Classico (Caffè Nero)

Caffé Nero is a coffee chain in the UK. They serve good coffee on mass scale, but somehow manage to avoid the criticism and derision aimed at their competitors thanks to the good quality of coffee and the way they package the whole experience. Their main espresso blend is Classico.

I wanted to try their whole beans, because I was curious if it was possible to recreate the taste of their coffee at home. Such experiments are trickier with coffee you had at the roaster's café, because what we remember is often the whole sensory experience that may be impossible to recreate at home. But since a lot of Caffé Neros are small places designed to serve coffee as quickly as possible to as many people the ambiance of the place doesn't count as much (they have nice spacious cafés, too).

Classico is not what we would call specialty coffee, but it does have more than one personality. Grind size 3 is a nutty affair. It will wake you up, but it will not proceed to torture you. Best had in the morning or at lunch time. At grind 2 the coffee becomes more cocoa/chocolate experience that you can drink all day.

This blend has a tough job to do, it has to please the general public, who are not ready for speciality coffee. It could take the easy route, but it doesn't and avoids the burnt like hell taste of the Devil's dandruff brew served to truckers at early hours of the morning. If you enjoy specialty coffee, but need a reset, this is a welcome guest. It appears in my cup quite frequently and I make no apologies for liking it.

MIXING WITH MILK

If you would like to drink it with milk, grind it at 2.

Where to Buy

It is widely available in the UK, from Caffé Nero stores, supermarkets, and online.

Equipment

• Coffee grinder: Sage (Breville) Smart Grinder Pro

• Espresso machine: Sage (Breville) Bambino Plus