It's been a while since we've actually talked about the daily staple near and dear to our hearts, namely espresso - ever since we discovered the Illy pods our carefree experimentation and variety-filled days have fallen into a routine and a steady supply of Illy Black. However, we were pleased to discover a box of Kimbo pods at Lina's Italian Market. Rushing back to the office, we set our Nancy a-go and soon were sipping back delightful cups of espresso. Full-bodied and robust, with a slight hint of bitterness (reminiscent of dark chocolate) it reminded us of Sophia Loren, who was recently featured as the covergirl of the Pirelli calender at the tender age of 72, along with the likes of Penelope Cruz and Naomi Watts.
The appearance of the Kimbo pods made us wonder where were the Lavazza pods? Typically, as one of the highest sellers of espresso by volume, Lavazza leads the way in technical developments, even going so far as inventing the frozen espresso - named by Time as one of the inventions of the year for 2006. A quick search on the web found them, along with a description of the Lavazza pods as being a blend of South American beans, with a hint of Asian varieties for fragrance, as well as some African beans.
While this hardly amounts to a full disclosure on the sourcing of the beans, it nevertheless intrigued us. We would like to see coffee producers/marketers label the area of origin of their beans, in much the same way wineries do. Our perfect label would not only denote whether the coffee is Fair Trade, Organic, Clean Hands, etc., but would also go beyond simply listing the country of origin of beans (this in and of itself would be a big step for some producers/marketers).
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2 comments:
You're drinking coffee made from pods -- pre-ground beans that have been oxidizing and growing stale for weeks since the beans were first roasted. Before worrying about what origin the beans come from, shouldn't you first worry about how they are handled?
Simply using freshly roasted, freshly ground beans trumps most any other factors when it comes to making a decent espresso. Bean quality is important, but IMO not even as important.
You're certainly right about the freshness of the beans. While some manufacturers of pods pack them in nitrogen to reduce and slow down the oxidation process, aging nevertheless occurs. The single biggest plus offered by the pod is somewhat more consistent results (however good or bad). Of course, the challenge of getting that "perfect cup" is part of the whole allure.
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