The International Institute of Coffee Tasters will hold a tasting license course in English on the 18th of November (one-day-course). It will take place at the Permament Training Point managed by Rancilio in Milan, very close to Malpensa International Airport (please click here for a map).

Making a perfect espresso is not a simple task. A large number of variables has to be kept under control: the coffee blend, the coffee grinder, the espresso machine and the barista’s hand of course. Every single variable will influence the final result and the judgment on the quality of the espresso in the cup is up to the taster. Learn how to distinguish good espresso from poor one and how to get a precise sensory profile of the cup in front of you.

What you learn

• espresso tasting: aims, enviromental and psychological conditions of tasting
• the judgment of the sense organs: the aspect, the aromatic profile, the taste
• the tasting card: what it is and how to use it
• the geography of coffee production and of its consumption, the coffee growing, the coffee manufacture, the roasting and its chemical and organoleptical transformations, packaging methods and their influence on the conservation of aromas, the blend and its influence on the final cup
• the coffee grinder and the espresso machine: different types, how to choose the machinery, how to use it to get always a perfect espresso, the ordinary maintenance

Training tasting sessions
You will taste and judge different espressos based on differet blends and prepared in different ways. Some of the preparations are faulty so that you learn to distinguish top-quality espresso from defective one.

Get the license!
At the end of the training class you can take the final examination to get the tasting license.

Information
-    about pricing and applying: please contact the International Institute of Coffee Tasters (novembercourse@coffeetasters.org)
-    about transportation & accomodation: you can enjoy special conditions for the transportation & the hotel, please contact Mr Renato Bossi at Rancilio (rbossi@rancilio.it)
 

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After Coffee Taster reported Starbucks plans to open 150 new stores in Europe, a number of Italian readers wrote to us to know how they can open and run a Starbucks shop in Italy. Coffee Taster asked the question to Mrs Bridget Baker, Starbucks spokeswoman.
"Starbucks Coffee Company is excited about the great opportunities that Italy presents to the company. However we do not have announcements to make regarding the Italian market at this time," Mrs Baker told Coffee Taster.
"When we open a new market, we take time to make sure we have the right joint-venture partner or licensee to help develop the brand," Mr Baker said. "As it is very important for us to find a partner with the right business and retail experience, as well as cultural fit for Starbucks, the process can be a long one.  We will open each market when the time is right, one store at a time."

(Carlo Odello)

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Profits raised from Costa Coffee’s inaugural National Foundation Day, held over the weekend in its 700 UK stores, were donated to the Costa Foundation. The registered charity was set up by Costa Coffee in 2006 to help to build schools and improve the lives of coffee growing communities around the world. Costa customers helped to raise £150,000 on Saturday 14 June which will now help build three new schools in Costa Rica, Guatemala and Uganda. “We wanted to give something back to the communities where we source our coffee and local farmers have specifically told us that the best way Costa can help is by focusing on education through building schools for their children," David Hutchinson, Costa Coffee Marketing Director and Costa Foundation Trustee, said. Since 2006, the Costa Foundation has improved sanitation, developed land for families to grow crops, built teacher accommodation and built four schools in Colombia, Uganda and Ethiopia.

(Carlo Odello)

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Recent YouGov research commissioned by Costa Coffee has revealed that 80 per cent of people in the UK now want the option of purchasing ethical coffee from their regular high street outlets. And surprisingly, Brits are also willing to pay an average of 14p (€ 0,18) more per cup to ensure their coffee is ethical. But despite consumers’ willingness to pay more, Costa will not be charging any extra for an ethical cup of coffee.

(Carlo Odello)

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Giorgio Rancilio, President & CEO of the company, announced that Rancilio completed the acquisition of 53% of the Swiss company Egro Coffee Systems AG, the historic brand that manufactures fully automatic professional coffee machines for bars, of which Rancilio already held a 25% stake, and now controls the company based in Niederrohrdorf, near Zurich. Rancilio holds now 78% of the shares in Egro Coffee Systems. The Egro brand and the company were founded in 1849 by Castor Egloff. He made the first model in 1934, and then developed and produced the “Mikado” in 1972, the world’s first ever fully automatic professional coffee machine. In 2007, the Swiss company had a CHF 26 million (EUR 16 million) business and 80 employees.

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Starbucks today announced a strategic licensing partnership to open more than 150 Starbucks stores in prime travel channels in key European markets within the next three years. The agreement details wide-ranging co-operation across the European travel market, covering both airport and railway station locations. Starbucks will give SSP licensing rights to the Starbucks brand in a number of significant markets that in some segments are exclusive, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

 (Carlo Odello)

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The Swedish home furnishing retailer IKEA has decided that all coffee sold and served at IKEA worldwide shall be UTZ CERTIFIED. UTZ Certified is an independent not-for-profit organization that sets a standard for responsible coffee growing and sourcing, taking both people and the environment into consideration.
Annually, around 150 million cups of coffee are served and sold in the restaurants, bistros and Swedish Food Markets in 25 countries. Anders Lennartson - Quality, Social & Environmental Manager IKEA Food Services: “We serve a lot of coffee every day. We want our customers and co-workers to know that the coffee they drink is produced in a sustainable manner. Traceability is also important for a global company like us; an on-line coffee tracer will be available for the IKEA branded coffees”.

(Carlo Odello)

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TheCafeGuide.com has announced the launch of their enhanced podcast available for free. TheCafeGuide.com Podcast covers everything relating to coffee, tea and café culture, hosted by Richard Wolak, featuring news and interviews with experts on coffee, tea and cafes from around the world.
Episode 1 covers coffee, tea, coffee equipment, barista championships, café culture and cafes from around the world. Including features on Intelligentsia Coffee, Harney & Sons Tea, The Clover coffee brewer and more. The spotlighted cafes include Ritual Coffee Roasters in San Francisco, USA; Caffe Art Java in Montreal, Canada and Tropicana Caffe in Sydney, Australia.
Listeners can have the enhanced podcast of TheCafeGuide.com Podcast automatically downloaded to their computer, as well as to personal device such as an Ipod or mp3 player, by visiting the Podcast host page at http://thecafeguide.wordpress.com/

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Costa Coffee will become the first UK coffee shop chain to source its entire coffee supply from certified sustainable farms. Marketing Director, David Hutchinson, announced Costa’s plan to source all of its coffee from Rainforest Alliance Certified by 2010. From September 2008 at least 30% of the coffee used in Costa’s Mocha Italia coffee blend, which forms the base of its coffee drinks, will come from certified sources, equal to about 1000 tonnes of green coffee over the course of a year.

In order to earn the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal farms must meet rigorous standards developed by the Rainforest Alliance. The Rainforest Alliance is an independent, international non-profit NGO that works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behaviour. Farms must make improvements in the way the farm is managed including reducing pesticide use, improving worker safety, ensuring workers have decent housing and access to clean water, as well as education and medical care for themselves and their families.

(Carlo Odello)

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The Coca-Cola Company and illycaffè SpA announced the companies have finalized their global joint venture and will be introducing three premium ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee products in several European countries in April. Consumers in 10 European countries will be able to purchase three premium ready-to-drink coffee products.
The products are:
• Caffè: bold, full-bodied character, real Italian ‘chilled caffe.’ First ready-to-drink coffee to offer black (no milk) espresso-based coffee.
• Cappuccino: intense uplifting aromas of illy espresso, blended with milk and dark cacao.
• Latte Macchiato: smooth fresh illy espresso experience, swirled with milk.
The products will be available in cans (150 ml for Caffè and 200 ml for the milk variants). All three offerings will be available in 10 European Coca-Cola Hellenic markets including Austria, Croatia, Greece and the Ukraine. The initial launch is a result of a joint venture between Ilko Coffee International and Coca-Cola Hellenic.
Additional countries in Europe, Asia, North America, Eurasia and the Pacific are slated for expansion throughout the remainder of 2008 and into 2009 and will be delivered through The Coca-Cola Company system.
The highly profitable RTD coffee category globally is valued at just under $16 billion and has experienced several years of growth that is expected to continue. Globally (excluding Japan), the ready-to-drink coffee category has grown at an average rate of 10.1% over the past five years.
“When we announced the partnership between The Coca-Cola Company and illy a few months ago, we committed to deliver the perfect ready to drink espresso experience”, said Muhtar Kent, president and chief operating officer, The Coca-Cola Company. “Today, we believe we have delivered on that promise with an authentic Italian coffee experience. I look forward to this partnership delivering these great brands across the globe and enhancing our global leadership in the fast growing RTD coffee category”.
“Over the past few months, we put the effort in to bringing to life the illy taste in three new ready to drink espresso-based products”, said Andrea Illy, illycaffè chairman. “Now, our objective is to give consistency - together with Coca-Cola - to what premium ready to drink coffee is. Coca-Cola in its history has invented entire new product categories. illycaffè is the company that greatly contributed to the definition of the espresso category. Together we will redefine how people engage with a ready to drink coffee in order to experience a true small luxury pleasure”.

(Carlo Odello)

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