Caffè Vergnano 1882 Espresso Ground Coffee 250g

Ready ground, for a machine without a grinder or for the hob. Vergnano’s plainest espresso blend and the one their own bars pour: Arabica for aroma, Robusta for the foam, balanced so neither wins.

Straightforward to dial in and hard to ruin, which is the point of it. As espresso it gives a thick head and a clean finish; in a moka pot it stays sweet if you take it off the heat as soon as the chamber fills. Already ground for espresso — for a moka pot it will run slightly fast, so pack the funnel loosely and watch it.

Roasted in Santena, just outside Turin, by a family that has made coffee since 1882. The roastery is deliberately slow about it — cycles of fifteen to eighteen minutes at 180–200°C rather than an industrial turbo roast — and each origin goes through the drum on its own, blended only afterwards so each keeps its own character. Two hundred and fifty grams, ready ground for espresso. Ground coffee stales faster than beans — keep the tin closed and use within a few weeks of opening.