Raffaella, originally from Belluno, has spent most of her life traveling around the world, but decided to settle in Trieste, the Italian capital of coffee.

Trieste has a millenary history, having been colonized by the Roman Empire in the 2nd century BC and then fell to the barbarian invasions. In 1382, it joined the House of Habsburg and in 1719, the Austrian Empire declared its port a free port, allowing trade from all over the world. This made Trieste the epicenter of coffee importation into Europe and the city started roasting coffee locally.

Thanks to the presence of people from all over the world, Trieste has become the first melting pot in Europe, creating a unique sense of multiculturalism.

Raffaella fell in love with the city's 300-year tradition of importing, roasting and tasting coffee, but she also noticed that the specialty coffee and micro-roasting revolution had barely skimmed the surface in the northeastern Italian city.

At the end of 2021, Raffaella founded Cocolo, a micro-roastery owned mostly by women (75%), where the espresso tradition meets the specialty coffee revolution.