"IT smells like a really hot sun baked meadow," is perhaps not the most common way to describe an espresso coffee, but when you have TV's Jilly Goolden tasting it what can you expect?

The extravagent adjectives flowed as she smelled and sipped coffee, perched on a stool in Skipton's La Piazza Ristorante Italiano.

The scene was filmed as part of an item for the BBC's Food and Drink programme to be screened on Monday.

Researcher Sarah Walmsley said the report exploring how to make the perfect espresso was initiated by Paul Pozzana, of Rockwood, Skipton.

He wrote to the show explaining he had been trying to recreate espresso in his own home for 25 years and had never quite achieved a totally satisfying coffee.

The crew wanted to whisk him off to London to search for perfection but when Mr Pozzana explained he was recovering from a spinal injury, they decided to bring the show to him.

The television crew began their quest at La Piazza on Albert Street, Skipton, where they found out what espresso should actually taste like.

Owner Jonathan Whitehead, of Moorview Way, Skipton, said they just phoned him out of the blue and asked if they could come and film in the restaurant.

Cameras, lights, microphones and crew piled into the small establishment at 8am on Tuesday, with restaurant manager Antonio Rugiano plying them with the best coffee he could make.

Having discovered that, according to Ms Goolden, espresso tasted "smooth like dark bitter chocolate," the crew continued their research at Charles Hallas Tea and Coffee, on Gargrave Road.

Here they aimed to find how an espresso coffee bean should be roasted to give the best aroma and taste.

Armed with the secrets of perfect espresso and Marco Arrigo, who trains people in the art of coffee making in London, the crew were finally equipped to go and give Mr Pozzana a few pointers about making coffee in his home without the need for complex machinery that is used in restaurants.

Mr Pozzana said they tried many combinations of different techniques, beans and machines, but still could not quite achieve espresso heaven, although he said it was the closest he had ever got.

The item will be screened on BBC2 as part of Food and Drink on April 5 at 8.30pm.

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