Spuma Nera & Broccoli Gorgonzola Soup @ Stuzzi

We had a quick late lunch at Stuzzi recently. J ordered a kind of Italian carbonated soft drink, Spuma Nera, which he has had before and liked very much. It had very unique and complex flavors with a hint of caramel. It's a little bitter, not too sweet. Somewhat addictive.

This bottle of Spuma Nera was made by Baladin, "an incredible line of non-alcoholic sparkling sodas made with the highest quality ingredients" that was created by Italian brewmaster Teo Musso. According to Baladin, "Spuma Nera, or dark Spuma as it was once called, may be considered the mother of chinotto." What is chinotto? Wiki said "Chinotto [kiˈnɔtto] is a type of carbonated soft drink produced from the juice of the fruit of the myrtle-leaved orange tree. The beverage is dark in color. Its appearance is similar to that of cola, but it is not as sweet as cola, having a bittersweet taste." In order to make Spuma Nera, Baradin went back to "the traditional recipe: a basis of chinotto (a myrtle-leaf orange drink), with the addition of the reddish part of rhubarb roots and an orange zest and vanilla infusion." Hmmm, I had no idea that those ingredients were in the soda, generating the mysterious color and taste.

Actually we tried to find Spuma Nera when we were in Venice, Italy, but didn't see at grocery stores or restaurants there. Venice might have been out of Baladin's distribution networks. In fact, our server at Stuzzi told us that there were a couple of different makers of Spuma Nera. So, Spuma Nera isn't a Baladin's product name but a general name of the kind of soda. Later I found Polara as another company that produces Spuma Nera although I don't think we saw Polara's Spuma Nera in Venice, either. The soda is still a big mystery...

By the way, we both had Broccoli Gorgonzola Soup, which was tasty and garlic-y! Also, we shared a meatball sandwich. Very meaty indeed. We like Stuzzi!