Recently, I headed back to Milan to attend the Milan Coffee Festival for the second time. I do really like this city though it sometimes can feel extremely sprawling. I was staying in the East and often had to head South. Better planning next time means less time traversing this metropolis!
Since the last time I visited Milan before Covid, the city has made great strides to advance its homegrown specialty coffee scene. It’s no wonder really considering how often it has hosted major coffee events including the World of Coffee, HOST Milano and the local Milan Coffee Festival. Given this, you’d think the city would be flush with great roasters and outstanding specialty coffee shops but for a city its size, the scene is still in its infancy. But hey, gotta start somewhere.
My first destination during this particular visit was a place that I had read much about; Terroir. It’s not a specialty coffee shop per se. In fact, it’s a local organic grocer that stocks an astonishing variety of produce and products from around the country but it does also serve freshly brewed specialty coffee.
Founded in 2017 by Gabriele Ornati, Terroir set out to be an organic store selling carefully crafted products. He was originally inspired by a meeting with Angelo Najoleari who is the founder of Centro Botanico. This research center that was founded in 1975 focuses on plants and natural products derived from them. It was Angelo who opened Gabriele’s eyes to biodynamic agriculutre, permaculture and natural medicine.
Italy has a great food heritage ranging from wine to olive oil, much of which can be purchased at Terrorir from small producers. The store is a microcosmos of Italy’s finest foods and you would be forgiven for getting stuck there trying different foods, chatting with the ever attentive Gabriele and losing your sense of time.
I ordered a pour over made with fresh beans from a roaster in Florence, D612 who I would later meet at the Milan Coffee Festival. The coffee was a washed Kenya from Kirura offering a lovely red berry acidity and a clean cup. The only unfortunate thing was that I had to drink it from a paper cup. According to Gabriele, they are not officially allowed to serve coffee to stay because they are only licensed as a take away shop. While I sat there at the bar waiting for the barista to brew my coffee, I noticed that he got distracted by a customer and I was delighted that he then proceeded to brew the coffee again, offering a short apology as he brought it over.
What I loved about this place is that it’s a meeting point for the whole neighbourhood where each customer is valued and treated with the utmost respect. You can call Gabriele and order over the phone and he’ll have your shopping ready to be picked up whenever. Or you can just pop down for a pastry and a cup of coffee before going to work. Terroir allows you to reconnect with nature in a way that is often lost in our consumerism-focused societies. Highly recommended.
