Listen to “Magnificent Milano: Favorite Places and Coffee Bars” on Spreaker.
Let’s take a trip to Italy’s second biggest city Milan – a thriving hub of design, fashion and also coffee! In Milan, you’ll find an interesting mix of old and new – from the incredible Duomo and Galleria Emanuele II to modern architecture and also historic and new wave coffee bars. You’ll find a city with one foot firmly placed in its past and traditions but always looking forward to the future.
Show notes
We talk to Michael Horne, founder of San Francisco-based Dü Coffee and lover of all things Italian – especially coffee and wine. As Dü Coffee’s Milan roast is just about to be launched, it was the perfect opportunity for us to hear from him about what inspired their new bags of beans and his favourite places to visit when he’s in Milan.
Dü Coffee’s New Milan Roast
Special Dü Coffee offer for Untold Italy listeners – Save 50% on your first Dü Coffee Milan roast shipment in the United States with code – UNTOLD.
Click here to access the Milan roast deal
About our guest – Michael Horne
Michael Horne is the founder of Dü Coffee based in San Francisco and is a huge fan of all things Italian, so much so that he’s traveled to Italy every year since 1995. His career has led him all over the planet, traveling over 2 million miles, and he is always on the hunt for a great cup of coffee everywhere he travels.
Michael loves Italian espresso and is now celebrating Italian coffee culture by bringing the tastes and flavors home with Dü Coffee’s new Milan roast.
You can find Dü Coffee on these channels:
- Website: www.du.coffee
- Email: michael@du.coffee
- Instagram: @ducoffeeroasters
- Facebook: @DuCoffeeRoasters
What you’ll learn in this episode
- Milan doesn’t get the attention of some of the more obvious tourist cities, but it has a unique beauty and a modern, cosmopolitan vibe
- Whether it’s your first visit to Milan or your 15th – it’s always wonderful to head to the Piazza del Duomo to see the city’s stunning cathedral and then head next door to the beautiful Galleria – Italy’s oldest shopping center. A four stories building finished in 1877, its glass-vaulted double arcades are always a sight to behold. Head to the Camperino bar there for a coffee or a cocktail and some people watching
- A night at Teatro Alla Scala – the famous opera house is a wonderful experience everyone should try at least once in their lives
- Don’t miss the marble & granite statue of Leonardo Da Vinic at Piazza della Scala – the city’s homage to their best known and loved artist
- Milan is a great place for art-lovers – it’s full of art galleries ranging from ancient, Rennaisance as well as very modern and contemporary
- Bosco Verticale, meaning vertical forest, is a couple of residential tower blocks in Milan which contains over 900 trees – representative of Milan’s artistic nature as well as its eco-credentials
- Milan is a great place to get out on foot to wander and explore the different neighborhoods – you never know what you might stumble across in this arty city. Milan is very walkable and the metro is also cheap and easy (we do not recommend driving for both your sanity and to avoid the huge tolls)
- There’s a really exciting food scene in Milan as well as a multitude of microbreweries creating artisanal craft beer – so a great foodie destination
- Milan has 2 types of coffee house – the traditional style where people have always gone for their espresso and the more modern style which is more about the roasts and where people may linger longer, even working on their laptops (unheard of in traditional coffee houses) and to cover this, the espresso prices will be a little higher – horrifying traditional coffee house regulars!
- As with food and wine matches, the sweets you will find in these coffee shops will pair with the coffee perfectly
- Milan has a great way of combining the old and the new – innovation rubs alongside the history
- Some great tips on finding good restaurants in Milan are to use the Osterie d’Italia guidebook or app and in Google Maps – search what’s around with a rating of 4.5 / 4.6 or more and that has mostly reviews in Italian
- Can’t get to Milan anytime soon? You can have a taste of Milan in Dü Coffee’s new Milan espresso roast
Milan Coffee Houses
- Caffe Cucchi – Corso Genova, 1. Classic coffee bar with a retro feel and stylish staff with bow ties and excellent service
- Orsonero – Via Broggi 15 and at META. Founded by Canadian Brent Jopson – a modern style, built on tradition
- Loste – Via Francesco Guicciardini. New coffee house run by sommelier Lorenzo Cioli and chef Stefano Ferraro where in addition to the amazing coffee they have great wine and baked goods
- Nowhere Coffee & Community – Via Caminadella. Inspired by owner Andrea Prayer’s time spent in Melbourne and true to it’s name it has a real community feel – as well as the coffee and food, they have some vinyl records, magazines, and some coffee beans to go. A great Instagram feed to follow @nowherecafe.milano
- Upcycle – Via Ampère, 59. Great for coffee but also great for cyclists
Places mentioned in the show
- Piazza del Duomo – the main piazza in Milan, named after, and dominated by the impressive Duomo (cathedral)
- Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II – next door to the Piazza del Duomo, the Galleria is Italy’s oldest active shopping gallery
- Camparino – stylish bar in the Galleria – great for cocktails
- Museo del Novecento – 20th century art museum
- Teatro alla Scala – famous opera house
- Bosco Verticale – literally meaning ‘vertical forest’ they are a pair of residential towers in the Porta Nuova district
- Ratana – osteria style restaurant with a view of the Bosco Verticale
- L.O.V.E – the statue by Maurizio Cattelan of a giant hand with one finger aloft opposite the stock exchange
- Birrificio Lambrate – famous craft beer brewery pub on Via Adelchi
- Citta Studi – Study City is a young and vibrant area in Milan
- META – a food collective of 5 kitchens and a coffee shop focused on food quality not far from the central train station
- Santa Maria delle Grazie – the church that contains The Last Supper
Resources
- Maurizio Cattelan – modern artist known for his statement pieces
- third wave of coffee – a label given to coffee businesses opened after the year 2000, which share a similar mission statement or goal: to deliver high-quality coffee
- single origin coffee – coffee grown within a single known geographic origin – offering unique characteristics and specific tastes when compared to blended coffees from multiple origins
- la passeggiata – the walk or stroll after dinner that’s a strong part of Italian culture
Resources from Untold Italy
- Find out more about what do on a visit to Milan in our Milan guide, our 3 day Milan itinerary and the best places to stay in Best Places to stay in Milan: Area & Hotel Guide, What to eat in Milan as well as How to buy tickets for the Last Supper and the Best day trips from Milan
- Listen: to Michael’s previous podcast Episode#95: Coffee Culture in Italy and you can learn about another famous and beloved Italian drink Episode #090: Limoncello – Simply the Zest! and drinking time inEpisode #115 The Art of Aperitivo
- How to plan a trip to Italy – our article that takes you step by step through trip planning so you can avoid our mistakes
- Italy Travel Planning – our FREE online community where you can ask questions and get inspiration for planning your trip
- Travel shop where you’ll find items mentioned in the show
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Transcript
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