“After the emergency protocol of COVID-19, I had to close my shop temporarily. I want to be sure that once I turn the machine back on, everything will function correctly. Do you have any suggestions on how to turn off and back on my machine and grinders correctly?” Victoria Arduino received this message yesterday from a barista, that, like many, has been forced to close their shop due to Coronavirus pandemic temporarily. Following up with many of you, we decided to share our recommendations for a correct maintenance procedure on how to turn off and on the machine. As we are keen on saying, a clean and controlled machine guarantees optimal performance, excellent quality, and lasts longer!Please find below the the necessary and suggested steps by Victoria Arduino for preservation for the temporary shutdown of the machines and grinders:

• Perform full back flush;
• Clean thoroughly on the shower screens and steam wands and around the seals;
• Flush lots of hot soapy water down the drain;
• Flush lots of hot soapy water down the pitcher rinsed after the cleaning is done;
• Empty the grinder hopper and grind all beans through until empty;
• Switch off the power. On the right hand side under the machine and at the wall;
• Close the main water tap connecting water to the machine.

For the re-starting of the machines and grinders:

• Switch ON the machine;
• Purge all the groups for a long time (1lt of water per group);
• Pour hot water from the hot water wand (once the machine is ON and reached the 1.2 bar) to exchange the water in the main boiler with fresh water. It is enough around 4-5 lt for the 2 groups and 6-7 lt for the 3 groups.

We can’t wait to see all of your coffee shops open again and enjoy your menu!

Proteins, phospholipids, and a temperature around 60 degrees C: these are the key to a perfect milk-based drink recipe that is nice to look at while being good for you.

Did you ever ask yourself if the milk you prepare each morning for your cappuccinos and flat whites maintain the best way possible its nutritional and organoleptic qualities? Is it possible to have the perfect balance between a good-looking product and one able to keep all of its nutritional qualities?
The answers to these questions have been sought out by the researchers of the University of Camerino through the commune project with Simonelli Group, brand owner of Victoria Arduino.

The study examined the nutritional qualities of different types of milk and cappuccinos. They were tested on espresso coffee machines using different temperatures and steam to find the optimal condition for the making of high-quality cappuccinos and milk-based drinks (Latte, Flat White). “In the cappuccinos and Flat White, we analyzed both the milk and the foam, then confronted the results with those obtained by the same batch of milk before the cappuccino preparation” – apprises Professor Silvia Vincenzetti, research coordinator of the project.

The variable steam introduction

A Latte and a Flat White require a different cream than a cappuccino. They need a thinner line of steam to make smaller bubbles and create a final creamy foam that remains more liquid with a final thickness of no more than a couple of millimeters. In a classic cappuccino, on the other hand, the foam must be creamy and compact, with a fine texture and a shiny surface at about 1 cm in thickness.
“the foam of a cappuccino – tells Professor Vincenzetti – is a colloidal dispersion of a gas into a liquid. The liquid is the milk used for the cappuccino, while the gas is made up of air and watery vapor used to froth the milk. The air particles can form a colloidal dispersion in the milk because of surfactant presence that in milk represent proteins and phospholipids. The foam stability depends on the concentration of the surfactants. Higher the concentration, more stable the foam will be because the gas particles are smaller and further dispersed”.

The variable temperature

Another important aspect is the temperature. “The milk frothing temperature should not exceed 70 degrees C. Otherwise – informs the Professor – the milk will have a “burnt” taste because of the “caramelization” of the lactose and the present proteins in the milk will go through a denaturation process. The denaturated proteins will end up binding with tannic acid present in the espresso coffee forming the “tannato di caseina’, an undigestible and challenging compound. The optimal temperature should be around 60 degrees C because it is right here that the lactose is at the peak of its sweetness”.

A NEW BIG PROJECT BY DITTA ARTIGIANALE AND VICTORIA ARDUINO TO SPREAD COFFEE EXCELLENCE CULTURE IN ITALY

Victoria Arduino is the espresso coffee machine partner chosen by Ditta Artigianale for the ambitious Coffee School project that was presented Tuesday in Florence. The Coffee School, idea of Francesco Sanapo and Patrick Hoffer, founders of Ditta Artigianale, is an important project dedicated to diffuse coffee excellence culture globally and offer professional training while being a simple meeting place for coffee lovers.

The ex-monastery of Sant’Ambrogio in the heart of Florence is a medieval construction situated in Via Carducci 2, which has become the center and coffee shop of the School. This project started with the need to become a reference point in the coffee society where international baristas, roasters, tasters, and coffee lovers can come together and share ideas and experience. It is a place where the core values that are sustainability, innovation, and knowledge, have a solid growth incorporating the know-how and expertise of coffee experts in a continuously evolving technological world. It is a unique, dynamic, and innovative concept, able to explain and reveal the world of coffee excellence in a highly organized manner with different level courses.

“The famous scholars of the Italian Renaissance, for example, Leonardo, could combine science with individual ability. The story repeats itself today amidst the coffee society; a solid base of technical know-how and personal expertise are the key to expand coffee culture. This – continues Ceccarani – is the great strength and uniqueness of the team-up between Ditta Artigianale and Simonelli Group. The roasters’ profound knowledge and experience about coffee, combined with our scientific and technical expertise, creates the perfect mix for complete educational and enriching courses.”

Florence is the ideal spot to disclose this ambitious project of the Italian Renaissance of specialty coffee in Italy. The participation of Simonelli Group in the Coffee School is also a recognition of the city itself. “It is a pleasure to return to this beautiful town and offer, after almost 100 years, a brand new project – declares Marco Feliziani, Vice President and Commercial Director of Simonelli Group. “In the 1930s, a unique Victoria Arduino (brand of Simonelli Group) coffee machine was installed in the old Fiorentina stadium: a mural machine with 24 dispensing groups, architecturally and technologically advanced for those times, was a superb and inspiring artwork. Today, sealing the union with Ditta Artigianale, we give tribute to Florence and contribute to the growth of Italian coffee culture.”

THE SCUOLA DEL CAFFÈ IN A MEDIEVAL MONASTERY

The Coffee School is the first of its kind in Europe to be inside an actual cafeteria open to the public. Its headquarters is a very enchanting place: the ex-monastery of Sant’Ambrogio, a medieval architecture situated in Via Carducci 2, right in the heart of Florence. The ex-cafeteria of the convent that faces the monastery is the office of the Coffee School. In the area facing Via Carducci, there is positioned the coffee shop signed Ditta Artigianale. This project started with the need to become a reference point in the coffee society where international baristas, roasters, tasters, and coffee lovers can come together and share ideas and experience. It is a place where the core values that are sustainability, innovation, and knowledge, have a solid growth incorporating the know-how and expertise of coffee experts in a continuously evolving technological world. It is a unique, dynamic, and innovative concept, able to explain and reveal the world of coffee excellence in a highly organized manner with different level courses. From June 2020 the course calendar will be available, while the academics will start January 2021.

The story of the monastery: from a prostitute community to a book repair laboratory

The ex-monastery construction, called “complesso Della Pia Casa di Rifugio di Sant’Ambrogio,” has age-old origins because of its connections to the complex building of Sant’Ambrogio, built between the V of VI century b.c. At the end of the XVIII century, the monastery, which was poverty-stricken considering the Leopold reforms of those times, became a secular educational institution for young women. The boarding school then closed in regard to the French regulations of 1808, and the whole convent transformed into public utility houses. Nevertheless, in 1815 the property rights were given to the Dominican nuns “Della Pietà” of Via Giusti. The year after, the ecclesiastical administration gave up the institution to a worldly prostitute community “in the way of redemption.” In 1835 the Pia Casa was transformed into an ethical institute and continued taking care of the young women, prospering for a long time up until the first World War, where the buildings were of Military use. After some time, the structure was sold to the Kindergarten Society and then later demolished in the occasion of an urban renovation under the new inner-city plan drafted by Luigi Del Sarto but was soon damaged by the great flood of 1966. In 1976 the Opera Pia went under Municipal authority, and in 1979 the spaces were rented to the National Library. In 1991 a significant part of the ex-monastery building was bought by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage to create the Laboratory of book restoration. Finally, in 2010, the complex was passed over to the Human Services of Florence Montedomini. [Source: Francesca Carrara, Ludovica Sebregondi, Pia Casa Rifugio di Sant’Ambrogio]

World of Coffee is coming! This year we invited some of the best roasters in the industry to explore and serve incredible unique coffees from our VA388 coffee machine. Röststätte, Nordbeans, Kalve, Kaffa, Hard beans, Doubleshot, Connect coffee, 5elephant will present to you their specialty coffee at booth #B31. While enjoying coffee from one of our guests, be sure to join the “Taste your temperature” contest. Test out the superb T3 technology, that allows the barista to set three temperatures: one for the brewing, one for the water infusion and one for the steam. You can experiment with the temperature and extract the best flavors from each coffee blend. Come join us at the booth B31 to enjoy these moments together! It will be days full of discussions, networking and high-quality coffee! We wish you a very happy coffee experience. See you soon in Berlin!