Morning coffee (77%). That of the break (53%), of lunch, of mid-afternoon and even of evening. Italians love it and drink it at home (92%) and at the bar (72%). 58% say they drink it to find the necessary charge to face the day and 77% drink it in the morning when they wake up, for 47% of those interviewed it is a pleasure and 37% consider it a ritual to be consumed together with others. (source: Coffee Monitor 2018, Nomisma).

But how do we drink it? The Consortium for the protection of traditional Italian espresso coffee has drawn up a Disciplinary, shared with the Italian Coffee Committee to allow us to ask for the best from our favorite drink, learning to distinguish a good coffee from a poorly prepared coffee.

Coffee beans and grinding

Prefer the bars that grind directly: after only 15 minutes from the grinding it loses about 65% of the aromas. It should therefore only be used on coffee beans which must be ground to a weight that can vary between 7 and 9 g, taking care to keep it in the dispenser as little time as possible. Even if kept in grains, coffee should be stored in special containers that should be cleaned periodically as the oil contained inside the beans can oxidize on contact with air and go rancid.

Beverage extraction

The contact time between water and coffee conditions the extraction of the aromatic components present inside the bean. The greater the extraction, the greater the number of water-soluble substances in the beverage. But this is not necessarily a good thing, because some of these substances are not pleasant, so the ultimate goal is to find the right balance. The delivery time is between 20 and 27 seconds.

The aroma

If we feel the need to add sugar, it means that it has not been prepared properly. The aroma should be pleasant and intense, the full taste pleasantly bitter and never astringent. A bad effect on the thing could be the bad cleaning of the machine and an old grind.

The cup

The content in the cup should be between 13 and 26 g. at a temperature between 90 ° C and 96 ° C. Coffee should preferably be served in cups of porcelain with the bottom narrower than the mouthpiece and of adequate thickness to maintain the temperature.

The cream

The Traditional Italian Espresso coffee, to be considered as such, must have a uniform and persistent cream for at least 120 seconds from the end of the unmixed beverage delivery.

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