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ON A ROMAN COFFEE TOUR
The Philippine Star Leisure Section
18 April 2001 PAGE L-6
 f you want to know more about coffee, there's only one place to go - Italy. And that was what Roberto Francisco, Boyd Coffee Co., Philippines president did. Francisco, after all, takes his vocation seriously. He is not called a brewmeister for nothing. He continuously hones his skills. "Constant training is very important if Boyd wants to continue to be the prime choice of top coffee shops, hotels and restaurants for their coffee and beverage needs," he says.
 Policemen and other motorcycle riders park their bikes outside Camilloni di San Eustachio while they get their daily shot of espresso
During this trip, Francisco visited some of Rome's most popular espresso bars.
Espresso, by the way, means "quickly pressed out" in Italian. This is because espresso is brewed by forcing hot water through finely ground darkly roasted coffee. This is how Italians make their coffee.
 appuccino, on the other hand, is espresso topped with foamed milk and steamed milk in equal parts. Cappuccino is different from café latte, which is simply espresso with steamed milk. "Ordering just latte, which is Italian for milk, would mean that you will only be given milk," he warns.
Cappuccino, by the way, is only drank during breakfast. "It is never taken after a heavy lunch or dinner." Espresso, though, is drunk anytime of the day. Nighttime, however, calls for espresso corretto, which is espresso with a shot or two of brandy or any other liquor. Italians drink it as a nightcap. "Incidentally, Filipinos who want to get a shot of this charming concoction can brew their own espresso right at the comfort of their own home with a stovetop espresso maker or "moka" pot. He also shares this recipe:
ESPRESSO CORRETTO
˝ cup (4 ounces) brandy / cognac
4 sugar cubes
˝ cup (4 ounces) brewed espresso, hot
Place sugar cube in each of four demitasse cups. Fill cups half full with brewed espresso. Slowly add brandy to fill the cup (if done correctly, brandy will rise to the top). Ignite brandy. Let burn a few seconds and stir well. Try brown sugar cubes for a change of taste. Serves two.
 A typical morning at Camilloni di San Eustachio, with people lining up for their morning java
"Anyways, the Italians seem to drink coffee as if it is water," Francisco continues. Truth to tell, Italians consume more than 70 million cups of espresso per year. Now that's a lot of coffee. And he got a first-hand experience when he visited Rome's popular cafés. At Café San Eustachio, for example, he did a headcount where he was pleasantly surprised to see that this 60 square mete café serves about 3,000 cups per day. "that's about 200-300 cups per hour," he said. "But then, it wasn't really a surprise after knowing that they were using Astoria espresso machines. Astoria is capable of dispensing 120-240 cups an hour, which is very important for quick service."
 Boyd Coffee Phils. President Roberto Francisco went on a coffee tour of Rome recently. He is at Tazza d'Oro, one of Rome's oldest cafés
 nd in Italy, service has to be quick. Coffee drinking it seems, is Italy's national pastime. "San Eustachio is almost always full. This is the reason, perhaps, why another café going by a similar name, Camilloni di San Eustachio is just a stone's throw away from the original San Eustachio. Camilloni brings in the tourist and locals alike who cannot be served by the original San Eustachio." But Camilloni, itself, is know for her pastries.
Another café that Francisco checked out was Tazza d'Oro. Tazza d'Oro, located near the Pantheon, is one of Rome's oldest cafés. The coffee churned out here is even more mind-boggling at 2000-3000 cups in 15-hour shifts. Wondering what coffee machine it was using, he discovered that Tazza d'Oro was using Wega espresso machines, a sister brand of Astoria.
Pretty soon, it was already sunset and was already time to wrap up his café hopping. But before that, Francisco thought that it was fitting to celebrate the end of a fruitful day with a cup of coffee. He ordered a cup of espresso corretto. Why not? As they say, "when in Rome, do as the Romans do."
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