Coffee is part of my subconscious. So much so that I have been woken by the smell of coffee in the morning, only to realise the rest of the household was still in deep sleep, that wonderful aroma a trick of my imagination.
Breakfast means coffee: espresso to be precise, made in a stove-top Italian cafeti?re, drunk either as caf? au lait, or taken as a strong black injection when the going’s tough.
Scientific rigour would have required me to drink seven espressos on the trot, reducing me to a gibbering wreck. So the testing was stretched out over several weeks, inevitably subjective depending on my condition over breakfast.
Indicative prices are all for 250g.
LAVAZZA il perfetto espresso
And pretty close to perfect it is too: that creamy taste of real Italian bar coffee, tight, strong, with a good nutty balance. Adding milk gives a very smooth blend, but the coffee fails to stand through, with an oversweet lingering taste of milk chocolate – not what I need to start me on the day.
Price: €5.13
ILLY espresso caff? macinato
That iconic silver and red tin, the pure joy of peeling away the vacuum seal to release a divine aroma, the time-worn gestures of packing the fresh coffee into the filter… And the result? A buttery, creamy first jolt into the system. A very long taste and near perfect balance. With milk, it blends into a very rich, nutty taste, with the coffee clearly standing out against the milk. Close to perfection bar the price – more than twice as high as any other coffee. Probably worth it, but an expensive treat.
Price: €11.28
SEGAFREDO espresso casa
This is hard core: very virile, very bitter, even with sugar. A coffee drinkers’ coffee that isn’t for the faint hearted, this is the espresso for the morning after the night before. And it grows on you to the point where after a few days you’re looking for that kick in the solar plexus to slam the morning cobwebs out.
Price: €5.13
SEGAFREDO intermezzo
A rich, mature taste with the trademark Segafredo bitter streak. An easier everyday coffee than the espresso casa (above), and better adapted to a dash of milk if you are so inclined.
Price: €4.22
LAVAZZA qualit? rossa
Good price, good quality, good balance. Perhaps not as frighteningly intense as others for the single shot espresso, but perfect for the Sunday morning bowl of caf? au lait with a couple of croissants (preferably from Noufaro confectioners in Nicosia – as good as any you will find in Paris, really).
Price: €3.84
DOUWE EGBERTS espresso
I tried to break the Italian stranglehold by testing this 100% Arabica from the Dutch coffee giants. But it just doesn’t do the trick. Very different from all the other espressos tested, a potpourri of caramelised nuts, with that over roasted taste of chicory. It’s clearly a question of taste (a second non-Italian brand produced exactly the same kind of coffee), but it’s just not my cup of tea…
Price: €
COFFEE DIRECT espresso classic
I couldn’t complete the taste test without a freshly ground blend. And let’s face it, there’s nothing quite like watching the beans ground before your eyes and opening the packet as soon as you get home to bury your nose inside for an intoxicating fix. This is excellent coffee, intense, rich and very strong. A thimbleful after lunch, with a square of black chocolate (pick up a bar of the awesome Belgian New Tree brand also on sale at Coffee Direct in Nicosia and Limassol) and you’ll soon be floating in seventh heaven.
Price: €5
And a final note: a few years ago, Laiko Kafekopteio used to make an excellent home espresso blend, selling 500g for the same price as others were selling 250g of imported coffee; then it disappeared from the shelves… What happened?
