Sicily the land of vineyards, olive trees, citrus fruits but also of coffee. This is Morettino family’s dream, who for about 30 years has carried out an experimental project that has seen coffee plants sprout and grow even on the island.

Based on the geography of the origins of coffee, the Morettino plantation is located more north than the typical tropical lands and comes from Arturo Morettino’s vision.

The first experiment in the garden of the historical family roastery counts about 60 Arabica Coffee plants, Bourbon e Catuai variety, coming from the seeds donated in the 90s from the Botanical Gardens in Palermo and planted at about 350 meters above sea level exactly in the small village of San Lorenzo ai colli, in Palermo.

Throughout the years the coffee plants have grown from these seeds en plein air, they were able to adapt to the Sicilian climate at way higher latitudes than those of the “Coffee Belt”, the area between the two Tropics where coffee is farmed among Latin America, Eastern Africa and South-Est Asia.

Over the years, these plants have produced drupes that were harvested, cleaned, processed and toasted, or reseeding to give life to new plants born and raised in Sicily.

The project has continued over the years, thanks to the collaboration with the University of Palermo and the Botanical Garden, with which the Morettino family is carrying out experiments on some areas of Sicily where the climate allows the cultivation of coffee plants, Island corners selected according to the soil conditions.

The project is part of in-depth studies that the Faculty of Agriculture of Unipa has been carrying out for some time on tropical fruit growing in Sicily.

In the last three years, also due to significant climate change, we have had more abundant harvests, that have allowed us to have more production. Over time, Morettino family has joined other varieties to the original spontaneous variety Heirloom, such as Bourbon, Catuai, Caturra and Pacamara.

In the last three years, nature has given every year an extraordinary harvest and a truly surprising result in the cup: a sicilian native coffee of the highest quality, with unique and particular hints, typical of the Sicilian land, such as notes of grape zibibbo, carob, sweet hints of white pomelia flowers and panela sugar.

The manual harvest, approximately between June and September, is followed by the processing of the drupes, both with Gold Honey method and Natural and Washed, a manual brushing, fermentation of 48 hours and drying in the sun. Then the choice of a medium-clear roast and many tasting sessions, which gave an extraordinary result: a coffee of great finesse, with balanced acidity and a natural sweetness.