The Italian country side of the Northeast is picturesque in November. Autumn has arrived, and whilst many of the days are characterised by blue skies that contrast with the yellowing leaves on the grapevines, the evenings are chilly, clean and brisk.
About 45 minutes north of the canal city of Venice, is the small village of Susegana. This town is right on the slopes that begin to climb away from the coastal plains up into the mountains behind. Susegana is in the area called Treviso, famous for its Prosecco wines, the HQ of Benetton, being the Ryan Air stopover point for Venice and perhaps most importantly for being the home of CMA- the makers of San Marino Espresso Machines.
The espresso machine company, started by Mr Nello Del Tio, is still run by the family. Up until last year the machines were manufactured in several buildings spread across one of the main roads into town. All the machines were 100% hand made, lovingly assembled on trolleys that were lined up on small rail tracks around the complex. In January of 2007, the factories were consolidated into a new ultra modern complex, still in Susegana. The new complex brought assembly under 1 roof- and added space for advanced training facilities as well as more area for the technical people. The factory still hand assembles a lot of the machines, but there has been some incorporation of computers for logistics, dispatch and testing/quality control.
One of the most popular lines of machine is the classic San Marino Lisa. This machine has the curves, the stainless steel finish and of course the quality in producing perfect steam pressure and shot quality that has made it a fast favourite in New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Asia and the Middle East. The machine can be seen in cafes in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Auckland, Jakarta, Bangkok and Dubai. It is the workhorse behind such names as Black Canyon Coffee and Costa Coffee.
The San Marino Lisa has recently been modernised slightly and re-launched under the name "San Marino 'R'" The R stands for redesigned but the machines keep the shape and curves, but take on such modern necessities as raised groups, new pre-infusion group designs, and in the case of the SME electronic models- temperature controls for the boiler, automatic latte maker, auto foamer and a variety of shot controls (up to 6 per group, excluding the auto selector which can add a further 6 options through 1 of the groups).
The semi-automatic model retains most of the classic features, with the updating confined to the groups, the rocker switches being replaced with sturdy buttons and of course some change in the bodywork.
The machine options available to a café owner are endless. The Semi-auto (SMAT) and the auto (SME) come in 1-4 groups. On special request bigger units can be built. On departure at Rome airport, a beautiful 4 group classic SMAT, with copper trim, serves elegant coffee at the Tazza d'orro café. To many tourists this is their last memory of Italy- a fantastic espresso served from a classic, timeless machine. Perfect.
(c) Alun Evans, Merdeka Coffee, 2007
There are many refreshing iced coffee recipes available, and we have selected some of the most interesting for you. However, my favorite of all it the traditional Italian iced coffee recipe which uses freshly made espresso, a cocktail shaker and ice cubes. In fact, if you ask for an iced coffee in Italy this is the only recipe they will serve. Poured into a cocktail glass, the chilled Italian espresso is second to none.
When the heat is on try this traditional Italian iced coffee recipe ...
So, how is the Italian iced coffee recipe actually made? Simple, like all good things. Use your espresso machine, if you have one, to make a normal shot for one, two or more servings. Pour the freshly made espresso coffee into the cocktail shaker, add ice cubes (the ice doesn't get poured into the glasses with the coffee, so the flavor isn't diluted), close the shaker and shake like crazy! Pour into cocktail glasses and enjoy. Surprisingly, the iced coffee will not be a dark espresso brown color, but a creamy beige .
Here are a few more iced coffee recipes for you to try
Bermuda Iced Coffee
For this recipe, you'll need coffee, cream, sugar and coffee flavor ice-cream. Pour the coffee, cream, sugar and 1 or 2 scoops of ice-cream into a blender. Blend, and serve cold in glasses or mugs. Tastes great, but if you're on a diet beware.
Fresh Lemon Cafe
Here you'll need 1/4 cup of coffee to which you add 2 oz of lemon sherbet, 1/2 tsp of lemon juice, 1 tsp of grated lemon rind and 1 tsp of sugar. Place the contents to your blender and blend until smooth. Serve in chilled glasses.
Cinnamon Caramel
This recipe has an interesting taste. You'll need about 6 tsp of ground coffee, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup caramel syrup. Prepare a pot of coffee in the usual way, but add the cinnamon to the ground coffee. Add the syrup to the hot coffee and stir until dissolved. Chill the coffee and serve over ice with milk, cream or sugar. For an interesting variation, you could also use this coffee, but chill it in the way of the traditional Italian iced coffee recipe above.
Thai Iced Coffee
Here's another interesting variation. You'll need strong ground coffee for brewing 4 cups, 4 tsp sugar, 4 tsp heavy cream, 2 tsp ground cardamom, 1 tsp almond flavoring, crushed ice. Add the cardamom to the ground coffee and brew, when ready add the sugar and almond flavoring, mix well and leave to cool or chill in fridge. Fill four glasses half way with the crushed ice, then add the coffee leaving about an inch or a little more from the rim of the glass. Hold a spoon over the coffee and gently pour the cream over the spoon so that the cream floats on the top of your iced coffee.
Well, that's it. These are just a few of the many iced coffee recipes that are available today. Part of the fun is also experimenting. Enjoy.
