Illustration by Fig & Ginger, drawn from the review. The venue's own photo is on its way.
Specialty coffee bar and micro-roastery in Porta Venezia, Milan
Orsonero Coffee
The Canadian Who Bet Against the Espresso Bar
Opening a specialty coffee bar in Milan in 2016 was a little like opening a pizza school in Naples. Brent Jopson did it anyway. He came from Vancouver, a city that takes its pour-overs personally, married a Milanese, Giulia Gasperini, and set up a small, pale wooden room off Corso Buenos Aires with a La Marzocco on the counter and filter gear lined up behind it. The locals were curious. Then they came back.
The room is New World coffee house: light wood, clean lines, nothing on the walls that is trying to sell you a lifestyle. The menu is the coffee. Espresso for the purists, and for everyone else V60, AeroPress, French press and cold brew, with beans from roasters across Italy and Europe. These days Orsonero roasts its own as well, and calls itself a multi-roaster cafe and micro-roastery, which is a mouthful but an honest one. Ask what is on and the barista will tell you without a sermon.
Having spent years around Vancouver, I know the type. The man wants you to taste the farm, not the burn. He has a second shop now on Via Paolo Lomazzo in the Sarpi neighbourhood. Broggi is still the original, open Tuesday to Sunday, early. Drink one at the counter like a Milanese, then sit down and order a filter like a Canadian.
- Order this
- An espresso at the counter, A V60 of whatever is on the grinder, An AeroPress if you want to talk beans, A bag of their own roast to take home
- The damage
- $
- Go
- A weekday morning; closed Mondays, and Sunday ends at one
- Find it
- Via Giuseppe Broggi 15, 20129 Milano MI, Italy
- Website
- orsonero.coffee