New sustainable coffee beans on the block
Lavazza don’t always get the coffee love they deserve. To my mind their iModo Mio coffee machines are far superior to Nespresso.
What they don’t have is George Clooney or much of a presence in supermarkets though, I know of only one large supermarket locally that has Lavazza capsules and it puts just two varieties on the very bottom shelf, the graveyard shelf where no one ever looks.
Lavazza also produce ground coffee and beans and has done so since being founded in Turin in 1895 by Luigi Lavazza, originally from a grocery store on Via San Tommaso. Today it’s still a family business, with the third and fourth generations of the Lavazza family in charge.
And despite their rather low key presence in the UK, they can claim that 16 million out of the 20 million coffee-purchasing families in Italy choose Lavazza.
Lavazza have always had an eye on sustainability and it has led the company to develop the ¡Tierra! project, a sustainable agriculture program in Honduras, Colombia and Peru. This program seeks to improve the quality of coffee, as well as the environmental and working conditions of those communities.
Now they have added ¡Tierra! for Cuba to their sustainable and organic ¡Tierra! Collection. It’s a combination of Arabica and Robusta. The Lavazza Foundation is committed to multiple projects, promoting sustainable cultivation methods, working with women and young people to ensure the coffee of tomorrow.
We got a bag of the new beans, because although ground is available, and is definitely handier, beans stay fresh until the moment they are ground.
We don’t have a fancy coffee machine, just a reliable cafetiere. It may not get the best out of the coffee, but it’s a lot easier and doesn’t smell of stale milk.
Our grinder isn’t that great either, the On button broke off years ago so we have to stick a screwdriver in the slot to make it work. Too tight to buy a new one, that’s us.
So we cracked the pack and inhaled. Coffee is one of those things that never tastes quite as good as it smells raw, but this did smell rather lovely, A bit of chocolate and an aroma reminiscent of the softer nuts like cashews
How you grind is up to you, some like it fine, although too fine and the cafetiere can get clogged. Pushing down hard on a jammed cafetiere is dangerous, the bottom can suddenly slide away and the whole lot go flying spraying boiling coffee everywhere. I once did this in an office meeting, a disaster that’s still talked about today, even by people who weren’t there.
It’s excellent coffee, one of the best I have tasted at home recently. I wish we still had the Artisan Espresso Machine From KitchenAid we reviewed a while back, but sadly KA sent a courier to collect it back. I suspect this coffee would work very well in it.
iTierra is really very good coffee with a very good ethos behind it. Get some beans in.
You can pick up Lavazza’s ¡Tierra! for Cuba coffee at Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, as well as Lavazza’s online site:
· ¡Tierra! for Cuba Beans RRP £9.99
· ¡Tierra! for Cuba Ground RRP £4.00
Lavazza’s Cuban Espresso Martini Recipe:
To serve two delicious Lavazza Cuban Espresso Martini’s, you’ll need:
· Cuban rum – We use Havana Club 7 (80ml)
· Espresso made with ¡Tierra! For Cuba coffee (60ml)
· Brown sugar syrup (20ml)
· Ice
· For the best results and to create an impressive crema, use a foamer such as Ms. Better’s (4 drops)
Follow the instructions to prepare the perfect cocktail:
1. Add ice and water to a martini glass to chill.
- In a cocktail shaker, pour in the Cuban rum, ¡Tierra! For Cuba espresso and brown sugar syrup – option to also add you foamer here.
- Add a scoop of cubed ice to the shaker and shake hard for about 10 seconds.
- Discard the ice/water from the chilled martini glass.
- Double-strain the cocktail into the martini glass.
- Garnish with three ¡Tierra! For Cuba coffee beans.
- Enjoy your delicious Lavazza Cuban Espresso Martini!