Lucaffé Mamma Lucia box discount

Lucaffé Mamma Lucia coffee beans

Mamma Lucia is Lucaffé's Italian blend of 40% Arabica and 60% Robusta, medium roasted. That ratio is the whole point: the Robusta gives the firm body and the dense crema, the Arabica keeps the aroma and the softness in. At 8 out of 13 on our strength scale it is a strong coffee, though not at the far end of it.

In the cup

Pronounced and clearly chocolatey, with no acidity to it and none of the burnt edge a very dark roast brings. It is a full cup rather than a fierce one. If what you want from coffee is something light, fruity or floral, this is not that bean, and you would do better elsewhere in the Lucaffé range.

Brewing it

Whole beans, and the blend is meant for the filter coffee maker and the moka pot as well as the espresso machine — not a given at 60% Robusta. The chocolate holds through a long brew where a lighter blend would thin out, and the medium roast keeps the filter cup from tasting scorched. If it comes out stronger than you want, use a little less coffee per litre rather than reaching for a different bean.

Good to know

• Brand: Lucaffé
• Blend: 40% Arabica, 60% Robusta
• Roast: medium
• Strength: 8 out of 13
• Flavour: intense and chocolatey, neither acidic nor bitter
• Contents: 1 kg whole coffee beans
• Roasted in: Italy
• Decaffeinated: no
• Suitable for: espresso machines, filter coffee makers and moka pots