by Diodato Buonora*

Looking for new routes I arrived in Faiano, a place which the town council has in co-ownership with Pontecagnano. It is a town at the foot of the Picentini Mountains and it is very rich in watercourses. Among the sources it is very interesting the one named Sette Bocche from a cultural point of view, in fact the water is rich in calcium and magnesium, its taste is slightly sparkling and it gushes from 7 close but different points. According to the legend the water which gushes from each mouth has a different taste and so different chemical properties. Anyway, I reached this place in the Picentini Park to visit a small handcrafted firm which has been appreciated for quite a long time for the quality of its product, that is, the Altamura Caffé. This firm is managed by the very young Luigi Altamura, a twenty-six year old man who got a diploma at the academy of music, he is graduating in Motor Science and he has a passion for trumpet and body building. With a great willpower he started to manage the firm which was created by his parents Nino and Filomena in 1987. Who is adult knows that the most difficult thing in the world is keeping up with times, new fashions, technologies and modern evolutions. At the Altamura Caffé, dad Nino and mum Filomena, even if they had many clients and their coffee was appreciated by many bars and private customers, started to be tired of their activity which was managed at a family and handcrafted level. So Luigi started to extricated himself in a world which was just apparently easy: he started to learn how to buy raw coffee, to commercialize it in a world full of competitors and how to deliver it in many places in the provinces. His parents had almost decided to shut this activity down but their son Luigi was struck by a sudden, big passion for this world. He started to read up on the different kinds of coffee, their origin and their taste and organoleptic properties, so becoming experienced even in purchasing many selections of raw kinds of coffee. Our dear young man is very active, always takes part in events organized to enhance the typical products. Few weeks ago he was even at the Salone del Gusto in Turin near famous regional firms. Luigi is very ambitious and he aims at making his product known in all the peninsula. These are the products: the «domus line», a blend of roasted coffee, which is ground and vacuum-packed in 250 gr packages, a product obtained from the Arabic coffee (60% Brazilian and 40% coming from plantations of the central America) which is addressed to the domestic consumption, the «espresso bar line» (100% Arabic coffee) for particularly demanding clients, its taste is very sweet and delicate and it contains a low content of caffeine and is addressed to the restaurants and the E.S.E. (easy serving express) wafer system which consists in single-dose wafers with the «Altamura caffè» blend. This service is offered to firms, commercial activities and offices and it includes an exclusive espresso coffee machine. It is a simple, clean, practical and cheap system to enjoy a very good coffee. The kit even includes sugar, plastic coffeespoons and plastic thermic glasses. In case of malfunction of this machine Luigi guarantees the replacement within 24 hours and it is available for a free test to allow the clients to verify the truth of his affirmations.

Via V.Emanuele 143, Pontecagnano Faiano. Phone +39 089 201841 Free phone number 800 609099 - Fax +39 089 201065 – www.altamuracaffe.it

*diodatobuonora.blog.tiscali.it/