By Our Editorial Staff
Accademia del Caffè Espresso was founded in 2019 from La Marzocco’s desire to create a place aimed at preserving and spreading the culture of espresso coffee, increasing its knowledge and relevance globally.
The structure, inaugurated in 1961, housed the factory until 2009. Within those walls, the Bambi brothers and a small group of brilliant craftsmen have changed, innovation after innovation, the way of conceiving the espresso coffee machine. The production part was divided into two areas: one was the mechanical workshop, where the coffee machines and other products of the La Marzocco range of the time were born, the other was the carpentry where the “master carpenters” made, starting from the trunk sections up to the finish, furnishing accessories for bars and restaurants.
The plant has been an integral part of the history and soul of the company, and after the transfer of production to the nearby town of Scarperia in 2009, it has remained intact, as if waiting, preserving a magical energy. As soon as it was possible for La Marzocco to invest in the structure, it was decided to create an open and shared space, a magnetic pole that today attracts, connects and generates passion and expertise on the all-Italian and now global ritual of espresso coffee. The original structure has therefore been entirely maintained, an example of industrial archaeology restored to its former glory, but completely changing the interior. In the Academy, knowledge, research and dissemination around the raw material are combined with the skills and abilities of the roasting and extraction process.
Within it today, agronomists work on research projects collaborating with universities and cutting-edge companies, engineers and designers work alongside specialized craftsmen, engaged in the development of prototypes and espresso machines made entirely by hand, unique pieces designed with the customer, and it is possible to attend training courses with coffee experts, have lunch thanks to highly trained chefs. A complex and varied team whose activities are told every day by communication professionals.
Accademia was born from a vision: to want to improve the quality of coffee in the cup, promoting the culture of coffee at all levels. This is why its offer is so wide.
You can participate in activities such as a guided tour of the exhibition area to explore the history and technologies of La Marzocco, up to the dedicated section that tells the origins and botany of coffee; It is possible to integrate the visit to the museum with coffee tastings and training courses for all levels, to learn about the fascinating journey of coffee, from the bean to the cup or to refine one’s theoretical and practical skills and feel like a real barista by delving into roasting, the different extractions up to latte art; and from the sensory world it is possible to get to the practice of cooking workshops, which offer the theoretical and practical bases of Italian cuisine, from pasta, to cantucci, to seasonal dishes of the Tuscan tradition and much more.
Accademia welcomes visitors by offering large common areas in which to relax and socialize and houses a library dedicated to “culture around a cup”, where it is possible to consult books and magazines of the sector, but not only. A real dive into the world of coffee and all its aspects; Of course, you can’t miss the opportunity to sit at the bar, sipping a historic blend in a retro atmosphere or enjoy a specialty guided by coffee experts, sitting next to the imposing greenhouse that hosts the reproduction of a South American coffee plantation. The greenhouse has been converted into an Air Factory with the collaboration of the University of Florence and PNAT and is able to filter 97% of the air of the entire Academy.
The Accademia offers the opportunity for those interested to also be able to try all the models of the La Marzocco range, both in the Home area dedicated to the domestic line and the professional ones, under the guidance of coffee experts and technicians who are always present. A lively and vital environment, where the scents of roasting and the enchantment of artisan creation are mixed: in a completely exposed ceramic workshop, cups and unique works are made, in a temporal suspension that invites us to rethink our rhythms and concepts of quality and production.
The Espresso Coffee Academy is a crossroads of cultures, visitors from all over the world come and go, united by the passion for coffee and the desire for discovery. A design environment but steeped in history, which invites meeting and exchange, to the conviviality of sharing and contamination. In the kitchen, the flavours of the Tuscan tradition and the value of sustainability come together, reinterpreted in the concept of “Farm To Fork”.
Each visit thus becomes a multisensory experience, where the scent of freshly roasted coffee mixes with the sounds of the forest and knowledge and the pleasure of discovery celebrates the culture of coffee in all its forms and tradition and innovation come together in a path of excellence and passion.
Info: Accademia del Caffè Espresso, Via Bolognese 68, Pian di San Bartolo-Trespiano (Fi) / Tel. 055 0987301
For information on the experiences of the Academy: https://accademiaespresso.com/visita-accademia/