Costa Cruises has announced a partnership with Caffè Vergnano to bring what it calls “the unique flavor of Made in Italy espresso on board its cruise ships.”

Costa and Caffè Vergnano are both iconic Italian brands, with the historic Piedmontese coffee company still run by the Vergnano family.

Described as an authentic Italian espresso, the coffee will be served in the bars of all the ships in the Costa fleet, and its blend will also be used to prepare many coffee-based delicacies on the on board.

The first Caffè Vergnano 1882 branded venue is aboard the Costa Smeralda and will soon also be on its sister ship the Costa Toscana, currently under construction.

“As a cruise company flying the Italian flag, our mission has always been to be ambassadors of Made in Italy in the world, and we are pleased to follow this path by bringing the quality of Caffè Vergnano’s Italian espresso on board all our ships. It is a new, important partnership with a historic company, which shares our same values of promoting Italian excellence and paying attention to environmental and social sustainability. As a confirmation of this, the ‘greenest’ and most sustainable ships of our fleet, Costa Smeralda and Costa Toscana, will offer a dedicated coffee experience with Caffè Vergnano 1882-branded cafeterias,” commented Mario Zanetti, president of Costa.

“We are very happy about this new agreement, having established a strategic collaboration with Costa Cruises, which will allow us to further establish ourselves as an ambassador of authentic Italian espresso in the world and to get closer and closer to a lifestyle concept,” said Carolina Vergnano, CEO of Caffè Vergnano 1882.