Altura

Altura sits well outside Milan's usual coffee map, on Via Lorenteggio in the Giambellino area southwest of the center, a stretch of the city few guides bother covering. Mirko took over what had been a conventional neighborhood bar called La Bottega del Caffè in his early twenties and converted it entirely to specialty coffee after a visit to Bugan's Bergamo roastery and a season spent inside the Milan Coffee Festival community convinced him there was no going back to commercial blends.

The espresso runs through a La Marzocco PBX paired with a Ceado Leon grinder set to 84 millimeter burrs, pulling Gearbox's Tacco Punta No. 2 blend chosen for its restrained acidity. A second grinder and a V60 and Moccamaster setup are part of the plan to bring single origin and filter coffee further into the regular lineup, and pastries round out the counter. Wednesday through Friday evenings now add a short aperitivo service alongside the coffee, extending hours that otherwise run early morning to midafternoon.