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Tuscany?

PostPosted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 7:59 pm
by syscrusher
Will be spending the better part of 6 days near Gassano / La Spezia - any tips?

I'm not expecting magic, but even some suggestions on which local roasters might be palatable...

.. would be much appreciated...

RE: Tuscany?

PostPosted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 8:04 pm
by Gouezeri
Stéphane! Debout!

Will see if I can ask around.

Presume you also found this?

Italy really seems to be extremely hit or miss though. I've never found much logic behind it, other than whether the barista gives a .....

Re: RE: Tuscany?

PostPosted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 8:18 pm
by MKSwing
Mmmh La Spezia is quite far from the place I know and wrote about. Usually bars serve good espressi, try to get one near a church, in little towns, this is where you might find the best. Look at the machine, if it's clean then go for it.

RE: Re: RE: Tuscany?

PostPosted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 8:23 pm
by Gouezeri
Thing is though Steph, I've tried places that seemed busy, and were awful. I've also tried places half way up a mountain (and I mean that quite literally) and they were surprisingly OK, not great, but ok. I just tend to try places and expect to be disappointed. Then just wait until I get back to the tent to fire up the AP and Rocky.

PostPosted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 11:45 pm
by RolandGlew
I'll be around Pisa/Florence for a bit next month - let me know if you come across anywhere good :)

PostPosted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 7:40 am
by syscrusher
So far... crap...

Tuscany?

PostPosted: Fri Jul 23, 2010 6:59 pm
by Piero
Touristy Italian places like Tuscany should i.m.o. be avoided if you're serious about coffee.

Tourists almost outnumber the locals in these places, locals who earn a living trying to please them. Most believe that all non-Italians enjoy only instant coffee, 'long' ones, watery ones, milk-drowned ones, etc. (They even call it 'zuppa' among themselves instead of 'caffe'')

Why not visit non-touristy parts of Italy to try their coffee?

RE: Tuscany?

PostPosted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 8:43 am
by bruceb
I can recommend the mountainous Marche region west of Ancona. It's generally off the tourist map, the scenery is lovely, the people are kind and friendly and I've had some excellent coffee there. There are a few roasters in Ancona that do a very good job.

RE: Tuscany?

PostPosted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 9:57 am
by CakeBoy
I remember driving to overnight accommodation in La Spezia late at night many, many years ago, only to awaken in the morning to amazing views and the realisation that we would surely have driven slower had we realised how windy and steep the roads had been. Happy days :P

Re: RE: Tuscany?

PostPosted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 10:06 pm
by MKSwing
bruceb wrote:I can recommend the mountainous Marche region west of Ancona. It's generally off the tourist map, the scenery is lovely, the people are kind and friendly and I've had some excellent coffee there. There are a few roasters in Ancona that do a very good job.


Tolentino ? :)

RE: Re: RE: Tuscany?

PostPosted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 10:19 pm
by RolandGlew
I tried numerous cups of coffee in Pisa, Florence and Viareggio. Of the vast amount of places, a couple managed passable cups - most of them were pulled very short and tasted the worse for it. Italian coffee culture was an interesting experience for me - so different to the English experience. I particularly enjoyed shakerato on a hot afternoon :)

Re: Tuscany?

PostPosted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 10:53 am
by canto66
Well, is not a coffee shop, but they organize very nice visits to the roasting area, and we taste many good coffees. Has been a great experience:
http://aprireunbar.com/corsi/courses/
about it also I read this review:
http://www.leeslifeadventure.com/2015/06/the-rocket.html