Flash News

Italian Espresso tasting course just before the Host show in Milan (20 October 2011)

by Carlo Odello *

We just scheduled an Espresso Italiano Tasting course just the day before the Host show in Milan (20 October 2011). Many professionals wrote us asking about this course: here it is! The course will take place in Brescia, hometown to the International Institute of Coffee Tasters. This means just 1,5 hours fom the Host show in Milan.

Why should you attend an Espresso Italiano Tasting course? I can think of many good reasons, but one seems to me the most important: to go back to the roots of Espresso, to understand the culture in which it was born.

I have been working in the coffee business for some years (not counting the years I was at the university but already spent some time at the events of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters and of the Italian Espresso National Institute). And I have been travelling around the world in the last few years training people how to taste Italian Espresso.

What did I discover? Easy to say: coffee is culture, means it is strongly connected to real life. It is like Chinese tea: you cannot understand it unless a Chinese explains it to you. That’s because he or she is Chinese and was born and raisen up in the real Chinese tea culture. The same for Japanese tea. And for any other specific tea culture.

Let us make you discover the real Italian Espresso culture. If you are interested in understanding how to recognize and evaluate the real Italian Espresso, just download the brochure from the link below. You can also drop me an email at carlo.odello@italiantasters.com if you need further information about the course.

Download:

Italian Espresso Tasting course: brochure (PDF)

* Trainer and member of the board of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters

Italian Espresso in China: new book and new courses

 Espresso Italiano Tasting Chinese

Espresso Italiano Tasting, the official handbook of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters, has just been published in Chinese. And more courses and seminars on tasting Italian Espresso are coming in Guangzhou next week (July 26th-31st). The classes will be held by Carlo Odello, member of the board of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters. For  more information about the courses and the book please contact Ms Jolin (jolin@acoffee.cn).

Espresso machines: 75% are sold abroad, boom in the Far East

According to data put out by Anima-Ucimac the espresso machine market grew in 2010 compared to 2009 (+16.4% of machines sold for a total of about 112,000 pieces), and three out of every four machines are sent abroad. The diffusion of espresso throughout the world continues, with the Italian espresso machine producers as the undisputed leaders on the five continents.

The data processed by the Italian Espresso National Institute, show the development of espresso in the world. If, on the one hand, Europe is confirmed as the main opening of the market (55% of the machines sold abroad in 2010), it is also true on the other hand that compared to 2009 this market loses about 6% both in volume and value compared to global sales. The espresso machines are sent particularly to the Far East (China, Japan, Korea and other countries in the region) so much so that in 2010 they earned about 5% more in volume than value when compared to the same sales the year before. The Far East marked a growth of +86% in volume and +81% in value compared to the same global sales the year before, while the rest of Asia grew +73% in volume and +75% in value. The North American market is also doing well, the United States and Canada with machine purchases in 2010 at a volume of 8% and a value of 7.5%, up 50% in volume and 40% in value from 2009.

"Espresso has, for many years, achieved global notoriety and appreciation" said Gianluigi Sora, chairman of the Italian Espresso National Institute, commenting on the data. "An extremely large majority of our espresso machines are sent abroad and it will increasein the future, just consider the tumultuous growth in Asia and North America."

"Italian Espresso is, in this global market, a specific way to drink espresso" Sora continued. "For the Italian Espresso National Institute the conservation is therefore twofold. Continue to improve the quality of the product on the Italian market while at the same time spread a major part of our culture abroad with the support of our roasters that are using increasing resources for exportation."

The return of the blend: for love or for money?

by Carlo Odello *

The blend seems to be regaining ground in several countries where for many years the espresso has been seen as a single origin product. We are actually receiving signs of interest in the blend from the United States, and the same can be said for Japan.

This situation often leads to a double interpretation. Some rejoice saying that the rediscovery of the blend is a clear sign of more complex aromatic research. Others however, perhaps the more pessimistic, see it from a different light: the carefully selected single origins, particularly some washed Central American origins, have become very expensive in their pure form. Laws: the profit margin has fallen drastically compared to the past.

However the fact remains that for money or for love, the blend seems to catch on again. Not a bad thing for the Italian espresso which has always cherished the blend.

* Trainer and member of the board of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters

June 2011: advanced coffee training in Italy

The 2011 Professional Master of Coffee Science and Sensory Analysis will be held in Brescia (Italy) from June 27 to July 1. The Professional Master will be taught in English.

The goal of this Professional Master is of providing, through sensory analysis, criteria and practical application tools for orientating production, along the whole production process, towards the achievement of a product able to ensure customers’ maximum pleasure.

Practical training will explain and illustrate the tools for recognizing through senses qualities and defects in the cup, how to obtain maximum sensory potential in extraction at the coffee shop, sensory analysis tests for assessing quality and stability of production result and, finally, sensory analysis data and the specific tests for fast selection of green coffee, roasting and blending methods, supported by scientific confidence. The whole with the aim of achieving consumers’ best satisfaction at cup stage.

More information: please download the form.

 

The new Iiac board has been elected. The coffee barometer and a new course on aromas will soon be available

The new Board of Directors of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters has elected its chairman. Luigi Odello, Professor of Sensory Analysis in several Italian and foreign universities and former general secretary of the Institute will be guiding the coffee tasters for the next three years. A three-year period that begins with the launch of a new study on the quality of coffee served in coffee shops. Over the next few months, in fact, members of the Institute, armed with tasting cards, will visit thousands of coffee shops, they will taste the coffee and then send their tasting cards to the Institute, which will process the data.

"A true barometer to measure the quality of coffee – comments Luigi Odello, President of the Institute – In fact the Institute will publish the results of the study on a regular basis. This study will involve a large number of Italian coffee shops, but not only: we must not forget that 10% of the 7,000 Institute members live abroad."

But the news does not stop here: a new course devoted entirely to the aromas of coffee will soon be available. "A whole day dedicated to the study of coffee aromas – Odello explains, – In the course we will use the new collection of aromas we have developed over the past two years."

In addition to President Luigi Odello, the Board of the Institute includes: Fausto Devoto (Vice President), Marcos Saña (Vice President), Stefano Abbo, Roberto Sala, Manuela Violoni, Gian Paolo Braceschi, Gian Luigi Sora, Giuseppe Battista, Pasquale Madeddu, Carlo Odello, Yumiko Momoi, Darcy Kai Sun, Lorenzo Quaranta, Dmitriy Emshanov, Lino Stoppani, Roberto Zironi. The auditors are: Alberto Cobianchi, Giuseppe Principe, Assunta Percuoco, Pierluigi Bosso, Fabio Verona. The arbitrators are: Cristina Dore, Vittorio Ventura, Erik Berglund, Angelo Greggio, Walter Pocobello. The secretary office is coordinated by Michela Beltrami.

 

Greater transparency at the coffee bar: the Italian Espresso National Institute is ready to classify 20,000 coffee shops

From one to three cups: this is the new classification system chosen by the Italian Espresso National Institute to ensure greater transparency for the customers of Italian coffee shops. In fact, for the very first time, customers entering in coffee shops adhering to the initiative will find an impartial indication of the coffee quality and of the equipment and the barista professional competence. A sign with a single cup lets customers know that they are in a bar that offers a blend of coffee that has been qualified by the Italian Espresso National Institute. Two cups means that in addition to coffee, the bar is equipped with certified coffee machines or coffee grinders. Three cups are reserved for coffee shops that, in addition to having coffee and certified equipment, can count on the services of a barista who has been qualified by the Italian Espresso National Institute.

"For the first time in our country the customer will be able to understand the quality level of the bar at a glance- explained Gianluigi Sora, President of the Italian Espresso National Institute – The coffee shops which will join the initiative, potentially around 20,000, will display the sign with the number of cups they have been awarded".

"Ultimately, this is an action aimed at bringing certified transparency in coffee shops, too – confirmed Luigi Odello, general secretary of the Italian Espresso National Institute – In fact, the number of cups awarded will clearly indicate whether the coffee shops use products qualified by the Italian Espresso National Institute and to what extent.”

A new step, therefore, towards the end customer who pays for his/her coffee every day and will soon be able to know the level of the coffee shop he/she attends every day. "Yet another initiative that we hope can act as a stimulus for the entire industry and reward those many coffee shops that focus on quality – added Sora – An action aimed at increasing communication, which is the actual objective pursued by the Institute, along with other initiatives such as the Espresso Italiano Day, scheduled for this coming April 15th, and Io Bevo Espresso, the open-day that will be organised again in November.”

Be a protagonist of the world’s biggest Italian Espresso event!

Coffee Experience, the world’s biggest Italian Espresso event, is returning again this year to Verona from 7th to 11th April. The figures for 2010 have been impressive: 35 coffee blends available for tasting, more than 7,000 Espresso coffees served over five days.
If you want to put yourself to the test, then send us your application! We are looking for two baristas who will be at the centre of the Coffee Experience scene. We offer our baristas food and accommodation in Italy, and the possibility of a true and unique experience in the world of Italian coffee. Please write to carlo.odello@italiantasters.com.


Caffè Italia, the Italian Espresso event at Foodex 2011, Tokyo

The International Institute of Coffee Tasters will organize a new edition of Caffè Italia, the Italian Espresso event, at Foodex 2011, the most important food exhibition in Japan (Tokyo, Makuhari Messe, Hall 3, booth C01, March 1-4).

The second edition of Caffè Italia will give visitors the opportunity of tasting six different Italian Espresso blends and evaluate them. For the first time visitors will have to judge the espresso blends using a tasting card. Caffè Italia will also host training sessions held by Chihiro Yokoyama.

Carlo Odello, member of the board of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters and communications manager of the Italian Espresso National Institute, will be at Caffè Italia, too. "We aim at spreading the culture of the real Italian Espresso and Caffè Italia is a great opportunity for us – Mr Odello said – Japan proved to be very sensitive to Italian Espresso, we now have more than 300 tasters in the country. We recently launched the Espresso Italiano Tasting classes in China and are looking for partners in other Asian countries such as Korea and Thailand".

Caffè is organized in cooperation with the International Institute of Coffee Tasters – Japan, the Italian Espresso National Institute and the Italian Trade Commission.

For more information: info@coffeetasters.jp, carlo.odello@italiantasters.com.

China: selling coffee starting from the South

by Carlo Odello *

 Chinese people drink wine, they like it. But the wine they drink is French, not Italian…. They are starting to drink coffee, too, and here the risk is that in the future they will not drink Italian espresso, but the espresso of other countries.

Bloomberg reports that in China the per capita consumption of coffee totals about 22 grams per year. Yes, 22 grams (while Japan, a much more mature market, has a per capita consumption of around 3.3 kilos). Chinese people associate coffee to Western lifestyle, and this is why they drink it. But they are certainly not absent-minded consumers. Accustomed to a highly complex and refined cuisine, they are now discovering the sensory potential of coffee.

Where do we start then, with Italian espresso in China? Shanghai and Beijing are an immediate solution, but there are more interesting prospects in the region of Guangdong, in the South. Guangzhou, also known as Canton, is the capital of this region which is almost twice the size of Italy, with a population of 17 million people. Guangzhou is the third largest city in China. If a food product sells well in Guangzhou, it sells well all over China. The same phenomenon does not necessarily occur when a product sells well in Shanghai or Beijing.

This is why the International Institute of Coffee Tasters started its training courses in Guangzhou. We completed the first Coffee Taster Licensing course last December, and another will soon be held.

* Trainer and member of the board of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters