Inaugural Blog
Hello and welcome to the desk of our Home Office!
My name is Aaron Dahan, I am an avid fan of coffee, travel, animals and as my wife will report to you, my wife!
I started Caffe Aronne in the summer of 2018 when I was a student at Baruch College in New York. The concept came about from pure passion. Having always loved coffee and quite honestly, never alcohol - Coffee was my wine. The tasting notes, the textures, the scents all resonated within me in ways that other craft beverages never did. Everything change on a trip to Italy with a friend of mine. We had set out in August of 2018 on a road trip and the itinerary was simple and ill defined. Fly from New York to Rome on a Sunday, arrive Monday morning, and depart back to New York a week later from Milan. Between the two were 573 kilometers of flavor, fun and adventure, ours for the taking!
We had made great progress when on day 3 we stumbled past a sign reading pomodori not too far outside the city of Pisa, known for her not so straight tower. Pomodori, the Italian word for “Tomatoes” and a word not to be ignored given that we were in Tuscany, in August. We pulled in and enjoyed tomatoes under the Tuscan sun, but there was somethng else enjoying the Tuscan sun. Something that looked as if it had been enjoying that sun a little too much for too many years. There she sat a rundown Piaggio Ape. The Piaggio Ape I will not italicize moving forward as it is a phrase in our community used constantly to the point that for us the word ape, pronounced “ah-peh”, is English. A three wheeled vehicle built by the Italian maker of the better known Vespa, the Ape is the not so distant cousin. Consisting of many of the same parts and a third wheel, the Piaggio group released the ape in a post World War 2 Europe, one where devastation was widespread and roads were poorly managed. The idea was a simple one. Take the parts of the Vespa, and construct a sort of pickup version of this practical scooter - and there she was born in Turin, Italy.
And there was one. Abandoned and needing of some tender love and care. And who better to give that to her than me. And what better place that New York. After all, Immigrants from Italy have always had a substantial impact on not only New York, but the entire United States as a whole, so what was one more? A question was asked to the owner, a few answers were given, hands were shaken, limoncello was poured, and 6 weeks later our new Italian Immigrant had arrived to New York! There was a long journey ahead. A journey of construction, repairs, and more of that tender love and care that she needed. But she was home and she had a mission. To act as a vessel, brining not only the flavors of traditional Italian coffee craft to our community, but to also bring the site, the scent, the feel and the sounds. By engaging all 5 senses around coffee we knew something magical could and would be accomplished. that was August 2018.
Fast forward and I am writing this inaugural blog post in the early hours of February the 10th, 2025. It is my goal and fervent wish to use these blog posts to better take you behind the scenes of what we have as a community in making my dream not only a reality, but something much bigger. I always appreciate the feedback and interaction so please do feel free to email me, Aaron@CaffeAronne.com. I look forward to keeping this project alive and give all our clients, team members and community updates into what we are up to, what our goals are, and how we are meeting them.
Aaron H. Dahan,
Founder, Caffe Aronne
February 10, 2025
