I met Riccardo Rossetti by chance at LOAFT Design on Via Lambertenghi in Como. Looking back, I like the idea that our white coffee gelato started there, somewhere between a chair and a coffee cup. Long before we knew what we might make together, we discovered we liked the same things.
We both have a soft spot for beautiful things and for simple, clean design. I like to pick up a cup, feel its weight and see how comfortably my fingers fit the handle. They’re the sort of details you notice when you use something every day. In Riccardo I’d found someone who could happily spend time talking about them too. We became friends, and somewhere along the way we began to wonder what we could do with his gelato and our coffee.
These days I know what to make him when he comes to the counter. Riccardo likes our Mr Wolf blend as an espresso. I’m partial to a cortado made with a South American single-origin coffee. I like that little splash of warm milk that still lets me taste the coffee clearly. Other times I’ll have an Americano, which lasts a little longer while we talk.
It’s only a few minutes’ walk from the Wolfox roastery on Via Cinque Giornate to Riccardo’s gelateria on Via Pietro Boldoni. The first flavour we’ve made together is white coffee gelato. We wanted anyone ordering an affogato to have a good reason to try the gelato on its own before pouring the espresso. You should be able to taste the coffee in that first spoonful.
Riccardo looks for local and organic ingredients wherever he can and has a light hand with the sugar. That makes sense to both of us. What I particularly enjoy about an affogato is the way it changes as you eat it. Pour the espresso and you can still catch the cold gelato and the hot coffee together on your spoon. Give it a minute and the gelato starts to melt around the edges. That last mouthful, taken straight from the cup, has a flavour all its own.
Riccardo and I are already working on more flavours for our three Lake Como venues. Some will go into affogatos and drinks, and others will be served alongside our desserts. In the meantime, if you’re walking through Como, you’ll find Riccardo at his gelateria at Via Pietro Boldoni 16. And if you happen to run into him at LOAFT, you know which coffee to offer him.
Visit Gelateria Rossetti
Via Pietro Boldoni 16, 22100 Como (CO), Italy