A hurricane of positivity and inspiration, Tea Alberizzi makes headlines from the Campari Competition 2020. Her simple but effective mixing proposal runs with the wind in her sails, through cocktails that speak of her, her world and emotions.
Hi Tea, tell us a little about yourself, how did your love for mixing begin?
I am a young 27 year old girl from Milan. As a young girl I started working in the restaurant world, my parents had a retail shop in Brera and I helped them out. During meal times, among the few places there were, I wandered around with the tray going up and down the kitchen. I started like this, partly for fun, partly as a joke, until at 17 years old Milan started to get too close to me and I decided to migrate to Padua. I continued to work as a waitress to support my studies, until I returned to Milan in 2015 during the thriving Expo period and worked for the Good Luck, in the Cairoli area. For the first time I have the opportunity to find myself in front of a bottle rack, I start to pick up the first bottles out of curiosity and so almost by chance I find myself exploring this fantastic world.
What was your professional path? And who did you learn the art of mixology from?
It all starts at Good Luck, I was lucky enough to meet this bartender who in her free time taught me the basics of mixing. Given my initial enthusiasm, his most dispassionate advice was "take the bottles, read the label and experiment". I have never done any basic courses, I have always tried and experimented with taste. Back in Padua I decided that this was my path, so to experiment not so much with the technique but with the management of the masses and the level of stress I started in the 2016 summer season. I continued to work, from one season to the next, until 2018 when I join the pub staff Berlin, where mixing was non-existent but they left me free rein to experiment.
How was the experience at Monkey Bussiness? Does it reflect your personality?
To the Monkey Business I arrived in February 2020. The Monkey is a place that does not aim for formality, it is a place where hospitality becomes friendship, customers must feel at ease, pampered and spoiled. One of those places where you would want to take off your shoes and say "I'm home". I can say with certainty that it reflects my personality, from the counter and the impeccable service offered to the customer. People come to the Monkey and come back because they had a good time, drank well and remember us.
What is your mixing proposal?
My mixing proposal is very simple, it reflects myself. I am an easy-to-read person, without too many frills or ambiguities, and so are my cocktails: few ingredients, simple procedures and intuitive for the customer. My strong point is precisely simplicity, which in this case does not come at the expense of quality. I always choose quality raw materials, I don't just take what I find in the supermarket, I wait for seasonal fruit and vegetables. I believe that quality products are essential for the success of a drink.
What does your ideal drink list consist of?
My drinks always take inspiration from a classic, I study all the peculiarities and balances and then I bring them back to the idea I have in my head at the moment. I don't look for balance in the ingredients but rather in the perception of taste, for example if there is sugar in a classic recipe it doesn't mean that I will propose it again in mine, rather I will find the right compromise for the sugary part. I always present a part of myself in drinks, for me the roots are fundamental, like for a tree, I try to branch out among my branches and achieve my idea in a liquid version.
Where do you draw inspiration from for your liquid proposals? And how are your signatures born?
My inspirations come from anything, even walking down the street. I always have my head in the air and I never know where inspiration will come from. For example, during the quarantine I had various inventive stimuli, as with Breakfast with the Moose. The cocktail was born for a simple reason: I like eating pancakes for breakfast, it's something that makes me feel good. So I thought why not recreate my pancakes in a liquid version? So I created this cocktail with Bourbon infused with peanut butter, maple syrup, lemon juice and finally blueberry jam. Another of my most extravagant ideas was born from a walk in Venice, with the square empty due to the pandemic I thought: who knows where all the Chinese who crowded it will be, who knows if they miss this city. Then I thought Chinese or Japanese, will they understand each other? And that's where it came from Japanese Don't Speak Mandarin. It is a cocktail based on sake, green tea with peppermint and mandarin juice.
Do you think technique is more important for a good bartender or creative flair?
In my opinion we can talk about balance between technique and creativity, I am convinced that creativity, however innovative and wonderful, is null without technique. A technical basis is essential, already starting from the knowledge of distillates, knowing how that type of flavor can behave combined with another or with what technique it can be used. The creative engine acts as an ignition, but if we want to start "the machine" we need technique.
What is your favorite spirit?
Excellent question, I don't use it much in mixing, but without a doubt: Grappa. Along with all wine spirits such as: Brandy, Cognac and Armagnac. I find them very interesting because they are characterized by components that allow you to play on an infinite nuance of flavours, from dry to sweet, from citrus to herbaceous.
Do you have a revolutionary vision on the Mojito, do you prefer the T-punch version why?
I did it to simplify it, always on the same line of thought, I reduced the Mojito to its base. I moved towards T-punch thanks to a wonderful experience I had in Marina di Ravenna in a Masterclass with Jimmy Bertazzoli at Aguardiente, which talked about rum in all its forms, I was fascinated by it. So if anyone wants to try something simple, but already tried, I highly recommend the T-punch mojito version.
In your opinion, which cocktail can measure the skill of a barman?
Absolutely on the Martini, if you don't know how to make a Martini cocktail forget it. The Martini is the base, in all its possible variations. And then let it be cold, as cold as possible.
How was the experience at the Campari Competition 2020?
The idea of participating in the Campari Competition of last year, was born in the period in which I was at Berlin. I had never had the chance to meet anyone, so I decided to make a big deal and sign up. I pass the first selections online and go to Milan for the first stage. I felt out of place from the beginning, but in the end the unexpected victory arrived. I didn't pass in the final stage in Rome, but it was better than winning because I had the opportunity to come into contact with the bar industry of high-level mixing. I have experienced first-hand what the real job of a bartender is, from the study of cocktails to the use of raw materials.
How was the “Velvet Snapshot” cocktail born?
It's really me, it's the story of my life summed up in liquid version. It was the theme of Campari Cinema that intrigued me, I studied DAMS at university and immediately thought it could be my opportunity. There were various interesting ideas, but my idea was immediately to make a film about my life in a certain sense. So I chose the commercial in which there was a bored girl on a train, zapping from one landscape to another, I identified with that situation and thus created “Velvet Snapshot”. Every break in my life is represented by an entry into the tunnel and with each exit a new chapter. It all starts with bitter orange marmalade and lemon juice, which represent my childhood, that bitter sweetness that I experienced during my parents' separation; then there is Campari with its bitter note that identifies my adolescence: the first loves that ended badly and the difficulty in relationships with others. And finally there is Averna, a structured and full-bodied bitter, symbol of my personal growth with a final touch of Moscato Grappa, my favorite distillate, that breath of fresh air that comes with first love and that restores balance to everything.
New plans for the future?
I have an ongoing project in Venice, I just left the Monkey counter and now I'm heading towards this new adventure.
What's your favorite cocktail?
Without a shadow of a doubt, the Americano is my simple and decisive comfort drink, as long as it is unbalanced on the bitters.
Clelia Mumolo
