Palombini Espresso

[jjread]

I am trying to locate Palombini espresso in whole bean or brick form here in the US. I can find it all over Europe but so far I haven't seen it here. I heard that they were developing the USA market (starting with top Restaurants) back in 2003, but that is all that I've got. I would very much appreciate any information or direction. Thanks!

JR

[phaelon56]

If you can't find any mention of on English language web sites using Google (I could not) then chances are good that their plans to penetrate the US market may not have come to fruition.

I know it's not what you're really asking for but I'll propose an alternative: if you'll tell us what the characteristics are of the type espresso you enjoy most and are trying to achieve by brewing Palombini - perhaps someone can suggest an independent US base roaster who roasts and ships fresh beans that will achieve this.

One of the frustrations many people have when they come back from Europe, especially from Italy, and unsuccessfully try to replicate their espresso experience here is due to the simple fact that even the best vacuum packaging, nitrogen flushing etc. can not preserve beans adequately for a period of months after roasting.

If you buy Lavazza, Illy or a few other major Italian brands in Italy there's a good chance that you may get beans which were roasted within the past few weeks or at least the past month or two.

But when those same beans get packed for US distribution, go through containerized shipping, wholesale and retail distribution channels at both ends etc - they often end up being purchased at retail many months after roasting and are a bit flat (i.e. really stale) due to excess aging and oxidation (which occurs as a natural process even inside sealed packaging).

Whether you are in Italy or here - there's no substitute for freshly roasted whole beans that are within two weeks of roast date - it's the nature of the beast.

[melkor]

There's a seriously strange assortment of things you find when you google for Palombini espresso - barley tea pods made by Palombini for making tea with your espresso machine, the linked-in page for a guy who sells Palombini espresso in Australia, the personal website for the exclusive Palombini importer into Moldova... etc. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like anyone sells Palombini espresso in the states.

I'll second Owen's suggestion that you give us a little more info on what you're looking for, we can probably recommend a local roaster that can supply something similar to what you want.

[phaelon56]

Also - I can vouch for the fact from personal experience that the espresso I had in Europe made from Illy beans seemed to be far fresher than any I've had made from Illy here in the US - despite the fact that I wasn't in Italy and the beans weren't likely to be as fresh as they could be.

Another good case in point is Lavazza. Not only do they have a number of varieties sold in Italy that are different than those sold here - there's a huge difference in freshness.

My former GF visited Italy and returned home with a gift for me: a one kilo bag of Lavazza - black bag with gold letters. It was remarkably good with plenty of crema and good robust flavor - one of the better commercial espresso blends I've ever had. And she picked it at random - just bought what she saw other people getting in the grocery store.

[gfron1]

I'm embarassed to ask since to me a good coffee has caramel and chocolate and whipped cream and sprinkles... (you get the idea), but what's the difference then between a Palombini and a Peet's - knowing that Peet's roasts to order and has an Italian roast and Espresso roast.

[melkor]

If good coffee has caramel, chocolate, whipped cream, and sprinkles then Palombini and Peets are effectively the same thing. The difference between drip coffee and Peets espresso is much more significant than the difference between a Peets espresso and a Palombini espresso.

[gfron1]

As I walk away with tail between legs, I'll have to delve into the numerous coffee and espress topics in the forum to get up to speed. The irony is Kevin Knox (Coffee Basics) is a good friend and he was always trying to get me to appreciate good coffee...it was a vain attempt.

[melkor]

A lot of people don't like coffee, several chefs I know don't drink it at all...

[sanrensho]

My former GF visited Italy and returned home with a gift for me:  a one kilo bag of Lavazza - black bag with gold letters.  It was remarkably good with plenty of crema and good robust flavor - one of the better commercial espresso blends I've ever had. And she picked it at random - just bought what she saw other people getting in the grocery store.

Just out of curiosity, Owen, how was this packaged? Vacuum-sealed "brick," whole beans or ground?

[phaelon56]

My former GF visited Italy and returned home with a gift for me:  a one kilo bag of Lavazza - black bag with gold letters.  It was remarkably good with plenty of crema and good robust flavor - one of the better commercial espresso blends I've ever had. And she picked it at random - just bought what she saw other people getting in the grocery store.

Just out of curiosity, Owen, how was this packaged? Vacuum-sealed "brick," whole beans or ground?

←

It was whole bean in a bag with a one way valve (which allows CO2 to escape the bag as the beans degas after roasting but in theory prevents oxygen from entering the bag).

The only coffee I ever buy in pre-ground form is the Trung Nguyen Vietnamese coffee I get at the local Asian market for making cafe sua da.

And "Italian Roast" does refer to a specific level of dark roast but I hate it when I see the term "espresso roast" used. In the US it usually means dark and oily beans (i.e. over-roasted). Espresso refers to the beverage itself and specifically to the extraction method. A variety of beans and roast levels can be and are used for espresso. I typically blend three to five different bean types and my preferred roast level never ever has visible oil on the beans (unless they're about ten days old and finally starting to exude tiny amounts of oil).

I've certainly had some very good espresso from darker roasted beans but any time I've ever had it from the dark oily beans called "espresso roast" it's been bitter and acrid. Yuck.

[sanrensho]

It was whole bean in a bag with a one way valve (which allows CO2 to escape the bag as the beans degas after roasting but in theory prevents oxygen from entering the bag).

Interesting, I'll have to poke around some Italian markets and see if they have something similar. I only recall seeing the vacuum sealed bricks and cans, but maybe I haven't looked close enough. Perhaps the whole beans will have a little more flavor, if I can find them. I agree that anything roasted months and weeks before tends to be flat, but I do like the flavor profile of the Italian brands.

And, as you say, even a cursory inspection of Lavazza and other Italian brands reveals that the beans aren't roasted very dark at all.