Many of us firmly believe that when possible an espresso should be taken before ski touring. We were at the bar doing just that. Alessandro has superb coffee and as we delighted in the strong, silky smooth nectar he shared his thoughts on La Scienza del caffé.
Firstly, the glass of water is to cleanse the palate. It should not be drunk after the coffee unless the latter is bad! One then enjoys the aftertaste for a long time. The golden rule is never, never, never should sugar be added. Ten different coffees with the same sugar all taste the same.
I felt that I didn’t need to ask Alessandro what he thought of milk, whipped cream, vanilla syrup, chocolate sequins, white chocolate mocha sauce, caramel, cinnamon or cocoa powder.
Instead of coffee we should have been drinking mint tea, with lots of sugar. The plan had been to ski in the M’Goun, the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. What snow there was in the Atlas this year was vitrified and far too dangerous for skiing so we changed to Val Maira at the last minute. For most of us it was our first time skiing there and we were all blown away by the potential. There are so many ski touring possibilities and the coffee really is good. I’m sure we’ll be back.