"Nothing goes to waste when it comes to bergamot oranges. We commercialize them both fresh and processed into juice or mixed with functional products. Together with the wild thistle harvested in spring, this prestigious citrus fruit is in fact one of the ingredients of our Amaro Cardus, a liqueur that has won many awards and that came first at the World Spirits Awards 2022," reports Fabio Trunfio, owner and sales manager at Azienda Agricola Patea.
Saverio Trunfio at Cibus 2024, promoting Amaro Cardus obtained from local ingredients such as wild thistle, blueberries and bergamot peel.
Cardus is obtained from the infusion for forty days of three local products: wild thistle, blueberries and the prestigious aromatic peel of bergamot oranges. A mix of healthy ingredients which, at 28% vol., conquers even the palate of connoisseurs.
"After launching Amaro Cardus in 2023, we launched Cream Cardus in 2024, a delicious milk cream with a delicate flavor made using local raw materials and natural aromas," explains Fabio Trunfio, without hiding the great satisfaction of having created a liqueur reminiscent of the digestifs of days gone by, when the flavor of sugar and alcohol was not predominant.
It is a pleasant digestif, as well as a good ingredient for apéritifs and cocktails. It is suitable to be paired off with the typical almond sweets, ice-cream and the famous Tartufo di Pizzo. Cardus - available as 50 / 70 /100 cl. - is demanded not only in Italy but abroad as well. A success that, despite the restrictions of the pandemic, led to the sale of 80 thousand bottles in just six months.
Over the years, the company also diversified its juice range. The most appreciated products include the Energy Juice tris, obtaining from the squeezing of Calabrian organic fruits such as pomegranates, bergamot oranges and fresh Italian goji berries, as well as the new organic orange juice made using Valencia oranges from the Ionian coast of Reggio Calabria, available in the 200 and 750 ml formats.
Patea commercializes around 30% of fresh bergamot oranges in the big retail chain, while the remaining part goes to specialized channels as processed produce. The production derives from around 100 hectares. The processed produce beats the fresh produce in terms of profitabaility both in Italy and abroad.
For more information:
Azienda Agricola Patea
Contrada Caldara s.n.
89036 Brancaleone (RC) - Italy
Tel.: +39 338 6311477
[email protected]
www.essenzabergamotto.com