Bringing authentic Italian caffé in Southern California wasn’t a random nor easy task for Ambrogio Pasquini. He fought hard for it. And he finally made it to the States in 1946, after fighting in the Resistance against the Germans, after seeing Mussolini’s body hung upside down, after being deported twice and after travelling illegally in a trunk.
The first thing Ambrogio ‘Ambrose’ Pasquini realized when he first came to America, almost 70 years ago, was that there was no place to get a good Italian coffee, and so he opened his first espresso caffé in Los Angeles. Since then, he has yet to quit coffee.
Ambrogio’s love for coffee never faded throughout the years. “I have no intention to quit,” says Ambrogio while talking about his daily routine, “I get bored if I do not work” so he still comes to work every day with the same drive and passion from when he first started. Although he clarifies, prior to begin work every day he drinks his coffee with one of his friend because “You cannot drink a coffee alone, you have to drink it with someone”.
Mister Pasquini knows what most Americans prefer when it comes to coffee, but he is not interested in fulfilling a standardized coffee experience. “American people do not really drink espresso, they prefer volume, while Europeans care more about quality than quantity, although things are changing,” says the 86 years old Pasquini Espresso Italian Company founder.
The places where you can drink a real tazzina di caffé (a mini espresso cup made of ceramic or glass) aren’t nearly enough in Los Angeles. For this reason, Ambrogio e Matteo Pasquini, father and son of one of the most loved and prestigious Italian coffee presence in America, have been working hard and still are putting many efforts into opening a Pasquini’s coffee house. Real Italian espresso lovers will be able to drink it in a peaceful, serene, and comfortable environment and will also be able to buy Pasquini’s grounded coffee, Italian pastry and other real Italian Bar’s food.
Not only it will be the first real Italian’s Coffee ‘boutique’ in the city, it will also represent the first step towards the rebuilding of Los Angeles’s Little Italy, a long gone neighborhood very much missed in LA.
Having a coffee in Italy it’s a religious experience and Pasquini wants to bring back what makes ‘authentic’ Italian coffee: the experience. The coffee certainly needs to be of excellent quality but “It’s also the nice chat you have with the barista and the friends you meet there that can make a difference.”
Because drinking a coffee is not an errand like going to the post office, it’s a moment of pleasure.
“The city is getting better and the need of a real Italian Bar has increased,” says Ambrogio who anticipates that, within 2015, the first Pasquini Bar should open its doors in downtown Los Angeles.
But be aware, words like tall or venti are banned from an authentic Italian Bar, just like to go cups with a plastic lid. The line to get to order your coffee plus the other line to get to your coffee with a misspelled name on it would also not be allowed.
“We will have only higher quality and superior service at our Pasquini Bar,” says Ambrogio, the same quality they have maintained for well over half century, with a name that means exquisite flavor and richness. Ambrogio and his son truly speak from the heart when it comes to coffee, and their heart is pumped with Pasquini coffee as well: “Coffee is our blood” says Ambrogio’s son, Matteo Pasquini.
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