Falling In Love With Brasilena

A Calabrian (or maybe American?) delicacy if you ask us!

Brasilena, the Calabrian Carbonated Coffee

Fa caldo! It’s HOT in Calabria. And one of the only things keeping us cool is Brasilena, the Calabrian carbonated coffee. It comes in an adorable bottle and is served iced cold. It’s sweet, caffeinated, and refreshing. The perfect afternoon drink on a warm summer day, especially if you’re pool (or sea) side.

And Italians being Italians do sometimes serve it to children (usually ages ~10+). Thankfully, it’s mostly consumed in the summer when kids are running around with friends or out swimming all day to burn off that extra energy!

We call Calabrians the great food hoarders of Italy because they prefer to keep the good stuff here. So it’s not surprising that it can be tough to find Brasilena outside of Calabria, even in other parts of Italy. But we did some snooping and have some options for getting your hands on this yummy beverage (or at least the ingredients for a little DIY moment!)

Tip: Folks in central or north Italy, you can usually find Brasilena at a Calabrian market or on Amazon.it. For those in the US, we’ve caught glimpses of it in NYC and Jersey City. When we checked online it was sold out, BUT keep reading because we have a yummy solution!

Wait, is carbonated coffee technically American?

The Calabrians might have our heads for this one… But, as Giuseppe was snooping around about food, as a good southern Italian does. He rolled off the bed and exclaimed ‘OOO?! I THINK BRASILENA IS AMERICAN, THEY’RE GOING TO BE SO MAD!’.

Note: he meant carbonated coffee, not the brand Brasilena itself.

What Giuseppe found was fascinating, a dive into the past of American soda history, and a niche new to us. According to Wikipedia, Manhattan Special, a specialty beverage company founded in 1895 in Brooklyn, New York started producing Espresso Coffee Soda. The founders were immigrants from Palermo and Naples in search of the American Dream. Apparently, they found it and are still producing soda today! And yes, they’re still in Brooklyn : )

Now, I’m not an east coast gal, I’m from the low hills of lovely Oakland, California. And growing up the closest thing I got to coffee soda was root beer (which is DELICIOUS but you can debate this in the comments). But I know we have a lot of east coast folks here, and I have LOTS of questions for you:

• Was Manhattan Special THE Espresso Coffee Soda brand (in the way Coca-Cola rules dark soda)?

• Was it popular when you were growing up?

• Was it something you picked up from a specialty market, corner store, or only enjoyed on holidays?

For those in the USA in serious need of a carbonated coffee fix, you can purchase espresso carbonated coffee from Manhattan Special online… or you can make espresso coffee soda at home!

We found a recipe for Brasilena, here, the instructions are in the article, but the ingredients are below. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 1 liter of coffee soda:

• 28.7 fl oz of highly carbonated water

• approximately 100 ml of coffee

• 1.76 oz of sugar

• 2 teaspoons of caramel (TBH we don’t often have caramel but you do you)

• A few drops of lemon juice

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Aren’t Ya’ll An Olive Oil Company?

Yes, yes we are! And you can get some delicious olive oil online anytime. In fact, we even have a new bundle that might be just the fix for those end-of-summer parties! Welcome the Opus Zeli which includes one Lina, one Turi, and one No.9.

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Olive Oil Club Opening To New Members Soon!

If you’re looking to join the EXAU Olive Oil Club make sure you join the waitlist as they reopen in September!

Memberships ship quarterly (4 times per year) and you’ll have the option to choose between three membership levels:

• Excelsis - 2 bottles

• Altiorem - 4 bottles

• Magno Valde - 6 bottles

That’s all for now, ciao!

-Skyler & Giuseppe

P.S. Did you know we are now stocked on the shelves at Crate & Barrel? Yes, like THE CRATE & BARREL. If you see us in person can you please snap a pic and send it to us? You can find us hello@exauoliveoil.com and on Instagram!