4. CaféMia is a remarkable Italian gelato café boutique whose product offerings
include freshly-made gelato, Italian coffee, pastries, chocolates and panini.
5. the gelateria
experience
A 24 flavor curved glass Italian-made gelato display case
prominently displays all of CaféMia’s freshly-made
gelato. In the Italian tradition, all flavors are made
directly on site on a daily basis using nothing
but the finest, natural ingredients. Unlike
most of the ice cream found in North
gelateria
America, gelato contains very little air, resulting in
a dense and extremely intensely flavored product
with a distinctive soft and silky texture.
6. the café
experience
Products include grilled panini
sandwiches, salads, soups,
and other authentic Italian café
offerings. Crusty Italian ciabatta
bread, fresh mozzarella,
signature sprigs of basil— every
product on the menu is simple and remarkable
in its own way.
7. the coffee
experience
CaféMia offers a full Italian coffee experience. Being the
exclusive U.S. importer of Manuel Caffé, a medium-sized,
family-owned Italian roasting company— it is clear upon
entering CaféMia that the company is
serious about its coffee. A barista prepares
coffee & all espresso-based beverages using a
pastry shop dazzling Italian-made espresso machine. The
espresso bar also offers a varied assortment of
sumptuous, freshly-baked pastries
and decadent hand crafted truffles
& chocolate bars.
10. Gelato defined
Gelato (pronounced jeh-LAH-toh) is an Italian frozen dessert made from water and/or whole milk, combined with natural
flavorings and sugar. Derived from the verb gelare, the word gelato literally means “frozen” in Italian.
Unlike most of the ice cream found in North America, gelato contains very little air (referred to as overrun in the industry),
resulting in a dense and extremely intensely flavored product with a distinctive soft and silky texture. Gelato is typically made
with natural ingredients such as fresh fruit, chocolate or nuts. Gelato made with water and without dairy ingredients is also
known as sorbet, or sorbetto.
In the United States, a frozen dessert must contain at least 10% fat in order to be legally called ice cream. Gelato contains
0% to a maximum of 10% fat depending on the ingredients. Interestingly, although gelato tastes very rich and creamy, this
is achieved because of the dense nature and freshly-made qualities of gelato— not because of a high fat content— as is the
case with premium and super premium ice cream, which contains anywhere from 10% to 30% fat.
To recap, gelato…
• is made fresh daily in micro-batches
• is made with natural ingredients
• contains less air and is more intensely flavored
• has a much lower fat content (0% to 10%)
• is visually stunning
• is less firmly frozen & has a silkier texture
• is deeply rooted in Italian culinary history
12. A brief history of gelato
Gelato dates back to the 16th century when it was introduced in the Florentine court of Francesco de Medici by
Bernado Buontalenti. In addition to creating the first gelato recipes, Buontalenti also devised special techniques for the
freezing and refrigeration of gelato.
In this same period, another Italian named Ruggeri, a non-professional “moonlighting” chef from Florence participated
in a culinary competition organized by the de Medici family and won first prize with a fruit gelato creation, called
sorbetto. Ruggeri quickly become an overnight culinary celebrity in Florence. When Catherine de Medici left Florence
to marry the Duke of Orleans, the future king of France, she more or less had the poor Ruggeri “taken” in the middle of
the night by her soldiers. She referred to him as the only Italian that could humiliate the French in the kitchen with his
unique frozen creations.
In 1686 Francesco Procopio, a fisherman from Sicily opened Le Café Procope in Paris, offering a wide array of gelato
and sorbetto. Procopio was granted a special license by Louis XIV, allowing him exclusive rights for the production of
his desserts. His café became one of the most popular meeting places in France. Voltaire, Napoleon, George Sand,
Balzac, Victor Hugo all frequented the café, which is still in existence today.
Throughout the 19th and 20th century, gelato shops (or gelaterias) spread rapidly throughout Western Europe,
particularily in Italy. In the Italian culinary tradition, gelato evolved into a culinary art form in its own right. Today
there are over 30,000 gelaterias in Italy alone.
19. Facts at a glance…
FOUNDER & CEO
Marco Ventura
FIRST LOCATION OPENED
March 2005
PRODUCTS
Freshly-made gelato, Italian coffee, pastries, chocolates and panini.
GROWTH PLANS
To open corporate and franchised stores throughout North America.
TARGET LOCATIONS
Lifestyle centers, downtown urban center cities, enclosed malls, airports.
INTERNET
• Web: www.cafemia.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/CafeMia/56824567225
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/cafemia
20. 16916-A Birkdale Commons Parkway
Huntersville, NC 28078
t. 704.892.3116
f. 704.892.3084
www.cafemia.com
