Caffè Negro Coffee Roasting Company celebrates 70 years. Our coffee, our history.
We would have loved to celebrate with all our customers by offering them a cup of our coffee. We'll do so as soon as possible, but in the meantime, we'd like to reveal what has set our roastery apart for 70 years:
a passion passed down from generation to generation, a love for our work, and a desire to innovate to meet new needs.
Today, the business is run by Angela and Silvia, who have inherited the legacy of their grandfather Bruno, a post-World War II pioneer of coffee production in the heart of Tuscany, along with his brother Leo.
It was 1950 when the Negro brothers decided to open the coffee roasting company that still bears their name in Limite sull'Arno. The war had drastically reduced consumption and replaced coffee with barley and even chicory. Coffee was roasted in home ovens and in very small quantities. There was a strong desire to return to savoring the true aroma of coffee, and so the Negro brothers, lifelong lovers of this beverage, decided to turn this passion into their profession.
"The company's first headquarters was the living room of my grandfather's sister-in-law's house," Angela explains. "The aroma wafting from that home, right in the center of the small village of Limite sull'Arno, was enough to whet the appetite of all the villagers, who increasingly yearned to return to indulge in the luxury of a good coffee."
Torrefazione Negro was founded thanks to the commitment of an entire community: neighbors helped install the first machine. The first silos for storing the beans were the work of a craftsman from Limite, as were the company gate and the work tables, which were built by a historic local cooperative.
"Coffee has always been a family affair," Angela continues. "During peak production, everyone helped, from adults to children. The older ones separated the beans and closed the bags by hand, while my father, a very young man, climbed the ladder with the bags on his shoulders to load the silos. And when he had to spend a whole day roasting, my grandmother would bring him pasta so he could eat."
Angela and Silvia grew up surrounded by the aroma of coffee. "We've seen the commitment and sacrifice that accompanied the workdays and the suffering during the most difficult moments. But how much joy we've received from the many expressions of esteem and appreciation we've received over the years. A shopkeeper customer, who entered a contest launched by Coop, even came up with a slogan for our coffee, for which he won an award: drink a cup of Caffè Negro every morning. Well, if we've reached 70 years of business, it's thanks to all the consumers of our coffee. But we're not stopping there; we have many important innovations in store: a barista training school and a bio-compostable line about to be launched. Keep choosing us and you won't regret it." In the meantime... Happy birthday, Caffè Negro!
a passion passed down from generation to generation, a love for our work, and a desire to innovate to meet new needs.
Today, the business is run by Angela and Silvia, who have inherited the legacy of their grandfather Bruno, a post-World War II pioneer of coffee production in the heart of Tuscany, along with his brother Leo.
It was 1950 when the Negro brothers decided to open the coffee roasting company that still bears their name in Limite sull'Arno. The war had drastically reduced consumption and replaced coffee with barley and even chicory. Coffee was roasted in home ovens and in very small quantities. There was a strong desire to return to savoring the true aroma of coffee, and so the Negro brothers, lifelong lovers of this beverage, decided to turn this passion into their profession.
"The company's first headquarters was the living room of my grandfather's sister-in-law's house," Angela explains. "The aroma wafting from that home, right in the center of the small village of Limite sull'Arno, was enough to whet the appetite of all the villagers, who increasingly yearned to return to indulge in the luxury of a good coffee."
Torrefazione Negro was founded thanks to the commitment of an entire community: neighbors helped install the first machine. The first silos for storing the beans were the work of a craftsman from Limite, as were the company gate and the work tables, which were built by a historic local cooperative.
"Coffee has always been a family affair," Angela continues. "During peak production, everyone helped, from adults to children. The older ones separated the beans and closed the bags by hand, while my father, a very young man, climbed the ladder with the bags on his shoulders to load the silos. And when he had to spend a whole day roasting, my grandmother would bring him pasta so he could eat."
Angela and Silvia grew up surrounded by the aroma of coffee. "We've seen the commitment and sacrifice that accompanied the workdays and the suffering during the most difficult moments. But how much joy we've received from the many expressions of esteem and appreciation we've received over the years. A shopkeeper customer, who entered a contest launched by Coop, even came up with a slogan for our coffee, for which he won an award: drink a cup of Caffè Negro every morning. Well, if we've reached 70 years of business, it's thanks to all the consumers of our coffee. But we're not stopping there; we have many important innovations in store: a barista training school and a bio-compostable line about to be launched. Keep choosing us and you won't regret it." In the meantime... Happy birthday, Caffè Negro!