To preface, I've posted on several of the "Roasted in Italy" threads, and have for years enjoyed coffee from Vivace (Dolce), Umbria (Crema Dolce) and the famous Josuma Malabar Gold.

IMO, Bodka's "Ala Italia" Espresso has a good bit of what American Coffee roasters present as their option for that "Italian coffee experience." It's appearance is of a between city+ and full city roast, with absolutely no oil, and I was told by David this coffee does not enter 2nd crack in the slightest. I went with my usual 18.5 grams in, 28 grams out. My first attempt choked my Strega! Hard to do! I had to loosen the grind appreciably. The 3rd shot was the ticket.

I settled on an approximate temperature of 202f, and an increased brew amount, up to 30 grams. Swirl the glass, there's that "circle within the circle" of almost jelly-like crema. I immediately got a wee bit of that dark cherry thing, but briefly, soon giving away to a nutty, "darkened" but not caramelized caramel, and after 4 days, a nearly complete integration of flavors. Add to that, HUGE amounts of crema, not quite the reddish variety from that awesome Vivace Dolce of years past (which had a small amount of Robusta). BTW, The current Dolce is excellent , and a forthright representation of it's genre.

Back on topic, I believe this coffee from Bodka can stand right up there with the previously mentioned coffees. I SWEAR I'm NOT a "crema hound", but to see an entire shot glass filled top to bottom with thick, copious crema DOES have a certain visceral effect!
The after-taste, at least after day 4 is of buttery wood...not smoke, not tobacco, but that after-taste (I get...YMMV) from a nicely pulled SO city+ roasted Guatemalan.

All this said, IMO Ala Italia, like Dolce and others of this profile do better for ME when allowed to rest at least 7 days post roast. I can't wait.
As always, Bodka's prices are VERY reasonable, and the discount on 5 pounds was too persuasive to ignore.
I have a feeling I'll be making a LOT of trips to the freezer, retrieving my 12oz Ball jars!






Edit to change "Vodka to BODKA! haha

Well, OK, a little update.
At day 7, the dark cherry was slightly less pronounced, the flavors were more tightly knit..not a problem for me, as I wasn't looking to find a cornucopia of fruit loops. The buttery mouth coating things, especially one my lips was still there, the wood slightly diminished. The crema was every bit as copious, and I did not need to tighten the grind whatsoever. I will say I actually loosened the grind a wee bit from my above posting, so the shot would flow just a bit faster. I wanted to get things done at the 28-30 second time for the 30 gram shot. I missed the dark cherry only a little bit, but maybe my usual allergy flareups this time of year could be getting in the way.

In milk it's nutty, with a wee bit of light cocoa, and anything more than about 6oz of milk will diminish the experience (IMO). It's a good bet this coffee was designed to give one a full, in the face crema/smooth/easy drinking experience. At least that's what I'm getting. My only trip to Italy MANY MANY years ago my observation was that Italians must have frowned on large milky drinks? Even the shots were tiny, like maybe 20 grams tops, usually smaller. I'd see the same shop keepers close their doors every few hours, go next door, get their shot "fix" and then back to work. The milk drinks all seemed maybe 5oz tops.
Maybe things have become more Americanized by now. I don't know.

Anyhow, Ala Italia seems to fit that paradigm of "less is more", at least as the coffee to milk ratio goes. I'm really enjoying this coffee.

Can inform you that espressos and cappucinos in Italy have not gotten larger recently....and I agree there is a point in those sizes, they work. Less is more, as it often is the case...

Well, I was fortunate enough to get hold of some of one of the test iterations. It is essentially the same as the current Italia but with a bit of different ratio. Thus, I didnt necessarily get the same things as IMAWriter-such as the dark cherry, but as it should be overall similar I will go ahead and share my key take-aways. I will say that I found it tasted best at 10 days for me as I was pulling it. I found in the first 5 days or so it was really hard to dial in and that I was getting in a situation where it was opening up to fast even with too low of pressure and overall my technique and gear were not sufficient to nail it early on, which could be a by-product of my preinfusion/ramp up phase, and may not be an issue for a pump machine. After day 8 I was able to really nail it and control it very well and easily. My observations combined with Robert Jason above suggest that it is best to wait a bit on this one.

The most important aspect of this blend, as I pulled it, was the mouthfeel. It was a very well balanced and thick creamy presence throughout the shot. It was kind of like a whipped cream feel on the toungue. I am FAARR from being an expert at describing the flavors I was tasting, but I will attempt. There were some hints of dark chocolate, and depending on how fast I pulled the shot it ranged from slightly bittersweet dark chocolate to just a faint hint of chocolate. There was a slight almost toasted nut, but pleasant, mixed into the flavor but it none of the flavors really jumped out and dominated. Overall I would say it was very balanced and felt wonderful on the toungue.


-----------You may want to stop here if not pulling on a manual lever--------------------

I will get technical now about my pulling process and what I found worked best for me, and hopefully those with manual lever can report back on how you pulled yours. Once I save up a few more dollars (and am not inundated with coffee as I am at the moment) I can pick up the current blend and test out your pulling profiles.


My group measurement is just above the flange on the STAGE-left side of the group. I preferred shot techniques for this coffee were at 12PSI boiler and 84C on my group. I used 15g coffee, allowed about 6-8 seconds preinfusion., just at the end of a full pull *usually I need a slight preinfusion pump or 10 seconds preinfusion to get to 28-30g shots. Thus, all listed times are AFTER preinfusion but INCLUDING a 6 second ramp-up to pressure. I then backed off from about 9bar/8.5/8 Bar (as I calculate it) for roughly each third of the shot post ramp up.

My three main preferred shot styles as I pulled them were as followed, based on a 15g/25g recipe:


17 seconds, started dripping at three seconds, very smooth and creamy mouthfeel, very balanced and no bitterness or sourness, just a very clean shot that tasted good and was more about texture and feel than any single characteristics that I am prepared to offer up.

20-23 second for 22-25 g shot, turned out fantastic, a very clear but faint milk chocolate present in the midst of the same essential shot. My preference for this shot drinking it straight.

30 Seconds, basically the same as above but with a bit more of a bitterness presence, taking on a more dark chocolate like presence and a bit more of the nut characteristic mingling in. Most likely this is what I would want for a small milk based drink if I was making any.

Those were my impressions, let me know how you pull yours and I will definitely give your techniques a try when I pick up another pound!

I'll give this a go. My brother brought over his bag of Ala Italia this morning, currently 8 days post roast. He pulled a few shots before I was around to see, so going from his parameters I pulled a 17.2g in 34g out in 31sec. from first beads at ~202F. I'm no good at describing taste but I'll try. Very little fruit but definitely cocoa and nuts. Buttery mouthfeel and balanced.

It's definitely a great blend, have the newer bag in hand now but unfortunately got sick and despite thinking I had recovered...haven't, and so haven't posted my experiences with it yet. Great to hear your thoughts on it! I cupped it when it was two days old and it was very complex, hints of spices and chocolate and a some very hard for me to specify but good flavors that were distinct from the other beans I had on the table. Not that I expect those to all come out (I had a home roasted Rwanda on the same table with incredible nutmeg and other delicious species going on that I did not ever get to come out so clearly when brewing normal...) but the Italia definitely has those same elements from the cupping in the cup, but varies depending on grind, temperature, pressure etc. Looking forward to recovering so I can get back on it.

I just received 2# of Ala Italia from Bodka and am already really pleased. It's easy to pull and, to my taste, is a good comfort blend. It's a lighter roast than I expected, but fits well into my "taste understanding" of the northern italian genre. Looking forward to it developing as it rests more. I am pulling it on the cremina (mcal basket), 15.3g in, 23g out. I'm drinking it with a little milk (cortado), but will move to straight shots in the next few days after it rests. Thumbs up!

Just pulled the ala Italia blend. Couldn't wait it's day 3 but I could definitely taste the butter and nutty notes. No dark cherry yet but I'm sure it's there. 18 grams in 26 grams out pulled on the Salvatore Spring Compact Lever with the HG-1 grinder.

Can't wait to taste it as it matures.

I am about 8 days into my first pound and it is awesome! Just gets better. Very easy to pull and delicious! Enjoy!

Anybody willing to post a taste test in direct comparison to Main Squeeze? Do you prefer one over the other, and if so why?