop today, click this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyEqHEHt68U

for a live performance:

Black coffee and poetry - live

 

Memorable coffee encounters during Summer 2011 - Cyprus

Many have come to this maritime crossroad in the past over the centuries to take part of Cyprus for themselves - invaders, settlers, immigrants and in more recent times the new type of invaders - the tourists. This summer it was my turn to take part of its beauty and let her leave an imprint on my very being and I have to admit, she was very successful.

The extensive cultural ties Cyprus has with Greece are strong but the island was never part of Greece and is now a divided beauty.  Some years prior to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus she enjoyed being its own republic for a few years. The history of Cyprus goes a long way back but the most recent history includes being a colony of Britain, under British administrative control and under Ottoman Empire control for some 400 years.

I'm sorry, I got lost in history here so let's go back to what this blog is really supposed to be about - the coffee. Being here without take into account the history though is difficult as it is present everywhere - both its past as well as its present. For example the local coffee on the island is nowadays called Cypriotic coffee. The invasion had a strenuous effect on many levels not only in Cyprus but also in Greece where it used to be called Turkish coffee but due to the invasion was changed into Greek coffee.  Even the former Ottoman world still has an influence on the coffee culture of today, and the dominant style of preparation is still around, both on the Greek side as well as on the Turkish side of the island. 

I spent my vacation in a very touristic spot, Protaras, that has been more or less entirely built up around the tourist industry thanks to its famous beach "Fig Tree Bay" and the coffee around there were of quite poor quality and quite expensive. The best one we had and that takes pride in the way they roast and serve the coffee was in the Costa Coffee store in Protaras, but you have to be willing to pay around €2. I don't mind though as its part of being a tourist and the Costa Coffee store is not only clean but the interior is very warm and inviting so it is nice to sit down and have a chat while escaping the heat outdoors.

The best experience for us howerver was yet to come. 

We had the opportunity to  met up with some British expats who in turn introduced us to some newly found friends on the other side of the border. One morning we were invited to this friends’ house who couldn't have a more enthusiastic guest than me as I was really hoping I would be so lucky to be offered the Turkish traditional coffee and my dream came true.

The making of the traditional Turkish coffee is simple as anything - the finely powdered roast coffee beans are boiled in a pot (cezve), with sugar according to taste, before being served into a tiny little cup where the dregs settle thick on the bottom of your cup and you better let it settle as it is nothing you'd like to gulp down.

I had a very eager photographer with me so enjoy the photos and I'm sorry but this time I will not provide you with the visiting address but when you visit Cyprus, make sure you get over the border and find a friend of your own so you get the real treat.

Enjoy the pictures and thank you Tiffany for contributing the photos!   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memorable coffee encounters during Summer 2011 - Florens

Wherever you are when it is time for either your coffee, your lunch, dinner or even where to find a decent haircut - looking at the decor or exterior design isn't always helpful. You can never judge by the cover that it will guarantee quality or that it will satisfy your taste.

This is often the case with the bars in Italy - it is not always they fanciest or hip looking bars that will serve the best coffees, more commonly you'll find them in the roughest looking hole-in-the-wall place with rude personell yet still, you will come back because in the quest for the good stuff, you are prepared to sacrifice a lot on everything else but the taste from your paid-for brew.

There are two solutions to the dilemma how to find where to go when you arrive to a new spot: Either by trial-and-error or by recommendations by friends. 

This summer I spent 2 weeks in Florens and was lucky to have friends offering breakfast which sealed the deal. The bar doesn't look anything in particular from the outside but the coffee and cappuccino were well balanced bitterness, velvety, rich and leaving a sweet aftertaste. Their cornettis


are all worth trying and I got stuck on a sfogliatella the second day and was my preferred choice for the rest of my duration. 

To find the bar with no particular hype or ceremony but friendly staff, lovely pastries and wonderful coffee and cappuccinis park your car outside:

Anna E Roberto
Di Lombardi Alfredo
Bar Tabacchi Gelateria
Address: Ponte a Niccheri
Bagno a Ripoli
Florens 
Phone number: +39 055 640071 

 

 

Memorable coffee encounters Summer 2011 - New York

I've said it before and I'll say it again - ordering coffee in America can be a stressful thing as a visitor. They have so many options unbeknown to me but this time I thought I'd take a safe road starting off in a Starbucks, as I remember doing quite OK in any Starbucks when living in London.

Me, Mary and Dan were in Queens inside a supermarket with a Starbucks inside it. I was relieved to see they had espresso so thought it was going to be an easy task. I got into trouble with the first question from the barrista: one shot or two shots? I turned around to Dan to see if he could help me and he advised 2 shots. But still not on safe grounds - now other questions quickly followed that left me in a blur and once again I had to helplessly ask Dan for help until I finally had my cup of coffee and could pay for it.

The coffee in itself was nothing particular to remember other than that it was decent but what Mary and I thought was cool (as newly arrived tourists with big eyes) was that we could bring whatever we had purchased from the Starbucks with us into the Supermarket, drinking and munching away inside the maze of shelves. Me like!

I have to admit I wasn't very adventurous with exploring the coffee options in New York (plus got sidetracked by the lure of shopping..) so Starbucks was a re-occurring exercise now knowing I had to order an "espresso 2 shots" to get what I wanted without too much fuss. The very best coffee we had in a Starbucks' was in an enormous Supermarket on Long Island.

On Madison Avenue, however, on our very last day in Manhattan I found a very cute place that I not only loved because for the quality of the coffee and friendly atmosphere but also for the cool and different interior design. Even the cornettos' were not too far off from anything you could get in Rome!

It's called D'espresso and it's like walking into a room that has tilted - you walk in on a bookshelf, and when you sit on the sofa you have the parquet floor behind your back, the books beneath you and behind the barrista the lights from the rooftop are pointing straight out.  

Get it? If not, come and check it out for yourself and even if you do get it, I highly recommend this place for any coffee lovers as "the" place to start off your day before going into the office, to come and rest your feet after some serious damage done on shopping or to just come in and hang-out with your friends watching buy-passers through the window.

Next time I'll be in NY, you can be sure to find me here! 

D'ESPRESSO
Address: 317 Madison Av on 42 St
New York
NY 10017
United States of America
Phone number: +1 212 867 7141
Fax number: +1 212 867 7149
Website: www.despresso.com 

Memorable coffee encounters Summer 2011 - Sardegna

In my last post I wrote about a memorable coffee I had in Sweden this summer - but what is it that makes something a lasting memory? 

For me it is not only the coffee. The coffee is the aim of course, to look at the presentation, the crema, inhale the odors, sip it and then enjoy and examine the sensation and the lasting impression on your palate. But not only. What will help you remember a place and the coffee in itself is also how you happened to find the place, your first impression when you first walked inside the bar, if you were on your own or in company with someone, your expectations before drinking the coffee and if they all are met or even if they exceeded your expectations, the entire venture will have been worth the entire effort.

Last summer was the first time I visited Sardinia and instantly fell in love with the wild, mountainious interior contrasted with the white, sophisticated beaches and its incredibly crystal clear turqoise waters. Escorted around by an excellent and knowledgeable friend I not only found the best secluded beaches but also the best bars for the best coffee.

Since I was fortunate to be able to return again this summer, we continued trying out new bars but also revisited "old acquaintances" why I was curious to see if one that had made a lasting impression would do as good as it did last time or if anything had changed. I was happy to find everything the way I left it and I was happy to have my friend Dory with me, who truly knows how to enjoy the finer things in life.

The bar is also a pasticceria, which guarantees that the pastries you order with your morning coffee will also be fresh for the day. Bar and Pasticceria Cucciari has a shaded spacious seating area outside and inside it is modern and clean. The different pastries on display makes it quite a challenge to decide what to order, but to make it easier I would recommend that if you want to start a diet, do it another day and use this day to at least try two of them or eat one with your coffee and bring the second one with you for a snack later in the afternoon.

The coffee is excellent with a rich, thick crema and full, strong aroma with just the right amount of acidity.

I suggest when coming here you make it a lazy lasting breakfast, take your time and while you're at it, order another coffee or cappuccino. Why hurry, you're in vacation and the lovely beaches are just around the corner and in multitude. 

Bar Pasticceria Cucciari
Di Cucciari Pasquale & C. Snc
Address: Via Petrarca
07021 Arzachena
Olbia-Tempio
Sardinia 

Phone number: + 39 0789 82784 ‎
 

Memorable coffee encounters Summer 2011 - Sweden

Being somewhere in the middle of Summer 2011 I have enjoyed some extensive travelling catching up with family and friends and as I still have more to look forward to, I do feel responsible towards my readers that still haven't fixed their plans 100% and would welcome some inspiration for their summer break. Hence, I want to share some spots I've found around the world, just in case you are in the neighborhood.. (on the picture though I've just finished an espresso after our lunch by the beach in Costa Smeralda, Sardinia - I'll post a note from there soon).

This summer was the first in a long while that I was able to go home to Sweden and just enjoy it during summer without any particular obligations and towards the end of my stay I enjoyed a couple of days in a paradise-like environment with lush green forests, gardens and sea side. One day I ventured into the city of Kalmar, a city rich of history for Sweden and my aim was to run a couple of errands and do some shopping. 

After some very successful and productive hours I had about 30 minutes before the bus would take me back to my lodging and felt myself strongly craving a coffee, but would it be possible to find a decent espresso here or would I have to settle for the Swedish traditional "long coffee"? I was in need of a strong one!

At the end of a pretty little road I found a tempting note that took my mind off the coffee for a second or two - it promised that in this venue, the best possible pancakes was being served together with home made jam and whipped cream.. I couldn't resist of course as pancakes is a must during summer and so I entered without any further delay.

The interior had a warm and welcoming atmosphere and my heart skipped a beat when my eyes fell upon a very good looking espresso machine. The question was now, was there anyone here capable in handling her aright? The 'barrista' showed up and I asked him if he could do me 'un bel caffe' and then after serve me some pancakes. He gave me a curious glance due to my boldly expressed demand but immediately went to work on the machine. I noticed that there were coffee beans in bags marked with 'Italy' on a shelf over the coffee menu and as curiosity killed the cat, I had to ask him if he imported directly from Italy or it was just for mere decoration to add to the Italian-styled cafe.

I had been so lucky to find the best place in the entire city for a good espresso - he was not only the 'barrista' but also an artist who runs the cafe together with a relative. As we kept on talking I found out that he had an auntie living in Rome and often comes here to try different toasts of coffee beans and import his findings to this very coffee bar that also serves as an art gallery in Kalmar, Sweden.

The coffee was excellent and the pancakes, you have to come and try for yourself. But I would go there every other day if I lived in the neighborhood. If you are more interested in the art, you can also buy them direct off from the walls. The artist himself came out himself (barefoot) to serve me where I was sitting alongside the street and I made a mental note that even if I didn't have my camera with me, this place just had to be on my blog. Don't you just agree that this fits beautifully in here?!!

 For his paintings, click this link

As I can't take credit for others pictures, here is a link (for a Swedish audience) where you get a good feeling about the bar - click here

The address:

Konrads Konst och Kafe'
Larmgatan 7
Kalmar
Sweden

Phone number 0046 (0)704 77 35 11 

Find it on the map - click here!