Friday 13 October (Day Twenty-six)
Yes, Friday the thirteenth!
Today was the day I was going on my first tour – of the Costadoro Coffee Factory. I walked through the Piazza Reale grounds and arrived at the tourist info with half an hour to spare.
When no bus materialised at 9:20 I went into the office only to find out the bus was waiting somewhere else than described. What started out as a leisurely morning was now a bit of a rush!
At the bus I was introduced to my translator. Strapped in and off we go! The translator had no idea where the factory was – saying she didn’t know all the neighbourhoods of Torino (‘You know how it is when you live somewhere.’ Um, no!) However, the unknown neighbourhood was more or less my own but about a mile further east.
After a short wait with about twenty other tourists – all in their 60s and 70s (is this a thing?) – we were ushered up some stairs and into a classroom where our tour would begin. I confess I had rolled my eyes at the thought of a lecture about coffee in Italian. However, with the amount I could understand, my on and off again translator, and the addition of the slide presentation, I learned more than expected, and was more interested too. Our guide/teacher’s name was Fabio. He was serious then funny, and he wore the typical male fashion – a scarf around his neck.
Costadoro was one of three old companies started in Torino to launch the coffee revolution. The first was Lavazza. Costadoro began in the late eighteen hundreds and is now a wholesale coffee seller, not available in stores or online but in restaurants and hotels. They use coffee mostly from Brazil – 100% Arabica beans. What I did learn was that 40% of the world’s coffee is considered ‘bad.’ Of the rest only a small percentage is good, then high quality, and a tiny percentage ‘top cup.’ The higher the quality of coffee the more likely it is to not upset your stomach or keep you awake at night.
I also learned why coffee was so expensive. Each tree produces only 1.5 kilos of beans a few times a year, and these beans are hand picked to choose only the red and yellow. A tiring job to be sure since coffee is grown on very sunny hills. The higher the altitude the more even sun the beans will get. The beans are dried in the sun before they are packed off to manufacturers like Costadoro.
Down on the factory floor, we saw the large storage sheds and the machines that work to get that coffee into our cups. The beans are washed and sorted, the ‘bad’ beans taken out, and then roasted before being packaged. The aroma was pretty good down here but not as strong as I’d thought it would be.
We were given some beans to chew on, hot from the roaster, and then shown the barrels of beans that had been rejected. I asked what they did with these beans. Apparently these are sent to be used in automatic coffee vending machines – remind me not to buy any from those again!
There’s a testing lab, where by infrared light (so that the true colours can be seen) each batch is tested.
Back upstairs we go into the coffee lab. It’s like a kitchen but the only equipment in here is various types of coffee makers. There’s filter, vacuum, the mocha (the typical Italian pots of many designs) and espresso machines. One thing I didn’t see was a coffee press and I forgot to ask about those.
Pretty fascinating to see the different machines in use! With the mocha, start with hot water – I learned something! This way there is more chance of the coffee being evenly infused by the water as it is forced upwards and then back down into the bottom of the pot. We all got to taste that coffee. Then the espresso machine. This has to be cleaned each time – the coffee container, the spigots, etc. It was one of the most important things to do in order to have a good cup of coffee and Fabio warned me that when I ask for decaf, if the machine isn’t cleaned properly I’m getting more caffeine than I bargained for. That makes sense.
For days now I’ve had the odd coffee – it’s a vital ending to each Italian meal and there’s shock in their faces when I tell servers I don’t want any. However, each time I’ve had enough stomach upset to need a Rennies. With this coffee I have absolutely none. Another lesson learned – don’t go for the cheap coffee! Buy the high quality, higher cost coffee if I want to bother at all. A lady is chosen to make her first espresso. She does it with ease. And with the second cup she even manages a very professional looking pattern on the top. Wow! Now I want to be a barista. Fabio is amused when I tell him that but I think I will look into a course in London.
We also get to try another unusual coffee whose name I forget. It looked like shells or peels and it tasted sweet and nutty. This one is illegal in Italy, where tradition is everything. Must find out its name. And as we left, we got a little bag of coffee to take home! Really enjoyed this tour.
We got back to the square about half an hour late and I decided to head for a café I’d heard a lot about, Cianci Piola. Let’s see if it lives up to the hype.
I waited a while to get service and at the next table and facing me was a young guy who started up a conversation with me. He was from Amsterdam, visiting friends and family here in Torino. We had a good chat about our travels. During that chat, a young guy in the table in front of me, who has his back to us, turned around and joined in. He was from Montreal! He was also visiting friends ‘up in the hills’ an hour’s bike ride away – we joked about the journey back up the hill later. It was a lot of fun chatting to these two.
I had planned to order just a bowl of pasta. That’s what they are known for. Instead I ordered a starter of a cauliflower pate, covered in a strong cheese sauce, followed by a bowl of tripe and beans. Both the dishes are excellent. I could eat here every day and plan when!
Back at ‘home’ to get busy on things.
Later back out to some central squares. The atmosphere is lively, the lights are lovely. On Via Roma we check out the high end stores, like Hermes and Gucci. There’s a street party for the wine festival. Love the lights!
I go by Cianci Piola to show it to Krish, then make a reservation at L’Acino for Esmeralda and me for the following Saturday night and then….home!
You turned out to be a great day, you thirteenth.