Ciao Abe,

I'm stoked that I finally found this thread of yours. I've been visiting Italy for years, and only just recently got hooked on making espresso myself. Ironically it was here in S.F. that the light bulb came on, thanks to an Italian immigrant, Giovanni Airaghi, who runs a thriving kiosk near my office. Giovanni learned to pull shots for his dad on a Faema lever at the age of 10. While he's not quite as casual as those Roman baristi you saw, he pulls great espresso as easily as I tie my shoelaces. People line up in the rain for him -- you don't see that everywhere.

I'm starting to think, maybe it ain't the mano, it's the mojo!

By contrast, we in the Inglese-speaking world approach espresso in a very self-conscious, calculating manner... as if the god-shot were a moon-shot. Our best espresso may be better as a result, but still, our average real-world espresso... Oy! As I said to Giovanni the other day, I don't need all our coffee shops to be elite Third-Waver -- if our average espresso could just reach the average level of Italy's, that would be an awesome improvement!

As you saw in Rome, the Italian barista isn't the sort who'd ever train with a gram scale for dosing, let alone a bathroom scale for tamping. The very idea would make him bust out laughing. Maybe for Italians, making espresso is more like cooking, making music, making love, or driving real fast. It didn't all happen overnight -- but it happened naturally.

I'm going back to Italy in June -- I can hardly wait! My girlfriend has an apt. in Como, which helps a lot. This time, I'll be drinking more espresso than prosecco!

Ci vediamo,
Wayne

P.S. I'm really curious where those cafes get their beans from -- they can't be using the stale Lavazza you find in the supermarkets, that's for sure!

roastaroma wrote:Ciao Abe, I'm starting to think, maybe it ain't the mano, it's the mojo!

Putting the Mojo aside for a moment, once certain technical parameters are met, the greater contributor to good coffee is, well, the coffee.

roastaroma wrote:Maybe for Italians, making espresso is more like cooking, making music, making love, or driving real fast. It didn't all happen overnight -- but it happened naturally.

It is very true, and here's where the mojo comes back into the picture. There is a rhythm to making good espresso, and there is almost an ecosystem that supports that dance in Italy. When you are surrounded by that environment, you get better at it by osmosis.

roastaroma wrote:I'm going back to Italy in June -- I can hardly wait! My girlfriend has an apt. in Como!

Where do I stand in line to get me one of those?

roastaroma wrote:P.S. I'm really curious where those cafes get their beans from -- they can't be using the stale Lavazza you find in the supermarkets, that's for sure!

Some of them are using stale Lavazza and the rest of the crap we get from Italy. Obviously, those ones you want to avoid. They are easy to spot since they advertise it in the shop.

I found this old post while doing a search for "Sant-Eustachio" on google. I've been reading this site for a few weeks and was happy to see this page come up in my search.

I like cooking and being in the kitchen in general and I've always liked coffee. I can generally tell good coffee from not-so-good coffee but don't know much about it beyond that. Having spent enough time in Paris to understand that each shot of espresso is as unique as every bottle or glass of wine, I've always been curious about coffee.

On a recent trip to Rome, I found my way into Cafe Sant Eustachio for a Gran Cafe. It was definitely one of the better coffees I've had in my life, though I don't have much of a means of comparison other than thumbs up or thumbs down at this point. It was really neat, and was good enough to get me researching more about what I'm likely missing. I really love coffee and this place now holds a special place in my heart for getting me focused on learning more and pursuing better coffee in my every day life. I really hate getting a bad cup of coffee or a bad, bitter and stale espresso.

A friend asked me to research a machine for him so that got me into looking at machines and grinders and now I'm thinking about what I want for myself. I think that the Salvatore One Black and the BZ07 are the two I'm most serious about considering, along with a refurb Vario grinder. And of course, I'm going to have to find a way to get some of those yellow porcelain Sant Eustachio espresso and cappuccino cups!

Patrick

applecello wrote:And of course, I'm going to have to find a way to get some of those yellow porcelain Sant Eustachio espresso and cappuccino cups!

They have a web site that shows the cups. They're apparently available to order, though shipping is probably very expensive. According to the catalogue the yellow espresso cup is TZ03 and the yellow cappuccino cup is TZ04.

I'm surprised they are that organised on the net. Their display merchandise always strikes me as if it hasn't moved in many years. It has that rustic 'its been here since we opened' feel to it.

I emailed them with my little bit of italian and some english... i think its clear enough that I want to know what it will cost for those items

Haven't heard back yet so who knows. Maybe on my next trip to Rome I'll pick some up. Not that I had planned on going any time soon but you never know.

Hi Patrick,
Did you ever hear back about the cups? My wife and I enjoyed Sant Eustachio when we were in Rome 3 years ago. The website states: "The other Sant'Eustachio products can be purchased by placing
a minimum order or together with a coffee order."

I wonder if that means that they make you order coffee to get cups?
Cheers,
Colin

Well, as for ordering cups, I never heard anything from them either. Then again, they ARE Italian, so it could be a while. Ahh, Rome ...

Update: Still no word from Caffe Sant' Eustachio. Oh well. I really like the yellow cups.

Cheers,
Colin