HYPOGEUM GARDENS
The Malocchio Coffee
The Neapolitans certainly have the primacy for the large consumption of coffee and for the different ways in which they prepare it.
The “tazzulella ‘e cafè” is part of the essential habits of the Neapolitan: it is the break from work, the first thing offered to a guest, the best way to end a good lunch, waking up in the morning.
The Malocchio Caffè brand was born from the need to link two important anthropological aspects of the Neapolitan people: the coffee ritual and being extremely superstitious. It was the early 1600s and, in every port and every Italian market, coffee beans arrived from all over the world. Yet, in Naples, where today we consider it a ritual, the coffee arrived very late.
Naples, in fact, began to appreciate the bitter drink only at the beginning of the 19th century. It was only then that the city was enriched by the colorful shouts of street coffee makers.
These figures, now disappeared, traveled the length and breadth of the city equipped with two containers, one full of coffee and the other of milk, and a basket with cups and sugar.
The coffee makers, in addition to providing a quick breakfast to the most hasty Neapolitans, shouted the name of the saint who was celebrating every day, so that the most careless also remembered to wish their friends and relatives good wishes.
Today there are no more street vendors but coffee, like two hundred years ago, still serves to consolidate bonds.
Any friend, acquaintance, relative or, why not, even a stranger just met, in Naples ask: “Can I offer you a coffee?” or, when in the chaos of commitments you still want to seek a quiet conversation, you say “let’s have a coffee” and when someone asks for help, advice or opinion, first of all, they are offered: “can I make you a coffee?”.
Then there are those who experience a cup of coffee as a peaceful and peaceful encounter with themselves.
As Eduardo used to say: “I would give up everything except this cup of coffee, taken quietly here, out on the balcony, after that hour of sleep that one had after eating. And I have to do it myself, with my hands. ”
The Neapolitans wanted to associate this tradition, a real ritual and indispensable habit, with that of the “conjurations” against bad luck.
During Roman domination, Naples preserved its link with superstition, even institutionalizing magical practices that are still widely used today.
Thus the spirits of the dead have been associated with the saints, evil is averted or driven away with phrases, gestures and words.
The concept of superstition is very widespread in the Neapolitan mentality; Lucky charms are at least as widespread as crucifixes and the same Neapolitan who makes the sign of the cross when passing in front of a church will also make the gesture of the horns to ward off the evil eye and bad luck.
The Neapolitans believe with particular fervor in the evil eye, also known as “l’uocchie”.
Therefore, we have always believed in the power of the gaze capable of negative effects ranging from the classic headache caused to more serious material or spiritual damage.
To neutralize the evil eye, the Neapolitans use different amulets or perform certain rites.
The most common amulet is the horn, red in color, which is believed to have powers because it represents the bull and its sexual power.
Today the Malocchio Caffè comes from a careful selection of the best qualities of coffee from the most prestigious plantations around the world. It is slowly toasted with the best wood and then we cool it in our cavities, to obtain a product with an unmistakable character.
The organic cultivation of the Malocchio Caffè underground is in an experimental phase and it takes place in greenhouses with a controlled climate at a depth of 40 meters to guarantee the best product quality.
The coffee plant, La Coffea, a plant native to Ethiopia, belonging to the Rubiaceae family, would need regular rains and temperatures never below 15 ° C. The optimal would be a temperature around 18 ° C. it is a plant that loves humidity, fears the direct sun which would otherwise cause its leaves to burn.
In the subsoil these conditions are guaranteed in the Hypogeum Gardens, the scientific project that Naples Underground has been conducting for several years and which has as its primary objective that of eco-sustainability to guarantee a valid alternative in the field of cultivation, with zero waste of water and total absence. of chemicals or pesticides.
The constant temperature, the high rate of humidity and the absence of direct sunlight, replaced by special lamps, which will soon be powered by solar panels, and which allow plants to complete all biological cycles, such as photosynthesis for example, guarantee all the optimal conditions for coffee cultivation.