Thursday, July 1, 2010

The Palate of illy

We hopped on the bus early in the morning and were off to the Italy's most north-eastern region. Our first stop: illy and the Universita del Caffe di Trieste. Unfortunately, and for reasons unknown, we arrived a couple hours later than expected and missed some of the intended courses and tour. the classroom was spectacular - we each had our own computers that followed along with the presentation, we had speakers and videos for when we participated and of course a guapo barista serving us cafes to taste from the bar in the classroom. learning about the coffee cultivation, production, purchasing processes, the different illy products, marketing and branding of the company and its products, and the tasting sessions were all fascinating, informative and very well organized. the company definitely knows good coffee. they have seemingly-compassionate and realistic views on organic and their relationship with the growers/producers while at the same time as using the highest quality beans. They say, in terms of coffee growing, organic reduces production, increases costs and reduces quality - there is no negative impact on the coffee growing environment's sustainability by not using organic because it is absorbed/recycled every 15-30 days. Also - the organic pesticides are sold by huge multinational corporations which are not always good anyways. it takes 5 years to be a certified coffee connoisseur. i kinda like the idea of that...

we graduated. with high honours. caffeine high. 

some things to share:
When making cafe with a moka: don't let the water and the powder be in contact for too long - remove it from the flame at the first noise you hear. Use hot water, but not boiling water - there should be no bubbles.  Should fill the coffee so that it is level but not compacted - it should be a gentle "snowing" to cover it all so that there is no bypassing of the water. And, it works best with coarse, not fine cafe.

Concerning coffee being kept in the fridge/freezer: "it's not crucial, and it's not clever." Coffee has 15% oil content and freezing could cause rancidity - in the same way that fatty foods are not kept in the freezer. Oxidation happens once the can is opened and aging starts. Also, it is important to not overheat coffee beans and to keep out of the sun and away from any lights in the kitchen.

After watching the sunset over the beautiful piazza in Trieste, 12 of us squeezed into a tiny restaurant and shared a fantastic meal prepared to us by just a husband and wife. we started with razor clams, delicioussss scallops on the half shell, and mussels all lighted coated with herby breadcrumbs, and in one bite - the tastiest essence-of-summer-time tomato bruschetta. then we had homemade pasta with whole shrimps in a simple tomato sauce. mounds and mounds of fried seafood. mussels in a garlicy wine sauce. and then fresh juice-dripping watermelon. good day, good night, good company, good start to a good stage.
where's the thumb's up button?


No comments: