Treat Yourself to the Taste of Italy!
Caffe D’Arte, based in Seattle, WA, relies on the time-honored traditions and artisanship of Italy to create its award winning coffee blends. The company’s slogan, “Award winning coffees worth searching for,” may apply to customers today, but it also alludes to a desperate quest from the company’s early beginnings.
When founder Mauro Cipolla arrived in Seattle with his family in the 1970s, the lack of good Italian coffee made them realize how far from home they had come. Over time, the Cipollas discovered coffee shops and Italian restaurants, but the scents and flavors were nothing like what they had grown up drinking in Italy. Cipolla thought the locally made espresso he sampled tasted more like hot, bitter water.
Inspired to bring the authentic coffees of his homeland back to the United States, Cipolla returned to Campania, Italy in the early 1980s to learn the craft of coffee making. As an apprentice, he learned the techniques for wood roasting from master coffee roasters.
With his newly acquired skills and a renewed passion for authentic Italian coffee, Cipolla returned to Seattle and founded the company in 1985, with a mission to introduce traditional espresso to America.
Small Batch Roasted Coffee Beans
Today, the company still emphasizes traditional slow roasting, grinding and brewing methods while eschewing the time-saving mechanized technologies. Each blend is roasted in small wood or gas-fired roasters and monitored by a watchful artisan’s expertise rather than electronic timers. The resulting coffees are known throughout the United States for their complex, sophisticated flavors and aromas.
In 1996 and 1997, Cipolla’s blends won so many awards at the Northwest Coffee Tasting competition that the organization asked him not to enter, but to serve as a judge for future competitions.
The company offers five regional espresso blends, including the mild and smooth Firenze blend, which hints at Northern Italy’s Tuscany region. On the other end of the espresso spectrum, the Sicilian-inspired Taormina blend is bold, heavy-bodied and sweet. Caffe D’Arte also offers a full range of traditional drip coffees, and Alderwood Roasted Coffee Blends, such as the rich Fabriano and exciting Velletri blends. In addition, the company produces certified organic and fair trade coffee blends, which utilize beans that are grown without fertilizers and that meet the international fair trade standards.
In addition to producing quality espresso and coffee blends, the company offers “The Coffee Academy” to help spread the knowledge and passion of crafting quality coffee blends to other aspiring coffee roasters.
Please visit the store to view a wide range of excellent Caffe D’Arte coffee beans.
