Caffè del Doge

Ermenegildo Rizzardini opened a roastery called ExtraDoge on this stretch of Calle dei Cinque in 1952, and Bernardo Della Mea took it over in 1995, renaming it Caffè del Doge and pushing it into the Specialty Coffee Association of America by 1997, ahead of most Italian roasters of its generation. The espresso bar that now fills the old roasting room opened in 2003, designed by architect Anri Azuma, while the roasting itself has since moved to Battaglia Terme near Padua, still run by the Della Mea family under license to the cafe.

More than a dozen coffees run from house blends like Doge Rosso, an Arabica mix from Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, and India, to Doge Nero and rotating single origin lots, roasted for both espresso and filter and pulled through a La Cimbali machine as espresso, macchiato, cappuccino, Americano, AeroPress, or siphon. The narrow room stays plain by design, better suited to a quick, serious cup than to lingering, with bagged beans sold by the hundred grams for anyone who wants to keep drinking Doge coffee at home.