It is a beautiful morning in the city of Verona.

But garage is trying to stand out a bit, both in the quality of the coffee and the fact that they actually clean their machine after each shot. So of course I had to order an espresso, and I wanted to try a filter coffee so I also got a v60.

The coffees were a bit darker than what I am used to from Norway, but the flavours were really nice and smooth. 

The espresso was a blend of Brazil and Ethiopia with notes of dark chocolate, but with a hint of red plum and cherries. 

And the v60 was a Kenyan coffee from the Ibutiti cooperative in Muranga. Not as juicy as I prefer Kenyans to be, but very nicely balanced with lots of fruity notes like red currants and raspberry. 

While talking to the Ricardo about how difficult it can be to get people to try specialty coffee, he told me that there was a new shop that just opened a few hundred meters away. He was going there for a coffee after work and asked if I wanted to join. So of course I said yes!

Turned out he had been introduced to specialty coffee while living in Denmark, and got hooked while studying to become an engineer. 

Like so many other people in coffee he fell into it randomly and just got hooked. So when moving back to Italy, him and his friend and partner Jacobo, who had been introduced to specialty while living in Bath in England decided to open their own shop to try to introduce the people of Verona to something new. 

In Ammazza they want to try to show the Italians that coffee can be so much more than what most people think it is. 

They rotate roasters several times a month, and try to have 3 different filter coffees and 3 different espressos available. And since they are closed only one day a week you can in theory get a new coffee every day of the week. 

They import coffee from all around Europe, and at the moment they have coffee from Tim Wendelboe in Norway, Pelican coffee in Italy and Nomad coffee in Spain. 

The name Ammazza caffè means  “a small glass of liqueur usually consumed after coffee to dull its taste or the caffeine effect.” 

So as you might guess they also serve coffee cocktails and other drinks here along with some simple food items.

Both of these places are a must to check out if you ever spend some time in Verona.

In my opinion, Garage coffee has the best milk drinks you’ll find in Verona. So if you want a cappuccino or flat white in the morning, this is the place to go. They also serve very good pourers and has a really nice cold brew in the fridge if you ask for it. 

At ammazza cafe I would recommend asking what they have, because every week you will get a different answer.