Espresso -ly Yours

How do latte lovers celebrate Valentine’s Day?  Romantic baristas know that a microfoam heart is the best way to begin Valentine’s Day but why stop there.  Here are 5 more Italian inspired ways to espress yourself on February 14th that are sure to win your Valentine’s heart.

Make a simply irresistible Cappuccino Souffle.

Add a Trollbead Sterling Silver Mocha Coffee Bean Bead  to her bracelet to remind her to always start the day with you.

Bake a special occasion cake that pushes all the right buttons like  Coffee Chocolate Layer Cake with Mocha Mascarpone Frosting.

Send a bouquet of Coffee Break Roses, a striking burnt terra-cotta rose with a tip of crema. It is commercially available in limited quantities.

Looking for a Coffee-Cocktail to espress your feelings. Here are two espresso-based cocktails courtesy of Illy USA. Amore is served hot with Amaretto di Saronno®, Beatrice on ice with vodka and Grand Marnier®.

A Valentine from Verona

Verona – a city so famous for love that it gets thousands of letters simply addressed to “Juliet, Verona Italy. The week before February 14th is even more enchanting when the city celebrates un cuore da scoprire “a heart to discover” with a city-wide Valentine’s Day market set up in the shape of a heart. There are concerts, events and the “Cara Giulietta” (“Dear Juliet”) prize awarded on Valentine’s Day to the author of the most heart-felt love letter received during the previous year. The main pedestrian streets of the old town take on a magical atmosphere created by large bright red heart decorations and the shops pay homage to love by decorating their storefronts. On Valentine’s day and the following Sunday, lovers can share a collective Kiss in the main piazza after which a cloud of love explodes into thousands of red hearts.

Italian Valentine’s Day Collection with a product said to “lead a man like a dog”

A desirable collection of food, wine, art and design that shares the color Red and the Romance of Italy from a lipstick red espresso machine to an Italian red sauce make with tomatoes botanically related to the mandrake, or “love plant”, the tomato was once believed to be a powerful aphrodisiac, said to be able to “lead a man like a dog .

. . .   (click) the Red Passion Collection.

Tacuinum Sanitatis

Red is the Color of My True Love’s . . . espresso machine!

Red coffee machines are one of the most popular and top selling home appliances bought on-line. The color red seems to make a fashion statement whether modern or retro. Like the red-painted cam covers on the Ferrari Testarossa , the color seems to represent a powerful piece of engineering.  La Pavoni, one of Italy’s oldest espresso machine manufactures, makes the Cellini Push Switch Red Maranello that looks like it could easily go from 0-60 in about 5 seconds.

The prominent dial and cone-shaped appearance of the Bugatti Diva Red Coffee Espresso Machine could easily start your engine every morning.

The Gaggia Colour Red (see gallery below) with the Pannarello turbo frothing attachment is advertised to “make a statement no matter where it’s located”.

So appealing is Illy’s iconic Francis Francis Red iper Espresso that it has been raised to luxury status by none other than Forbes magazine.

Any just might make the perfect present for your espresso loving Valentine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Vintage Italian Valentine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Typewriter that is -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      The legendary Italian designer Ettore Sottsass first introduced the Olivetti Valentine typewriter in 1969. He wanted to make a portable typewriter for “people on the move”. Fast forward 43 years and the design aesthetic of vintage Italian still survives the passing of time. Now featured in the Museum of Modern Art, the iconic design of this Valentine in form and function got people to think outside of the box.

And the color! Can I get my hands on one for Valentine’s Day?