Hi all, I'm looking for a classic Italian or Italian style roast, Northern or Southern is fine, but something that when pulled as a 1:2 will not be be either bitter or acidic. I keep reading about honey, chocolate, marshmallow notes etc, but I've tried a number of Italian (Illy, Lavazza, Lucaffe, San Eustachio) beans, and whilst all are fine with milk, most are too bitter or acidic for my clearly unrefined palate, when taken as a straight espresso. I thought I would try a few more Italian roasts, including Passalacqua, Trucillo, Barbaro and Danesi, but I'm rather playing hit and miss here, so thought I would come to the brains trust to see if they have any recommendations. Local UK roasters are fine (I've tried a few myself, including Stow Town, Cotswold Coffee Roasters, Extract, Outpost & Monsoon Estates) for recommendations, but I'm not into third wave orange juice! Any help, greatly appreciated.

Classic Italian espresso is usually pulled a little longer than 1:2. Coffee has some bitterness normally, it also usually has some acidity...this is defined in the description of Italian espresso. Never found honey, marshallow, nor chocolate in any of the Italian brands I have tried whether made by myself, or in a cafe. Third wave coffee can taste of many things, including overlapping with Italian style espresso, orange is a pretty rare note in coffee. Tart/sharp coffee is usually a brewing malfunction (under-extraction). I would re-evaluate how you are trying to achieve your target, aim for the notes you want (probably not all of them at the same time) and ignore whether it has to be Italian/Italian style and a specific ratio. Or accept Italian blends for what they are.

FWIW, and speaking as an Italian drinking Italian coffee for 50+ years, Illy is about as sweet and as chocolatey (bitter chocolate) as one can find in the UK - or in Italy for that matter. A certain amount of bitterness and acidity is there in the 'Italian' taste; more with more Robusta (i.e. 'Southern' Italian - but some Lavazza mixes have a lot of Robusta in them).

Third wave orange juice haha. I like it 🙂 Well I got a kg of roasters blend from a1 coffee it was 5.99 a kg was an ad on my Facebook so I gave them a go. Blend of Brasil and a robusta but tastes typical Italian espresso to me. Also if you pull it 1:2.5 in 20 seconds it tastes like Turkish coffee. Also their Nicaraguan decaf beans were really really good. 8.99 a kg. No roast date on the packaging just BB date but they say you receive beans roasted max 1 week ago and I can confirm mine were pretty fresh and gassy when arrived.

I have some Kimbo Espresso Napoli on the go at the moment. It keeps surprising me with its rich spicy chocolate flavour, particularly notable in a flat white.

Third wave orange juice 🤣 Also following with interest, I keep hoping the ‘fourth wave’ will be all of the artisan roasters doing rich, Italian style roasts.

@"Ernie1"#p24569 Many are already roasting as dark, or darker than many offerings from Illy, Lavazza & Kimbo. 'Artisan' isn't mutually exclusive with 'Italian style'. Maybe counter-intuatively, even Illy quote orange blossom in their Classico notes (much as I like it, it's not something I have ever picked up on).

Worth noting that Italian espresso is bitter and balanced out with sugar to make it sweeter.

I don't find the need to add sugar, any more than with any other coffee, obviously different roast levels (I don't drink Illy Forte, for instance) & proportions of Robusta will play a part in how much sweetness is perceived. http://www.inei.coffee/en/The-Certified-Italian-Espresso.html

> @"CoyoteOldMan"#p24546 A certain amount of bitterness and acidity is there in the ‘Italian’ taste; more with more Robusta (i.e. ‘Southern’ Italian I agree. Having grown up myself in an Italian family with my mum starting the day with a moka pot with the small filter laden with usually kimbo coffee, with the sweet aroma filling the kitchen, I have been usually biased towards Italian blends. Of those the most agreeable or even acceptable, I have ever come across in bean formation ( that has not come directly from a roastery) to put into my espresso machine has been passalacqua gran bar. Generally though anything bought not from a roastery is more miss than hit. That one though does work for us but then my palate is more geared towards a strong neapolitan coffee taste

Classic Italian Espresso medium/dark - Sweetest Recommendation?s?

Cuprajake

sorry ment on your lever, group and brew

dfk41

Cuprajake I am running 93/98 at the moment

Cuprajake

Umm quite hot then, I’m on 90/98

Tbh I should use the temp adjustment more 😂

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