Morning.

Wednesday we went wildcard. Today we're going to Italy.

The Winter Olympics are a week into Milano Cortina, and yesterday Italy's Federica Brignone won super-G gold — ten months after breaking both legs. At 35, she's the oldest woman to ever win an Olympic Alpine skiing medal. She called it "a masterpiece of the mind, of perseverance, of going beyond what I thought was possible." That might be the most Italian sentence ever spoken on a podium.

To celebrate the Games, this edition is Italian-themed — three products with genuine Italian heritage you can trace to a specific town, a specific year, a specific family. And two that aren't Italian at all but earned their spot anyway.

And one jacket at 30% off that won't exist next month.

Andiamo.

TLDR: ☕ De'Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo ($200 off — Italian espresso since 1902) | 🍕 Ooni Karu 2 (~10% off with code) | ⛷️ REI Co-op Magma 850 Down Hoodie (30% off — discontinued) | 💰 Bialetti Moka Express 6-Cup (17% off) | 🔒 Hidden deal for referrers

PS: Scroll to the bottom for today’s Winter Olympics trivia question.

De'Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo

$700 | $499 at BestBuy | ($200 off)

☕ Treviso in Your Kitchen

$200 off during Best Buy's Presidents' Day sale. It hit $450 on Black Friday, so this isn't the all-time low — but it's the best price you'll find right now, and $499 for what you're getting is still strong.

De'Longhi was founded in 1902 in Treviso, Italy — about 200 miles from where the Winter Olympics are playing out right now. Still headquartered there. This isn't a brand that licensed an Italian name and moved production overseas. The La Specialista Arte Evo runs a 15-bar Italian pump, conical burr grinder (8 settings), and a commercial-style steam wand for real microfoam. It's semi-automatic — you learn the craft of grinding, tamping, pulling a shot. You're making espresso the way Italy's been making it for over a century.

The standout: Cold Extraction Technology, developed with the Specialty Coffee Association. Cold brew in under five minutes — not overnight drip, actual cold brew, one cup at a time. No other machine at this price does that.

Fun fact: Bialetti just released a limited-edition Milano Cortina 2026 Moka Express — the official coffee maker of the Italian Winter Olympics. €39.90, Europe-only. Speaking of Bialetti — keep scrolling.

Why It Wins:

  • Founded 1902 in Treviso, Italy — still HQ'd there, 200 miles from the Olympics

  • Cold brew in under 5 minutes (unique at this price point)

  • 4.8/5 on Best Buy (189+ reviews)

The catch: Hit $450 on Black Friday, so $499 isn't the floor. But it's $200 off right now and you're not waiting nine months for the next shot. 8 grinder settings limits micro-adjustment. Small 250g bean hopper. Thermoblock, not true boiler. This is for the dad who wants to learn Italian espresso, not the dad who wants a pod machine.

Ooni Karu 2 12” Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven

$449 | ~$404 with newsletter signup code (10% off)

🍕 60 Seconds to Napoli (Via Edinburgh)

Not Italian — let's get that out of the way. Ooni was founded in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2012 by a Finnish-born engineer and his wife who were obsessed with one thing: replicating the 900°F+ heat of a Neapolitan pizzeria at home. In 2017, Italy got Neapolitan pizza-making — l'arte dei pizzaiuoli napoletani — added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The secret isn't the tomatoes or the flour. It's the heat. Your home oven maxes out at 500°F. The Karu 2 hits 950°F in 15 minutes.

Multi-fuel: wood for the authentic experience, charcoal for easy management, or gas with the optional burner attachment. This is the 2nd generation — 45% bigger fuel tray, 36% more efficient on gas, and a borosilicate glass door so you can watch the cheese bubble and the crust rise. Cast aluminum nose and rear, powder-coated weather-resistant shell, 33.7 lbs portable. Buy direct from ooni.com and you get a 5-year warranty and a 60-day money-back guarantee they call the "Great Pizza Guarantee." Sign up for Ooni's newsletter before checkout for a 10% off code.

The catch: Gas burner sold separately ($120). Pizza peel and turning peel also separate ($55 and $65). 12" surface is great for personal pizzas, tight for family-sized. Wood-fired temp management has a learning curve — even in Naples, pizzaiuoli train for years. And yes, it's made in China, not Italy.

REI Co-op Magma 850 Down Hoodie

$259 | $179.93 at REI | 30% off

⛷️ Not Italian. Just Really, Really Good.

Discontinued — once it's gone, it's gone.

This one's from Kent, Washington, not the Dolomites. We're featuring it anyway because 30% off a discontinued 850-fill-power down hoodie is the kind of deal that doesn't wait for a theme to make sense.

12.5 ounces. Packs into its own pocket. That's premium insulation in a jacket lighter than a can of beer. Recycled ripstop nylon shell, DWR-treated down that resists moisture, variable baffles that map warmth where you need it, Fair Trade Certified. The Patagonia Down Sweater costs about $100 more for a comparable spec. 4.5 stars from 203 reviews on REI. Runs slightly generous — size down if you're between sizes.

If you're watching the Alpine events this week and wondering what those spectators are wearing in Cortina at 15°F, it's jackets like this one. The jacket that lives in your car, goes on every cold-morning dog walk, and doesn't quit.

The catch: Down still loses insulation when fully soaked — this is a dry-cold jacket. Discontinued means limited sizes and colorways. Not waterproof; pair with a shell in wet conditions. And REI's return policy still applies on discontinued items, so you're not stuck if the fit is off.

🔓INSIDER DEAL

Luigi Bormioli Atelier Wine Glasses (Set of 6)

$89 | $74.99 on Amazon | 16% off ($12.50/glass)

🍷 You're seeing this because you referred a friend. Nice work.

Luigi Bormioli has been making glassware in Parma, Italy since 1946 — the same Emilia-Romagna region that gave the world Parmigiano-Reggiano and prosciutto di Parma. Still blown in Parma. The Atelier line is lead-free Italian crystal made with their proprietary SON.hyx technology — titanium-reinforced stems that resist breakage by 140%, laser-cut rims, and tested to survive 4,000 dishwasher cycles. 25-year guarantee against chipping, breaking, or discoloring. Multiple styles: Cabernet/Merlot (23.75 oz), Pinot Noir (20.6 oz), Riesling (15.9 oz), Barolo (27 oz). 4.4 stars from 226 reviews on Amazon. Pour yourself a Barolo.

The catch: Machine-blown, not hand-blown — so you won't get the ultra-thin rim wine purists chase. Some reviewers note they're more delicate than the "break resistant" marketing suggests — hand wash if you want them to last. At $12.50 per Italian crystal glass with a 25-year guarantee and titanium stems? Cost per year approaches zero.

🔒INSIDER DEAL

There is a hidden deal right here. You just can’t see it.

Refer 1 friend to unlock The Insider Deal - in every newsletter.

Sign up must be completed to gain access to the insider deal.

{{rp_refer_url}}

Bialetti Moka Express 6-Cup

💡 The No-Brainer

Alfonso Bialetti founded his company in 1919 in Crusinallo, a village in Italy's Piedmont region. In 1933, he invented this. The design hasn't changed — because there's nothing to improve. Octagonal aluminum body, patented safety valve, stovetop steam-pressure brewing. No electricity, no pods, no paper filters. Still made in Italy. Bialetti claims nine out of ten Italian households own one. 4.5 stars from over 88,000 reviews on Amazon. Replaceable gaskets and filter plates mean this lasts decades, not years. The company nearly didn't make it — years of debt and competition from capsule machines brought it to the brink before Nuo Capital acquired a majority stake last year. The brand survived. The Moka Express is in MoMA’s permanent collection. If you don't own one, fix that for $50.

The catch: Moka pot coffee, not true espresso — no crema. Hand wash only (no soap, no dishwasher — it will ruin both the pot and the taste). "6 cups" = ~6 oz total (these are espresso-sized shots, not mugs — if you drink American-sized coffee, consider the 9-cup).

Dad Trivia - Stack your entries! Each correct answer in February adds another chance to win a $100 Home Depot Gift Card. Answer all 8 monthly questions right? That's 8 entries.

Login or Subscribe to participate

Coming Wednesday : Under The Hood 🔧

Cars and car maintenance - the gear that keeps your ride running right without overpaying the dealer.

See you Wednesday.

Know a dad whose idea of Italian night is DiGiorno and a Bud Light? Send him this edition ⬇️

Fine print: Some of these links earn us a small commission if you buy. Doesn't cost you a cent more. We don't recommend junk - life's too short.

Keep Reading