Milan is a city that prides itself on the uncompromising purity of its espresso, and in Milano Caffé, the roasted bitterness of the bean meets its match in a square of viciously dark chocolate. If you’ve ever sipped an espresso while nibbling on a bar of 80% cacao chocolate, then you’ll be familiar with the dark, burnt edge that connects them on the Venn diagram of taste. Dubrana feeds it to us straight for a while – no sugar or milk – and it’s so intense that little sips are in order. Earthy and bold, the scent’s velvety thickness wraps around us like the steamy vapors in a Milanese coffee house.
Slowly, the master eases up on the intensity of the coffee-cocoa double whammy, drip-feeding a powdery iris into the mix like a tip of the milk jug. This is followed closely by the mocha almond creamer of tonka bean. Now we move out of pure espresso territory and into the creamy, cocoa-sprinkled milkiness of a cappuccino. It’s rich but definitely not sweet, a hint of fiery cinnamon in the opoponax lending a nubbin of spice that adds texture to the silken flow. A dash of incense additionally lends an interesting salt-n-pepper tartness that stops any gourmandise in its tracks. Still incredibly indulgent, Milano Caffé is the tira-mi-su (meaning ‘pick-me-up’ in Italian) the adults in the room have been waiting for.
