MILAN – Robusta’s inferiority is taken for granted in the coffee world, to the extent that it is almost considered a taboo subject. Today, however, Robusta coffee from certain origins has reached ‘gourmet’ level, thanks to improvements in the beans’ cultivation and processing.
Italian coffee roaster Bristot applied the invaluable experience it has acquired over almost a century in the sector to this niche, exploiting the high quality standards of coffee, both Arabica and Robusta, which have always been a solid base of the entire portfolio products.
The historic roasting plant in Belluno, famous for its quality treatment and production of 100% Arabica blends, once again surpassed itself; the team of specialists’ innovative spirit led it to explore Robusta, a species that until now has been neglected and denigrated by coffee enthusiasts due to its reputedly less distinctive and sophisticated taste and aroma.
The research led to the selection of the most highly prized gourmet coffees, predominantly India Parchment Karnataka and Indonesia Malangsari, a coffee grown in volcanic soil in East Java.
Combining these two exquisite beans in exactly the right proportions and honing the roasting process led to an amazing, and in some respects almost unexpected, result.
The hidden side of those 22 chromosomes, which until now have been ignored and considered inferior to Arabica’s 44, has now been revealed in its full glory.
The eyes are met by a rich, dark hazel brown crema, while the aroma has clear hints of cacao and almond.
The blend is full-bodied and syrupy on the palate, followed by an unimaginable sweetness and delicious notes of Amaretto and spices. The persistent aftertaste releases accents of dark chocolate and roasted almonds onto the palate.
Bristot, just under a year away from its 100th anniversary, is pleased to present ‘22’, its first 100% Robusta blend.
The company is currently treating the concept as the first high-quality result in an exploration process that is still in its early stages. Various test markets have been identified to ascertain its potential future commercial success as “limited edition” on on-line channel.
For the moment, however, the historic coffee roasting plant in Belluno is working hard to consolidate this excellent technical result, an achievement that stems from applying all its knowledge to the narrow and difficult field of Robusta coffee research.
‘22’ will be unveiled on Saturday 21 October in an exclusive and discreet location at Officina 14 at Via Tortona 14, Milan, where guests will be taken on a captivating sensory experience as they discover the mysterious blend.
