Oro d’oriente

Sitting on his knees, he leaned over the low wooden table and started the ritual.
He placed the ceramic teapot and the dark cups on the inlaid tray, placing them next to a small box hiding something in it. He put the water on a red tongue of fire and patiently waited for some bright transparent bubbles to dance. He showed his guests, captivated by a magical yet familiar moment, what was placed in the box. Inside it, there were precious green tea leaves. Like emeralds with a pungent and rigorous scent, he set them at the bottom of the teapot, applying a delicate pressure.
When the time was right, still in total silence, he looked down and poured the steaming water on them all.
He calmly took five breaths, each one of them as deep as the sea. In a single fluid movement, then, he filled the cups, from the first one to the last one and from the last one to the first one.
Discipline, care and patience merged, once again, into a daily and unmistakable flavour.

Flavours

The lemon, sharp and pungent, meets the light and relaxing notes of green tea, finding a precious harmony able to awaken distant memories.

Thoughts

" The vase is worth for what it can contain ".  Chinese proverb

Fragranza Esotica

They sat down, holding hands, to better lose themselves in the show surrounding them.

They took a moment to taste some fresh and yellow pieces of pineapple, with a sugary and juicy heart. The colors of the staircase, its writings and its smooth stones were one with the party that was animating the streets.

A brightly coloured chromatic carnival was following the rhythmic beating of some percussion.
Time had been beaten by the rhythm of the dances for days, as well as perfumed by the spring blossoming of the flowers, while all the pleasures of life mingled in the liveliness of the streets.

Flavours

The sweet and fragrant taste of pineapple is mixed with citrus zest and distant spices, such as star anise and cardamom, creating an explosion of flavours and fragrances.

Thoughts

" Where the old tracks are lost, a new country is revealed with its wonders " Tagore

Meraviglie Cremisi

Plenty of enraptured eyes filled the darkness of the hall, silently contemplating the show.
Out of them all, two shone with incredible joy and emotion: in that fleeting scene, she saw and unexpectedly recognised herself. She pictured the girl she was many years before, barefoot in the cool lawn of her garden, carelessly biting two cherries.

She had used them to adorn her lobes up to that precise moment.
During her carefree childhood, she had so often imagined the most shining jewels in those precious fruits. She thought about the little fingers she used to have back then, coloured by the taste she loved so much, like paint brushes with which she would have painted her world.

She perceived once again their round, sweet and persistent perfume.
Suddenly, the heavy crimson drapery crawled on the stage, marked by the passage of the endlessly crossing stories. Soft and slow, the curtain fell and everybody clapped: the show was over, but the magic of that moment was meant to last.

Flavours

The captivating and persistent taste of cherries, enhanced by the deep aroma of coffee, turns into a real sensory experience with warm colours.

Thoughts

The spring night is over. Dawn rises on the cherry trees.
(Matsuo Basho)

Croccante Dolcezza

After hours and hours of strenuous walk, he was fascinated by the disarming beauty of the high mountains that surrounded him. With heavy legs and his breath cut because of the altitude, he saw two women with brown skin and oriental eyes in the distance.

Placed on a low wall, there were soft furs and stacks of brightly colored rough fabrics at their feet. Their hands had wisely woven them for days. One of them smiled pronouncing sighing yet incomprehensible words, and handed him a small treasure composed of dark stones.

They were fragrant cocoa beans. She put one in her mouth, inviting him, still hesitant, to do the same. He decided to go for it and he took a bite of a flavour that intensely exploded, embracing every corner of his palate, in all its crispness. With his eyes opened in wonder, he found an atavistic and characteristic taste, just like the places where he was wandering.

Flavours

The crunchy note of the raw cocoa bean gives the sweetness of the pear an irresistible taste rich in intense nuances.

Thoughts

"It melts so slowly and fills you with pleasure" from the movie "Chocolat"

Estate Mantovana

My Dear,

I came back to the place where it all began.
I now walk among the long shadows of strollers absorbed by their thoughts. I now take the most beautiful journey in the burning heart of my city: my return to the reality I knew.
Everything around me is a sweet feeling of belonging.

My origins have never left me, but now I can finally breathe their smell. I get lost in the noises that come from the kitchens, in the sound of laughter shared in those intimate spaces, in the way wine flows in large copper pots resting on red flames. I lose myself in the peasant memory I let myself be embraced by, setting my passion free.

Finally, however, I find myself again.

Flavours

The union between the sour sweetness of the strawberry and the silkiness of the vin cotto finds new spaces to enclose the most tender and vibrant emotions.

Thoughts

" Mantua me genuit " Virgil

Ricordi di Sole

The rays of sun, like blades, were cutting and breaking up the room in an alternation of light and shadow. The heat made their breath slow and tiring.

Lying side by side, they looked into each other's eyes, as if they were looking for the entrance into each other's young world. They were both waiting for a light breeze to return, which could finally pull the clear linen tent aside and creep in between them. Outside the window, only the bright green leaves and the clear blue sky.

The scent of the orange blossom petals reminded them that there was a proper time for everything, in life. The right time to harvest and savour the fruit was still far away. Back then, however, none of them was in a hurry.

Flavours

The unmistakable aroma of the orange pulp and zest embraces the character of the passion fruit, in a playful encounter of textures with persistent notes.

Thoughts

" But he saw her, like the sun, even without looking at her " Tolstoj