The Best Country For Coffee Must Be Italy And This Is Why

The best country for coffee is definitely Italy and these 5 roasters are making some of the best coffee that shouldn’t be missed on your next trip to Italy.

The Best Country For Coffee Is Italy

I wrote about our history with Italian coffee in an earlier post and I hope you will take a few minutes to read that first for context. I have been passionate about Italian coffee for a long time and the reasons go beyond the taste. They also include the cultural importance of coffee here in Italy. After moving to Rome, it is even more obvious that coffee is an essential part of everyday life.

There is an almost unlimited number of roasters (torrefazione) in Italy and they range from small artisan roasters to huge international companies, like Illy and Lavazza, that are known world-wide for their delicious coffee. I have enjoyed Illy and Lavazza over the years, so I wanted to give a few more details here.

These coffees were also sold on our website where we tasted/tested everything we sold to make sure it was something we would also drink, and not just sell. That said, this is a very short list, even including Part 1, so when you come to Italy you should take advantage of the many opportunities available to tuck into a bar and taste one of these regional, or sometimes national, delights.

The Best Coffee In Torino – Lavazza

This is an example of one of the huge roasters (torrefazione) in Italy. In 1895, Luigi Lavazza, a 26-year-old young man of humble origins, opened the first Lavazza Drogheria (more like a general store) on via San Tommaso in Turin. In 1955 Emilio Lavazza, Luigi’s nephew, joined the company bringing with him several innovative ideas, including the slogan still famous today “Lavazza, heaven in the cup”. Lavazza today is a brand known all over the world. Lavazza has over 4 thousand employees and in 2017 revenues exceeded €2 billion.

Another Great Coffee In Rome – Caffè Trombetta

In 1890, Vittorio Trombetta opened his coffee roasting company with the sale of loose coffee, in via Marsala, next to the Termini station. It was his way of welcoming those who arrived in the capital, offering the opportunity to recover after a long journey with an excellent coffee. Today Caffè Trombetta S.p.A. is still a family-run company, and a leading player in the coffee market in Italy and in the main foreign markets.

Great Coffee In Torino – Caffè Vergnano

Caffè Vergnano is considered the oldest national coffee producer among the large roasters. The company was founded in 1882 by Domenico Vergnano in a small drogheria (more like a general store) in the Turin hills. Since 2000, the company has started the project of expanding its products and the brand through the coffee shops that are now found all over the world. In 2017 there were already more than 130 cafés thanks to the collaboration with Eataly, which allowed Caffè Vergnano to be sold in Toronto, New York, Rome, Milan, Chicago, Los Angeles, São Paulo, Istanbul, Seoul, Tokyo and Moscow.

Great Coffee From Reggio Calabria – Caffè Mauro

This is a company that specializes in the production of coffee, founded in 1949 in Reggio Calabria, from the ashes of the family business of Demetrio Mauro created in 1930, which imported coffee from the African colonies with the purchase of a used 40-ton ship, the Salvatore Padre. This origin story crosses a tumultuous time for Italy, from pre-World War II Fascist Italy with colonies in Africa, like: Somalia, Libya and Eritrea, to the post war period of rebuilding.

Mauro Caffè grew 7x, becoming the second largest Italian coffee producer in the 1990s thanks to two key factors: it was among the first companies to sell its products in a drogheria (more like a general store) with packaged coffee, and it created a large distribution network in Italy.

Great Coffee In Palermo, Sicily – Morettino

In 1920, the Morettino family’s passion for coffee was born in an old spice shop. Next to the  chocolate, cocoa and spices from distant countries, Arturo Morettino roasted and sold his coffee to the neighbors, spreading the aroma of the exotic drink through the streets of the township. Morettino continued to grow over the decades with targeted and sustainable growth, always keeping the focus on the quality of its products following the 4 values of the company: 

• We love Coffee
• We love Nature
• We love Culture
• We love Sicily

More Information On The Best Country For Coffee

These great coffee roasters demonstrate why the best country for coffee is Italy and I think you can see that there is an important history, built by one person or a family, with every one of these. There are also important political and historical elements that I hadn’t considered at first, but when Morettino describes distant countries and Caffè Mauro references the colonies in Africa there is a complexity with Fascism and colonization that adds more to the story. It’s a global story, not just Italian, but one that motivates me to learn more about the history of Italy that I never learned in my high school European Studies class many years ago. For more about Italian coffee culture, take a look at some of these other posts on the subject:

• These Italian Coffee Roasters Are The Best In Italy.

• How Do Italians Make Coffee At Home? I’ll Show You How.

• Coffee Bars In Italy Are A Unique Experience You Should Try.

• Gran Caffè Gambrinus Is Classic Italian Coffee Culture.

• The delicious history of Torino, Lavazza and Coffee In Italy.

• How To Clean A Moka Pot In A Few Easy Steps.

• Sant’Eustachio Il Caffè Is A Rome Coffee Bar You Should Try.

• Is La Casa Del Caffè Tazza d’Oro The Best Coffee In Rome?

• Giolitti In Rome Just Might Be My Favorite Coffeeshop.

• An Espresso Panna Cotta Recipe That You Can Easily Make.