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THE LEGEND
OF COFFEE In a year unknown, perhaps in the mid 16th century,
a new beverage appeared in Europe from Africa... it was the color of night and had the exotic smell of harems and the intense
taste of desert fruits: its name was coffee. 
The strange name which the Venetian navigators
encountered in the Turkish area comes from the Arabic "quahwah" and means "stimulating drink". Kafa is also the name of a
region south of Abyssinia where coffee trees grow naturally at 1300 meters of altitude.
During the 17th century the "coffee rite" was heavily diffused in Italy and in Old Europe. Literary
Cafes came to life and great artistic and cultural currents, which have become part of the history of our continent, originated
around this aromatic brew.
"This precious drink which diffuses a joyful excitement through the whole body, was called
the intellectual drink, the friend of literary men, scientists and poets, as it shakes your nerves, enlightens your thoughts,
enlivens your imagination and quickens your mind".
Pellegrino Artusi
In time the seeds of the tree with candid flowers and vermilion berries started
growing even in Italy. Today Italy is a country which uses and produces coffee, and Italians love "the Arabian wine" in all
its forms, but the Italian espresso is by far the most delicious habit of our country ... burnt, red and white, coffee is
our palate's delight...
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In the 18th century, Voltaire, the philosopher, boasted
he drank fifty cups of coffee a day.
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In 1842 Honore
de Balzac, the great novelist, confessed he drank about three thousand cups during the years in which he wrote "La Comédie
Humaine".
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