Thursday, January 15, 2009

Il caffè che fa centro!


Lavazza. It's probably the most famous brand of Italian coffee, and one of the most recognizable Italian brands. Or how about Illy? Some say it's the best coffee you can buy in Italy.

Well, these days I'm not drinking either of those famous brands. I'm drinking Guglielmo coffee. You know, il caffè che fa centro! (which means, the coffee that hits the spot).

Il Nostro Inviato bought it in Calabria last month, and it reminds me of Quarta caffe, the brand we drank when we were in Puglia (yes, I'm talking about Puglia again!). It's dark, like all espresso, but I think it's stronger than Lavazza and the other more well-known brands.

When we first opened it last week, Il Nostro Inviato said, "Oh it's so strong!"

And Ciambellina, che sa tutto, said, "No, it's just because we've just opened the package. Espresso always seems stronger when you first open the vacuum-sealed package."

Okay, I was wrong. (O l'ho detto!) Guglielmo is stronger! And it's great!

It's just one more fantastic culinary item enjoyed in southern Italy. (For those of you keeping track, that list includes taralli, Primitivo, Negroamaro, Aglianico, burrata and mozzarella di bufala, and sea urchin).

Guglielmo has just relaunched its American Web site, and it looks like at the very least the coffee is distributed in Massachusetts (where its American operations are based in Waltham), New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Illinois. So if you live in any of those places, look out for Guglielmo.

If not, take a look at the Web site:
http://www.lespressousa.com/index.php

2 comments:

  1. I've never heard of Guglielmo coffee! So, Ciambellina, what's your connection to southern Italy? And, btw, thanks for visiting my blog! :-)

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  2. Wow, maybe it's just a Calabrian brand. I think Quarta caffe is not easy to find outside of Puglia -- maybe it's the same thing.

    My connection is really simple -- I went to Puglia in 2007 for 2.5 weeks and just thought it was awesome! One of my close friends from Florence (where I lived for a few years) is originally from a tiny town in Puglia and a bunch of us went down there and rented a house. Then we just toured around and saw just about all of Puglia. I think it's fantastic!

    What's your story? How did you end up in Molfetta?

    Thanks for visiting my blog!

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Thanks for reading the blog!