Espresso in Italy somehow always seems to taste better than espresso here in America. Â
Why does Italian espresso taste better?
Italian espresso tastes better because they always serve you a fresh roast by a small local craft roaster.
According to the Freshness Handbook by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCA), a coffee roast is only a FRESH ROAST when the coffee beans were roasted less than eight days before you brew your coffee. After degassing for about seven days, coffee reaches its Best or Peak Flavor on day eight after roasting. Italian coffee lovers expect their coffee roast to be fresh and demand nothing less.
How do Italians get freshly roasted coffee everywhere?
To get fresh roasted coffee into every Italian coffee shop in every little Italian village is only possible when the coffee beans are roasted in small batches and delivered by a local roaster within eight days after the roast. The demand for better tasting fresh coffee by Italian coffee lovers explains why Italy has thousands of small, local coffee roasters.
As a country of passionate coffee lovers, Italy has ten times more coffee roasters than the United Sates. In Rome alone, there are more than thirty coffee roasters, who only serve coffee shops in Rome. Every tiny Italian village has their own coffee roaster, who roast their coffee on demand in small batches to make sure that Italian coffee lovers get served with a fresh roasted coffee every day.
The freshness of Italian coffee roasts also explains why Italians enjoy their coffees from mostly small (4.5 Oz) glasses or cups. A fresh roast from good quality coffee beans is naturally sweet, so that Italian coffee lovers do not need much sugar, flavor, milk or artificial sweeteners to enjoy their espresso. Without all these additional calories, you only need a small portion to get all the aroma, taste, and enjoyment out of your espresso.
America does not have enough small-scale coffee roasters and coffee shops to serve fresh roasted coffee
It is difficult to find a fresh roasted coffee in America. America does not have enough coffee roasters and coffee shops to serve a fresh roasted coffee to everybody daily. Coffee roasters in America are large-scale factories roasting in huge batches. American industrial coffee roasters fill up huge warehouses to store coffee before it gets transported nationwide and distributed to thousands of supermarket shelves. When you hold a grocery store coffee in your hands, it is often more than one hundred twenty days past its roasting date.
There are not enough local coffee shops in America. In Italy, it feels like there is a coffee shop on every corner. Italy supports more than 550.000 coffee shops. That is one coffee shop for every 145 Italians. In America, you are forty times less likely to find a coffee shop. We only have one coffee shop for every 5.800 Americans.
American coffee infrastructure consists of a few large industrial coffee roasters and few coffee shops, which make it impossible to serve a fresh roasted coffee to everybody within eight days of the roasting date. Coffee in US coffee-shops is often more than 25-30 days old. And coffee in supermarkets is often more than 120 days old.
The lack of fresh roasted coffee stateside explains why Americans serve their espresso with more milkfat, additional sugar, artificial sweetener and flavored syrup. When the coffee roast is not fresh, you need to mask the bitterness that develops naturally when coffee ages.
When we could have our espresso from a fresh roast like in Italy, we might be able to do away with all the calories and allergens that come from sugar and milkfat. According to an article by the Mayo Clinic, you might be sabotaging your health by adding unnecessary calories to your coffee. With fresh roasted coffee, you would not need added calories and you could enjoy your morning coffee Italian style. Freshly roasted. Because Fresh simply tastes better.
How to get a fresh roasted coffee in America?
We started Peak Flavor Coffee to bring fresh roasted espresso to your door. We guarantee that we bring a fresh roast to your door within eight days of the roasting date. Try out our fresh roasts and taste the difference yourself. We predict that you'll never return to generic supermarket coffee.
In summary, Italian espresso tastes better because it is always made from a fresh roast, which is never more than eight days old. In America, it is hard to find a fresh roasted coffee because there are not enough small-scale, local roasters and there are not enough coffee shops. As a result of drinking aged coffee, Americans must add calories from sugar, milkfat or artificial flavors to mask the bitterness that develops as coffee ages.
At Peak Flavor Coffee, we are dedicated to deliver a fresh roast to your home within 8 days after we roast your order on demand. That way, you can enjoy coffee at its best or peak flavor. Try a fresh roast from Peak Flavor Coffee and discover the difference yourself. We predict you will come back for more.
