My home is in Florence. But I spend a lot of time with my luggage, traveling all over Italy. I stay in plain or fancy hotels (check out the Sirenuse and Palazzo Murat in Positano, the Cipriani and the Tiziano in Venice, Torre di Bellosguardo and the B&B in Piazza della Signoria in Florence, the Majestic and Costantinopoli 104 in Naples, and agriturismo farms: some of my favorites are Dre´ Caste´ Az. Agr. Il Mongetto and La Traversina in Piedmonte both outside Alessandria, Casina di Caccia outside Verona, Noah's Ark in Senigallia, La Fontana Chiusa in Labico outside of Rome, La Boneca outside of Florence. Agriturist's Italian website has extensive regional properties. Rentvillas, Internetvillas, and Via Travel Design are reliable agencies for villa rentals.

Click on the map for a regional index of gastronomic knowledge. Additions will be frequent. Click here for some photos from my trips. Check the train schedule

Taming the Coffee Bitch

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     By the way, my fantastic assistant Cristina conducts custom-tailored  walking tours of Florence for food lover's. Stroll through the city, visit markets, shops, sample pastry, snacks, wine and special products with a knowledgeable guide, concluding with a trattoria lunch. Contact us for more information on these Food Lover's Tours.

When I visit the U.S. and attempt to order coffee, my friends call me the coffee bitch.  I long for a decent cappuccino or espresso, but am rarely satisfied.  I complain about over-roasted coffee, poorly prepared espresso, improperly steamed milk.  Sizes mystify me - in Italy it's a single or double.  Latte is milk.   So I was thrilled to be invited to attend a three day program for technical coffee professionals at the Universita' del Caffe' at the illy factory in Trieste.  I would learn everything about coffee, with international attendees from Brazil, Nepal, Malaysia, India, Korea, Herzegovina, the U.S. and more.  Moreno was our instructor, Giorgio and Michele our expert bariste. We began with beans, where and how they're grown, and learned how defective beans (stinkers) are identified and eliminated.  We spent big time on the difference between Arabica-grown at higher altitudes, more expensive, lower in caffeine, better flavors, and Robusta-easier and cheaper to grow, weak aromas, bitter flavors.  We discussed roasting and blends from different countries.  We were told about the health benefits of espresso-as a vasoconstrictor it helps headaches and bronchial asthma, increases alertness, speeds up reflexes, inhibits the adhesion of sugar-rich food to teeth, lowers bile, inhibits the formation of gallstones, and much much more. We focused on espresso methods (140 variables!) and I learned about pressure, 1.5 for the stovetop moka, 9 bars for machines, necessary to make the emulsion known as crema.   To make a perfect espresso 7 grams of coffee are tamped flat in the filter basket with 20 pounds of pressure, 25 seconds of extraction, water temperature at 90 C.  Perfectionists like Giorgio and Michele brush the filter with a little brush after each espresso, something I've never seen in a coffee bar anywhere.  Everyone was interested in the hands-on session, especially the milk foaming technique-water expelled from wand, then barely immersed next to the side of the filled-to-half metal pitcher of whole milk, full steam, tip lowered when milk spins into a whirlpool, temperature no higher than 65 C.  The end result is velvety, thick, not separate hot milk topped with meringue-like foam.  Giorgio and Michele taught everyone to make designs for fancy cappuccino-hearts, leaves, intricate patterns with chocolate syrup.

I'm no longer the coffee bitch-no use complaining about all the mistakes that I'm now aware that the barista is making. I've got a great new machine at home-the iperespresso. I've stopped ordering espresso and cappuccino unless it's illy...or I'm in front of a skilled barista, rare but not impossible to find.  One of my favorites?  Andrea Spella in Portland, Oregon.   Let me know about yours?