First introduced in December 2017 for our residency at La Marzocco, our Leone Blend earned a gold medal in the Moka Pot Category at the International Coffee Tasting competition held in November 2018. Created specifically for the coffee enthusiast, we have always thought this blend had a little magic in it, and the judges thought so too. This light roast balances notes of honey, vanilla, apricot and red huckleberry.  You can have a little liquid gold to enjoy at home - grab a bag of Leone Blend and a Moka Pot online, or pick up the café. If you decide to...

Holiday gift giving for the coffee lover in your life is fun (and easy) with this gift guide.  For the Cyclist: The Umbria Cycling Jersey - equal parts eye-catching and high-performance, this limited edition jersey is Made in Italy by Biciclista. Buy online or at the Portland Pearl District, Chicago Clark Street, or Seattle Pioneer Square Cafés. For the Bon Vivant: The Deruta Mug & Coffee Gift Set - the Deruta mug is handmade for us in Italy, and is sure to bring a smile to someone who loves to enjoy their cup of coffee in a beautiful mug. Only...

This Myanmar microlot is produced by 18 farmers in the Hta Min Paung village, most of whom own less than a hectare of land. The majority of the farmers are women (there are only two men in the group), and the group uses much of its profits for the development of the village, including an ongoing project to build a monastery. The community’s five pagodas stand prominently overlooking the drying beds. This community cultivates its coffee under a broad canopy of mixed trees in an ideal climate of hot days and cool nights. The extremely hot weather during the December...

Madison Café Barista Jamie Oliver visits Perugia. By Jamie Oliver - I took a week off of work in August for a road-trip around Iceland with a friend. Once I started looking into flights from Iceland to Italy, I decided to extend my stay to pursue my love of Naples and the one-of-a-kind pizza they make. I have visited Italy before, so I knew that I needed that pizza! After some research and talking with my co-workers at Caffè Umbria, I was convinced to check out the roots of our company in Perugia. I took the bus from Rome to...

On August 7th, 2018, eight teams of three baristas competed for the grand prize at this brand new, ferociously fast barista battle organized by La Marzocco and hosted at our Armitage Café. The energy and excitement were through the roof! Our all-star barista team – Tony, Mackenzie, Cassie – used their mad skills and laser-like focus to calmly crush some of the best barista teams in the industry: Colectivo, Starbucks Reserve, Intelligentsia, Stumptown, Madcap Coffee and La Colombe. Each team was given the same list of 8 drinks to make – the drinks needed to be made perfectly in the...