Coffee!

Our trip is coming to an end and it is a bitter sweet feeling. The time I have spent here has been nothing but awesome experiences and great memories. On our last class field trip Dr. Lombardini took us to the Sandy Caffé headquarters in Arezzo to do a private coffee making tour. When coming to Italy it is expected to try the coffee at least once. The people back home were not lying on how good it is here. As a consumer, I’ve always wondered how a coffee business works and how does it get the taste the way does and this tour fulfilled my questions. Coffee is native to Ethiopia and has been traced back since the early 19^th century. The coffee plant itself is an evergreen shrub that can grow up five meters tall. The tree produces cherries and when ripe are picked off the branch and set out to dry until is ready to come off. typically these cherries produce around two beans. When it comes to the roasting the rule of thumb is the darker the roast, the stronger the coffee. The roaster at Sandy hold about 120 kilos and takes around 18 minutes till done. The aroma is overbearing but very pleasant it makes you want to stay forever. It was very cool to see the different blends they are in the process of making and tasted even better when sampling. This might be my final blog to post but this isn't the last time Italy and Sandy Caffé will see of me. 

-Michael Vandever