Hardy Espresso Coffee of Milano Italy
I just got a care package from Hardy Espresso in Milano Italy and if coffee is this good in Italy, I need to save my money and get a ticket to Italy and spend my days drinking espresso and coffee. I sampled the “Mediolanum”, which is Hardies gourmet blend and was completely enthralled by it. Mediolanum has a very distinctive flavor profile of chocolate and spice, it is not heavy nor over the top bold as one would have expect from the roast profile that I saw as I poured out the beans and put them in my grinder.
The iconic Hardy’s parrot
Mediolanum is one of those rare blends that will please about anybody, I shared it with some friends whose coffee habits were from “I normally don’t drink coffee” to “ I must have it every day to start my day” and every person there agreed it was exceptionally good coffee. The person who normally doesn’t drink coffee had more that the rest of us, so I am sure he was up for rest of the night, since it was late afternoon when we had it. The aroma when it was being brewed filled up the entire house and got everybody’s attention so when the brewing was done nobody missed out on the first pour, it was very pleasing black and also just as enchanting with cream, there was no sour faces being made, but faces with smiles upon taking their first sip. Soon our afternoon coffee tasting turned into “what else can we have with this outstanding coffee”, Irish cream was added, it blended very well with it as well as some Irish whiskey that made the whole afternoon go by rather quickly. I checked with my friends the next day and everybody was eager to have some more. They loved it.
I did some food paring as well, Mediolanum went well with breakfast items, such as eggs, oatmeal, peanut butter and fresh fruit. Mediolanum did not lose any of it flavor nor did it clash with those items, I did tried it with some Cheddar cheese, it was okay but I think Munster or Mozzarella cheese would be a safe bet. As for a diner coffee I would recommend it wholeheartedly, it goes well with anything that is being served. No long lingering aftertaste a clean finish that is refreshing and naturally sweet, you don’t need to add sugar to it. For desserts, all I can say, you can’t go wrong, it pairs well with everything I made in my kitchen, so I think you can have the same success as I did.
Next was Hardy Europa espresso blend, holy smoke, what a taste! I have had my share of espresso that made your eyes snap shut and some where you wonder if you were drinking tea instead, this espresso blend is perfectly balanced with the right amount of chocolate and nuttiness, a super clean finish, naturally sweet and the creama was yummy, it looked like a miniature pint of stout in my shot glass, it had such a lovely cascade when it was settling in the glass. I was hesitant to drink it, as it was such thing of art in a glass. I next foamed up some milk and did a latte and a cappuccino and it was just as good with out being overly milky, nice balance. I also noticed that the blend is post roast, which in my opinion is the way to go. Showing that the beans are roasted to their proper profile giving you the best of the bean and showing the talent of the roaster themselves. My daughter who is also my coffee partner loved the Hardy Europa and I am sure we will be having more today.
