Giacovelli International Editions

In Italy, we pride ourselves on being coffee experts, but for that very reason, few of us truly take time to understand what’s in our cup. I myself only started learning about coffee by chance, just as I was turning thirty. Back then, I didn’t even like coffee - It tasted bitter as poison, left me with stomach aches and a racing heart. But a decade later, I realized the real problem wasn’t me. It was the kind of coffee served in most Italian cafés. This book isn’t a manual. It’s a personal journey, a confession, and sometimes an accusation, moving between distant and familiar worlds: from captivating tales about brewing traditions to the harsh realities of social exploitation along the supply chain. It covers everything from where coffee is produced, to the café in your neighborhood, and even the shady business deals where the true value of coffee is hidden behind (often fake) gifts exchanged between coffee roasters and traditional bars. Inside, you’ll discover recipes to try at home, true but little-known stories, myths ready to be busted, and one question that keeps returning: “What are we really drinking?”

This is the story of an extraordinary friendship between two teenagers, Paolo and Piero. Friends are chosen carefully, especially when you have dreams to pursue, because you need partners in crime, someone to share happiness with, because happiness is born a twin. Day by day, the two begin to think about their future and what they want to do when they grow up, clashing with the reality of a small provincial town. Their first jobs, first loves, first serious conversations, and growing up, maybe too fast. The Apprentice of Happiness is real life, a life lived, never wasted.