[Music] think I've unlocked the secrets to Espresso in the birthplace of espresso Italy this place has been here since 1720 these tables actually swivel because the women had those large braces underneath their dresses wow look at this room this is like xanadoo it's like a piece of art it's kind of like driving the stick shift on an old car o look at that nectar [Music] oh I have arrived for over 20 years I've traveled the world searching for exceptional coffees but among the greatest treasures
I've discovered along the way are the incredible people their fascinating cultures and the most awe inspiring Landscapes you could possibly imagine now I have the opportunity to show you view a different side of the world through the lens of [Music] coffee Italy famous for its art and architecture this country also plays an important role in coffee's history and it starts with the fact that it was a major Maritime power during the Medieval ages in the Renaissance I've come to Venice today in sea
rch of the truly classic Italian espresso and what better starting point than the place that coffee first arrived in [Music] Europe the different neighborhoods of Venice are all connected by Bridges and canals so it sort of goes without saying that the best way to get around the city is by boat these gondolas which might seem like a fancy method of transportation can actually be very practical floating through Venice it's easy to imagine the City 400 years ago as a flourishing Trade Center the G
rand Canal is one of the primary waterways in Venice and was a main thoroughfare for trade with Egypt the Middle East southeast Asia and even China all sorts of goods were transported beneath these Bridges including gems silks spices and of course course coffee so in the early 1600s Venetian Traders started bringing this strange black Brew here from places like Egypt and turkey and people were afraid of it they thought it was the devil's brew and until Pope Clement VII tried it he thought it was
fantastic he's like we should baptize it and the floodgates of coffee opened once coffee beans arrived in Venice it wasn't long before the first coffee shops began to pop up in the early 1700 unds one of the places to enjoy a cup of black Brew was pza San Marco known as the political social and religious Center of Venice Napoleon was said to have called it the drawing room of Europe I'm here today to visit a place that in my book is really significant to coffee's history Cafe floron claims to b
e the longest continually operating Coffee House in Europe and I must say it's pretty mesmerizing this historic coffee shop has been on my list of places to visit for a very long time this place has been here since 1720 and you can see so much history around right where I'm sitting I mean this is where Cova used to hang out it was the only place actually that allowed women so no surprise there uh Charles Dickens uh used to come here um Andrew warhol's favorite table is right out front and you kn
ow it's I can't even start the list because basically everyone has been here at one time or another that's that's fantastic oh so for me it's like I'm back in time you know it's like nothing has changed it's it's the finishings everything is the same as it was uh when they restored it in 1850 and the rooms are the same in 1720 but I feel like uh I'm a part of this history I can I can sit here and think about what these people thought about and some of the the changes that happened all from from
coffee that's that's what so fascinating about coffee is that um people don't realize coffee has literally changed the course of civilization because it uh people instead of sitting around getting drunk um sat around and actually had intellectual [Music] stimulation Cafe floran started out as just two rooms and although it's been expanded over the years it's retained a lot of its original charm look at this the table swivel and it's because the women had braces to for these huge dresses so you'd
have to move the table over in order for them to be able to sit down and then you could set it back so it's just it's still operates as if it were the 18th century but it's not just the Coffee Culture that makes this place so special for over a century Cafe floron has been famous for exhibiting incredible works of art on its [Music] walls although Europe's history of coffee began in Venice the classic espresso I'm looking for was developed a little further north today I'm heading 160 km Northea
st of Venice to the sea port of triest which Teeters on the very edge of Italy and it's just a few kilometers from the border of Slovenia triest is home to one of the most renowned Italian coffee companies in the world and it's there that my journey into the art of espresso begins coming up so I'm heading over to El headquarters to meet Moreno and uh I figured when in triest it's all about the mopz [Music] with close to half the country's coffee coming through the port here triesta is one of Ita
ly's main trading centers the city itself is very Cosmopolitan it just exudes class the triostin have an infectious passion for art literature music fashion and of course coffee in fact triest is known as the coffee capital of Italy so I'm heading over to El headquarters to meet Moreno and uh I figured when in triest it's all about the mopz El coffee has been around since the 1930s and has now served in 140 countries they're known for their Mastery of espresso and I'm going to meet Moreno fin th
e director of el Coffee university he suggested we start our day with a visit to one of his favorite cafes this is it's like 10:00 almost in the morning and I think it feels like in the history of my life I've never gone this long without coffee Moreno has been in the business for over 30 years and I think it's safe to say that no one knows the Coffee Culture in triest like he does Joy take care when a barista offers you a glass of water with your espresso you must drink before a glass of water
to to clean perfectly your baths to prepare your pet to to leave the experience okay I see now Moreno definitely knows what he's talking about the people of triest twice as much coffee as in any other part of Italy I was thinking this is a mo macchiato but you're saying this is a go okay go so much but the in is called go now can you get goat in other other parts of Italy no just so you have your own drinks yes and you know I I'm I'm starting to realize you told me before that this is sort of th
e coffee capital of Italy yeah and this building has something to do with coffee I I I have the feeling the stock exchange for coffee inter that's the stock exchange for coffee yeah [Music] sure Italians have a saying meaning Life Begins after coffee and so when we finish our cups Moreno takes me on a walking tour of the city there is no shortage of cafes [Music] the early coffee shops in tries date back to the 1800s and the Traditions here have been going strong for over 200 [Music] years a fun
way to travel here is the opina Tramway it's been around for over a 100 years it's a mix of tram and funicular Railway meaning it uses cable traction to get up the steep slopes the triest opina Tramway is definitely one of the best ways to see this city you get real Italian culture I mean it's just it's just uh there's so many it's so clean and it's just real crowded there's minimal tourism here but it's real Italy you've got all the all the history you've got Roman ruins that go back to 200 BC
um fantastic art and then you have this sort of merging of you know uh Eastern Europe you know cuz you're right you're 10 km from Slovenia the border of you can go over there and go have a beer in the evening but there's definitely no time for beer today I'm still on my mission to understand what makes Tri espresso so special for that Moreno is taking me to the University of [Music] coffee I think you could say this is arguably the most important room in the building IL Cafe's research lab and
this is where all the coffee samples are analyzed to see whether they're good enough to be purchased and I must say it's quite an intriguing process some beans are discarded immediately due to obvious visible defects whereas others have to be tested to do this the beans are first rubbed on sandpaper and then sniffed to determine basically whether they're good or bad stinker stinker is one of them and worse is awful smelling awful I guess that's part of the thing you have to smell awful things to
o when you have this job it's not everything's perfect once a batch of beans has passed this test they still have two more testing stages to go through before they're deemed worthy for roasting that's a that's a serious Roastery right there the four machines here are running 16 hours a day and roasting 360 kilos of coffee at a time that's close to 800 lb during the roasting process the beans will lose roughly 20% of their weight just one roasting facility this wow okay I didn't know that man tha
t makes sense cuz you have and we distribute Our Cafe starting from here worldwide speaking everywhere right you've developed a technology that allows you to roast in one place and maintain freshness absolutely yeah and this is my room wow look at this room oh my goodness look at this is total teaching room huh Mareno isn't called the coffee Professor for nothing here in the University he shares everything he knows about coffee with people from all over the world they can even teach in three dif
ferent languages simultaneously and that's why I'm here today to be a student I'm looking forward to gleaning Moreno's knowledge of the art of espresso okay interesting I love it lever machines like these have always been my very favorite and it's an amazing opportunity to get to refine my techniques with the Masters did you put a bunch of booby traps in here for me all right should I go for it can I take over can I drive okay you can drive already it's a little nerve-wracking to have all these
guys watching my every move I think we'll see we'll see if I did it right now I and go down okay ooh look at that nectar that's looking tasty people always talk about espresso where the word espresso came from and it just means like Fast served for you right but I wonder if that word came from the train right like exactly chug chug chug chugug right kind of maybe they're like he's crazy this crazy and now for the Moment of Truth drum roll please how do it look does it look okay no my first attem
pt did not make the cut I've poured a double shot into a single cup and didn't allow the appropriate time for extraction the professor says I must do it again take two here's where I broke [Music] Professor what do you think you want to try it see if it works out okay I'm pretty happy with this one you like it uh it's not perfectly balanced is that my fault no no is a little bit a little bit burnt is a little bit too bitter I'm learning quickly that crafting an Italian espresso to E's high stand
ards is not as easy as it looks and according to Moreno the preparation of this espresso requires a very specific methodology and lots of practice so I really think I've unlocked the secrets of espresso in the birthplace of espresso ciao after testing my espresso making skills at ele it's time to continue my journey and I have it on good authority that a few hours from here there's a barista that I most definitely need to meet coming up we're at lar zoko espresso machine factory it's really more
like a museum because these machines are a piece of [Music] art Florence the Cradle of the Renaissance some of History's Greatest Architects artists thinkers and political figures were born right here in the city 15th century Florence was an exciting place to be it was a self-governed republic and thus tremendous wealth and Innovation was accumulated here most commonly known for its stunning buildings and vast collection of art Treasures Florence also plays an important role in the story of cof
fee around the world specialty coffee is currently experiencing its own sword of Renaissance and there's an espresso machine manufacturer in this area that's right on The Cutting Edge so Florence is like the birthplace of Renaissance and when most people come here their first thought is the duo ptoo or they want to see the David for me my first thought is lar zoko lar zoko started making espresso machines back in the 1920s and they had a high level of influence on how the very first espresso was
developed from Florence it's about an hour's drive to get to the maroko factory despite the traffic Italian drivers have a love for Speed so I should be arriving right on time once I hit the open road and climb the hill out of Florence you get to the top and the views are just really impressive the maroko factory is located in the quaint little Tuscan Village of scarperia founded in 1306 it was world renowned in the Medieval ages for its craftsmanship of handforged knives now thanks to lar zoko
it's also known worldwide for its custom crafted espresso machines I'm meeting enrio worm their serviceman maner for a tour of the factory enrio hey welcome to the machines in here date back to the 1930s when brothers juppi and Bruno Bambi first started their business in those days they operated out of a workshop to create unique espresso machines for each customer they were traveling every day to Florence to ask the Barista how they want the machine which color what material what shape what si
ze and they were customizing machine on the customers the end so like Taylor does with a suit they used to do it with machines it's so interesting to see these old machines all seemingly in brand new condition I mean the first espresso machine I ever owned is here and it brings back lots of fond memories it's really more like a museum because these machines are a piece of art and that's what I love about espresso is it's not just what you smell and what you taste but it's the experience and they
bring the experience to a whole another level because the machines are so beautiful that when you have great coffee coming through a machine like this it's a whole another drink it's factory tour time time and I'm getting to see the process firsthand own every single machine here is made to order when I told you that we produce machine on demand I was not joking every machine already has a owner and uh well that's the specification card that says the preference according to the preference of th
e customer we are building a machine this machine for example is going to a customer in the Netherlands and they've already specified exactly how they want it to look including specific accessories the level of craftsmanship here is incredible so most machines are built on conveyor belts um but of course because they do everything custom here there's are carts each machine has its own cart the carts can be moved around the factory to each different stage of the production process the type of sta
inless steel they cutting here for the water boilers is actually a proprietary secret all of the materials they incorporate into the machines are precisely engineered the final step in the process involves extensive testing to ensure the machines are worthy of the famous marzo lion the ancient symbol of Victory and Conquest from the Florentine Republic now it's time to taste some espresso so I always tell people that uh you know espresso and coffee are just so different from one another espresso
you're taking this finely ground coffee so you have to use high-pressured water to push the water through the grind so you're actually getting something from the coffee that regular gravity-fed coffee in a brewer a drip Brewer does not access one of the things I love about this is that uh to me it's like coffee is not just the taste and it's not just the smell but it's the experience it's the people you're with when you're drinking the coffee um but it's also the machine you're looking at you k
now this piece of art it's just beautiful sure so can I brow some coffee for you please do man one of the first steps to making a good espresso it's what's called dialing in the grinder it's all about ensuring that the grind is just right to achieve a balanced extraction and thus the best possible taste can you see the texture of the crema is Silky very smooth shiny and a good indicator of a good cup of espresso is the pattern which is tiger skin Cheers Cheers coming up where Ethiopia is the hea
rtland of coffee Italy is the heartland of espresso wow this has got to be the best espresso I've ever had all right I'm back in Florence to meet someone who's also become a very significant part in this Italian espresso Renaissance espresso is such an important part of Everyday Italian life that they serve it everywhere and the word on the street is that due to economic challenges many Roasters have begun using higher and higher proportions of Robusta in their Blends da artig however is sparing
no expense in using arabica beans to EST established their own unique flavor profile and texture in Italy espresso is all about on the go most Italians drink their coffee standing up at the bar chairs and tables are for the tourists and drinking your coffee there can actually cost you twice as much locals will go to the same Cafe every day so the Baristas just have to see your face to know exactly how you like your coffee the Barista here is arguably one of the best in the world to me um where
Ethiopia is the heartland of coffee it is the heartland of espresso and so when I came to uh Florence what I wanted to do the most was come visit Franchesco sonap because he's taking espresso to a higher level he's although the espresso in Italy is is unique and and it's it's where it came from Franchesco is taking it to where it's going to go and it's and it's an exciting place for sure it's too much Franchesco has been named the national champion of Italy three times and I can only imagine how
tough the competition is for that coveted title his mission is to educate the customer about the finer points of espresso ensuring that every one of them has the very best possible coffee experience many people they drink an espresso like a medicine just to wake up so no is they don't care about the taste yeah exactly I don't want to T in my coffee place for that every person will come in my bar I have to stop them and to explain my way to drink coffee and now I want to do this with you I'm I'm
so I came all the way across the ocean for this man this is this is what I'm looking forward to the most honestly this is very cool I'm so [Music] stoked wow okay this is the shot okay now I want to share this with you it it already looks so good first of all swil the cup like a glass of wine like wine huh yeah and then smell it you can find it a lot there's a lot going on definitely very floral herbal is a really interesting so wow now we can share the espresso INRI sixs okay first of all take
the first sip all right in this part you will enjoy the fruy acidity with a citus noes definit then swirl again all right and take the second SE in this part you can enjoy the sweetness definitely there's a lot going on in the palette and I like that it covers my P evenly it's like a warm blanket you lot of body lot of sweetness on the third and last sa what you can enjoy is the continue the sweetness with the chocolate flavor I'm telling you man honestly it's like one of the this got to be the
best expresso I've ever had honestly oh seriously wow yeah really this is good W you make me so happy because what I what I'm doing is to to to try to change something in ital Franchesco represents the new generation of Baristas and his ceaseless pursuit of Excellence is infectious to say the least throughout the years Visionaries like Franchesco Cafe El and lar zoko have impacted the history of espresso not just here but around the world I've come to realize that much like art literature and a
rchitecture in this country there's an artistic nuance and distinct craftsmanship to every aspect of the Italian espresso [Applause] [Music] [Applause] experience
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