In the heart of Porto Sant’Elpidio, surrounded by the intense aroma of roasting and the sound of grinders at work, Juta Coffee has become a benchmark for those looking for much more than a simple espresso cup. At the helm is Massimiliano, a professional who has turned his passion into a path of continuous research and training. Not just behind the counter: his experience has taken him all the way to Honduras, where he spent a month immersed in the plantations and local communities to understand every nuance of specialty coffee, from bean to cup. We talked with him about quality, culture, and the mission of bringing exceptional coffee into everyday life.
Juta specialty coffee — How and when was Juta Coffee born?
Juta Coffee was born at the end of a twenty-year journey of study in the world of coffee. I had previously opened another bar where I still personally do the roasting today. Over the years, however, I took courses all over Italy on the various brewing methods, sensory analysis, roasting, and many others. At a certain point, I realized the last piece I was missing was cultivation on the plantation, so I decided to take an educational trip to Honduras where, under the guidance of Andrej Godina, one of Italy’s leading experts, we alternated work on the plantation with lab work studying the raw material.
Together with him we saw what happens right in the field, from harvesting the cherry all the way to green coffee. We analyzed all the main coffee defects and gained experience with sensory analysis under his invaluable guidance. After this trip I decided to open Juta, to offer customers an alternative experience and to better spread coffee culture.
What is the meaning of the name “Juta” and how does it represent your company philosophy?
It comes from the material the bags my green coffee arrives in are made of. If you noticed, on the wall at the back of the shop there is a painting that was actually made using a jute bag. My wife made it and it depicts a sloth, evoking the slowness with which a good coffee should be enjoyed, much like wine. It’s a message we’d like to convey to the customers who visit our shop.
How do you choose your raw materials and which countries do your beans come from?
I choose based on processing methods, origins, and the aromas I expect in the cup. I often have samples sent to me that I taste personally first, and if I like them, I then purchase them. Especially at the beginning, I tried to choose somewhat “easier” coffees to help customers approach this world. So coffees with low acidity, more chocolate notes, and a certain body. Then little by little I saw that Juta Coffee customers also had a certain curiosity, so I introduced more aromatically complex coffees as well.
What is your roasting philosophy and what aromatic profiles do you seek?
Roasting varies depending on the type of brewing the coffee is destined for. I have the advantage of personally roasting the raw material and this allows me to adapt the roast profile for each single micro-lot based on what I need. So if I know the coffee will be destined for espresso I use one type of roast, while I’ll use a different one for coffee destined for filter methods.
In any case I never use overly dark roasts because it would be a real shame. If I have an extremely selected coffee, hand-picked, defect-free, and I want to enhance its aroma, I must necessarily roast it lighter, otherwise I burn it and ruin the entire aromatic profile.
In Italy, however, we’re used to very dark roasts. What do you think?
I think it’s simply burnt coffee. First of all, it should be said there are many differences between small artisan roasteries and industrial ones. Industry unfortunately doesn’t carry out a careful selection of the raw material like a small artisan does. The consequence is that in the roastery they push for a very dark roast in order to make the lots more uniform and better cover the various defects. Only this way the bean burns and then in the cup we mainly feel bitterness.
How do local customers react to more unusual or experimental offerings?
At the beginning there was a bit of skepticism. It was a bit like if we had always been used to drinking a wine that tastes of cork and the moment I give you a “healthy” bottle you think it’s not good. In reality, being used to bitterness and burnt notes, customers were a bit disconcerted when sensing perhaps a more acidic or fruity note. However, beyond the initial skepticism, today many Juta Coffee customers have learned to appreciate specialty coffees and the various brewing methods alternative to the classic espresso. There are even customers who come on purpose from neighboring towns.
What tools and machinery do you use to obtain the perfect espresso?
Since I’m also a roaster, I decided to purchase the necessary equipment, so I’m not tied to any brand with leasing arrangements. I chose a company from Le Marche called XLVI, based in the province of Pesaro. It has two completely independent groups, which means that for each group I can choose a different extraction profile. It also has, in my opinion, a really pleasing aesthetic.
That said, at Juta Coffee we follow a precise recipe book and protocol that involves weighing the coffee, regular cleaning of the machine after each extraction (the purge), and a series of procedures to then obtain a result that is reproducible depending on the type of coffee used.
How important is staff training in your work?
Very important, of course. Here at Juta Coffee I personally take care of staff training. Often people think that making coffee is something extremely simple that can be learned in half a day. We know very well this isn’t the case, but unfortunately from this point of view there is still a lot of work to do.
What advice would you give to those who want to approach quality coffee?
First of all, in my opinion it’s a good idea to take a tour of the small roasteries available in your area. Then equip yourself with gear that allows you to obtain a good extraction, whether it’s espresso, filter, or moka. That depends exclusively on personal taste. Finally, the most important thing is the selection of the raw material. Here I recommend focusing on quality, yes, but above all on medium-light roasts.
The encounter with Massimiliano leaves the feeling of having sipped not just a coffee, but a story made of travels, passion, and dedication. Juta Coffee is not just a bar or a roastery: it’s a laboratory of ideas and aromas, where every cup tells a story that begins in faraway lands and finds completion in Porto Sant’Elpidio. And if it’s true that coffee is a daily ritual, here it becomes an experience that teaches you to stop, savor, and above all understand.
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To learn more about juta specialty coffee, we recommend the standards published by the Specialty Coffee Association and the market data from the International Coffee Organization. If you want to keep reading on Nerocaliente, take a look also at Bugan Coffee Lab Bergamo.
