Tonka opened for the first time in Aprilia, in 2010, in the heart of the Pontine Marshes, following on from an idea of Valerio Esposito, a teenage student attending his final year at the Hospitality Institute. Since then it has been awarded “two cones” by the Gambero Rosso Guide to the best Italian gelaterias. The name Tonka was inspired by the Tonka bean, a Venezuelan fruit that, when grated, releases a characteristic smell of vanilla, coconut and honey, renowned as a symbol of elegance and good taste. Valerio Esposito, Tonka's creative ice-cream maker, was brought up in the sweet-smelling environment of “Tropicana”, his family's legendary patisserie. However, he decided to specialise in the coolest of dessert art, using all the talent inherited from Umberto, his pastry chef father, and Anna his mother, the true pillar of the family, from whom he not only inherited his talent but also his professional ethics.