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Dolcezza Gelato Factory

A Dolcezza employee samples coffee at the preview. The pour-over coffee is brewed into a carafe. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

The new 4,000-square-foot space is located at 550 Penn Street in Northeast. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

The new 4,000-square-foot space is located at 550 Penn Street in Northeast. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

Information on the coffee being served at Dolcezza's coffee bar is made available to customers. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

A sample of Dolcezza's salted caramel gelato is offered at the preview opening. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

A sample of Dolcezza's salted caramel gelato is handed out at the preview on Dec. 7. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

A Dolcezza employee purees ingredients for one of Dolcezza's gelato flavors. Before moving into the new space, Dolcezza was doing all of its production in a 300-square-foot space in Georgetown. Customers will also be able to taste Dolcezza's fresh gelato at the new factory space. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

"After it comes out of the machine, the gelato has to be tempered in order to stand up to its scooping process. So by the time it gets to the store, it's been cooled down to a temperature that is pretty much rock hard. So the cool temperature and the hard texture mean the flavors get a little bit masked. But when you're having it fresh out of the gelato machine, it's softer, it's warmer, those flavors really sing to you," Khan says. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

"When (gelato) just comes out of the machine, it's closer to room temperature and it has this nice, soft texture," Bisnow Dining Editor Alia Khan says. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

Dolcezza sampled its local and seasonal gelato flavors at the new factory space. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

Crowds gathered on Dec. 7 to sample some of Dolcezza's local and seasonal gelato flavors at the new factory space. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

The gelato-and coffee-tasting bar will be open to the public in the spring. Until then, the space is available to rent for special events. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

Dolcezza's new factory space is directly behind Union Market. The building's large doors and high windows offer customers a clear view of the U.S. Capitol. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

A Dolcezza employee samples coffee at the preview. The pour-over coffee is brewed into a carafe. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

A Dolcezza employee samples coffee at the preview. The pour-over coffee is brewed into a carafe. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

Dolcezza Coffee A Dolcezza employee samples coffee at the preview. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

"When (gelato) just comes out of the machine, it's closer to room temperature and it has this nice, soft texture," Khan says. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

What is the point of a gelato tasting room, one might ask? "When you try gelato right after it's been made, apparently it's a completely different experience. It's much more flavorful, you're able to taste the nuances of the flavor in better detail," Bisnow Dining Editor Alia Khan says. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

The 4,000-square-foot factory also contains a small wall of the company's products for sale. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

All of the production for Dolcezza's gelato will take place in the new factory at 550 Penn Street in Northeast. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

The tasting area of Dolcezza's factory is a beautiful space within the warehouse, decorated with tiles, crates, stools and lights. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

"It's basically a huge open warehouse. When you walk in to your left, you'll see all of the production equipment," says Bisnow Dining Editor Alia Khan. "And then on the right is this beautiful kitchen counter top that they've created. It's a bar area, and you can just pull up a stool ... and you can taste their gelatos or their coffees and just sort of explore the many flavors they create." (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

Dolcezza's new space is 4,000 square feet. When the space opens for good in the spring, it will be home to the company's production, a gelato tasting room and a coffee counter. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

"Toigo Orchards is here with their Gold Rush apples, so we make a Gold Rush apple sorbetto," Edelman says. Also available for tasting was a crookneck pumpkin gelato, Benton's bacon gelato and salted caramel gelato. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

Dolcezza sources the ingredients for its gelato flavors from local farmers and producers. Three of its farmers attended Saturday's event. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

"We were in Georgetown producing in a 300-square-foot kitchen, so we were at max. It was a miracle -- four stores, 100 restaurants, Whole Foods -- so we really needed a bigger space," says Dolcezza owner Violeta Edelman. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

On Dec. 7, Dolcezza opened the doors of its new factory space to the public for a preview. Free gelato and coffee samples were handed out throughout the afternoon. The space will officially open to the public in the spring. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

Dolcezza, a gelato and coffee store with locations in D.C., Fairfax, Va., and Bethesda, Md., is moving into a factory space in Northeast D.C. for its production. In addition to serving coffee and gelato at its four stores, Dolcezza also makes products for local markets, restaurants and grocery stores. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

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