Torino

June 12 - fine warm 30 deg

On a visit to Torino (Turin), in the Piedmonte region of north west of Italy, we were lucky enough to have a personalised tour of the Lavazza factory. This was a highlight of our few days there as we have been Lavazza devotees for the past 17 years using only Lavazza coffee in our cafes.

Torino is the main Lavazza plant in Italy, there are also three other factories in Italy - one designated to decaf coffee only!

Every day during the week an incredible 20 semitrailer loads of green coffee beans arrive from areas such as Indonesia and Tanzania and start the process of roasting and packaging for one of the 60,000 customers of Lavazza.

The whole process from the initial delivery of the beans to the final packaging and distribution is a highly organised process with quality control at every level - the result is the delivery of a perfect 'shot of coffee'.

Also in Turin we have found the best gelato (so far) on Via Roma - Cafe Roma and only 2 Euro !

Turin is known as the home of the "Shroud of Christ " but we didn't actually see this. We were told the actual shroud only comes out every seven years or so - but - a life size photograph is on display in the Cathedral of Turin , just beside the Palace Reale - another top spot to visit.

There is a lot to see and do in this city, we must return one day.