After almost ten years of roasting, we have ventured into the sacred coffee grail. We have released our interpretation of an Italian espresso – the Compadre.
The Compadre is a 50/50 blend of Arabica and Conilon, the Brazilian Robusta. Both coffees come from family-run coffee farms in Espírito Santo, Brazil. We roast the coffee very dark, emphasizing the strong notes of the Conilon and finding spicy, tobacco-like aromas. The Arabica gives the coffee texture as well as dark chocolate and nuttier tones.
The Arabica component comes from the Montanhas Capixabas, the mountainous region of Espírito Santo.
We developed the coffee together with our partners from Farmers Coffee. I visited them in autumn 2023 and was impressed by the drive of these young entrepreneurs and sons of coffee farmers. They focus on high-quality Conilons and Arabicas from the mountains of Espírito Santo. We visited Arabica farms at 1200 meters and Conilon farms at 80 meters above sea level. The topography is impressive.
Visiting Farmers Coffee in Venda Nova do Imigrante, autumn 2023
The Conilon component comes from the northern part of Espírito Santo and is grown at 80 meters above sea level.
Espírito Santo has a history strongly influenced by immigration. Many Italian families immigrated at the end of the 19th century, worked in coffee production, and gradually took over coffee farms.
The two families who contribute their coffee to the Compadre also have Italian roots: the Romãos produce their pulped natural Arabica in the mountainous region around Castelo, while the Magieros produce their pulped natural Conilon in the plains of São Mateus in the north of Espírito Santo.
The Romão family contributes the Arabica part for the blend.
If you will, a very large, historical circle is closing: the coffee of two families with Italian roots is now ending up in an espresso based on an Italian model.
Farmers Coffee sorts both coffees in their warehouse and blends them in a 50/50 ratio in the coffee sack. This way, the moisture of both green coffees already equalizes in the sack. The 30 kg sacks arrive at our roastery and are roasted as a complete, already blended coffee.
The Roast
We opted for a medium-long and hot roast. We roast the Henrique or Apas espresso a bit longer, but with the Compadre, we have the highest final temperature on our roaster. With this high final temperature, we emphasize the more roasted, strong notes. We end the roast just before the second crack.
What is Italian Espresso?
In autumn 2024, we published a video and a blog about the 20 best Italian espressos. Our community selected the coffees to be tasted, and over 2000 votes were received.
In this complex and lengthy tasting, one thing became clear to us: there is no such thing as "the Italian espresso." There is a tendency to use more Arabica in the north and more Robusta in the south. We also observed that roasters in the north tend to roast a bit lighter, while roasters in the south prefer a dark roast.
The image of the "classic Italian espresso" is often invoked, but agreement probably only exists when viewed from the outside. We often hear that coffee just tastes much better after passing the Gotthard Tunnel or crossing the Brenner Pass.
It is possible that anticipation, the holiday feeling, the sight of the machine and familiar bean brands at that moment have an influence – so that the espresso is perceived differently than when it is prepared at home.
But, we believe, it is primarily the ratio of the amount of coffee powder used to the extraction quantity in the cup: the beverage ratio. This differs significantly from what is common north of the Alps. While in our cafes we prefer beverage ratios of 1:2.2 to 1:2.4, 1:2 is almost too long an espresso in many Italian caffè bars. 1:1.5 often serves as a reference, meaning 1 part coffee to 1.5 parts water – for example, 17g of coffee powder and 25.5g of espresso in the cup.
That's short and strong. And often significantly cheaper – not because of the quantities served, but because of different wage and price structures.
Anyone serving an espresso with a 1:1.5 ratio north of the Alps and then charging double or triple what it costs in Italy often gets a grim look. Yet the coffee might now be sensorially optimized. If a customer then wants "more for their money," the extraction is extended (more water flows through the coffee powder), while the amount of powder remains the same. This results in watery espressos that are far from the imagined ideal.
Dério Brioschi, one of the founders of Farmers Coffee, whom we met at the World of Coffee 2025 in Geneva.
How would we prepare it?
We are currently developing various recipes. Many fans of Italian espressos use lever machines, which is why we also want to develop a recipe for them.
For a classic 9-bar profile, we work with a brew ratio of 1:1.8 to 1:2 in at least 27 seconds. If you are aiming for high intensity in taste and a heavy body, extract the coffee shorter, i.e., towards 1:1.8. If you want to bring the coffee more into balance and highlight some more caramel notes, you can aim for 1:2.
We are excited to hear about your recipes – feel free to comment them here.
