Loving Italy a Latte

Today we took a very interesting and informative trip to a local coffee roaster in Arezzo. It was the coffee company named Sandy, who actually originated in Arezzo in 1957. I drink a cup of coffee almost everyday, so it was really neat for me to be able to see the process of making it firsthand. Sandy imports their coffee to Arezzo from different places, and then has an intricate process of roasting, grinding, blending, and packaging to get their coffee to the quality they want. Before this course, I did not know that coffee had two distinct varieties: Arabica and Robusta. They are very different in their characteristics such as shape, taste, and acidity. Since Robusta is stronger with a harsher taste and has double the caffeine, I found out that I prefer Arabica coffee beans. Arabica beans are more expensive, take longer to grow, and require a higher altitude than Robusta beans do.  During the visit to Sandy’s headquarters, one interesting fact that stood out to me was learning that Sandy prefers to be hands on in their factory. This ensures the workers to have complete control over their product instead of using machines for the entire process, which is common for larger coffee companies such as Starbucks. I’m so glad they let us sample their coffee after giving us a tour because after smelling that delicious aroma, I needed some coffee. I am one that usually pours an overload of sugar and cream into my cup of coffee. However while I’ve been in Italy, I have tried not to do this as much and I really have begun to appreciate the taste of plain coffee. I would have never known these things about coffee without this memorable experience and visit. -CJC