New edition of Espresso Italiano Tasting: the sensory analysis of the Italian espresso in a single volume

The new edition of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters’ book, a bestseller in the coffee business, will be presented at Host 2017. The book that has proved essential in the training of many professionals in the coffee business returns with a totally new edition: Espresso Italiano Tasting, guide to the sensory analysis of the Italian espresso. A bestseller right from the first edition in 2002 and a bet that paid off for the International Institute of Coffee Tasters (Iiac), which has translated it into 11 languages, intended principally for its associates (more than 10,000 in over 40 countries around the world) and, naturally, for anyone who wishes to learn more on the subject.

A book with one eye on the future right from the very first edition. “Iiac’s year of foundation puts it among the longest-operating organizations of the sector: 1993. Created to develop coffee tasting methods, its success story has been interwoven with the unique and compelling coffee extraction that is the Italian espresso,” points out Luigi Odello, Iiac Chairman and co-author of the book. “It was clear to the founders of the Iiac right from the start that they needed an accurate method of sensory analysis to measure the characteristics of the Italians’ best-loved cup of coffee.”

A book that serves and is of immediate use primarily to the coffee sector. “Indeed, the coffee industry distinguishes itself inasmuch as it is incredibly fragmented over space and time,” continues Carlo Odello, Iiac advisor and co-author of the volume, “so there is the risk that the different parts fail to understand each other, which is why sensory analysis assumes a crucial role today: it enables the parts involved to discuss the product in an effective manner and contributes to achieving their set objectives, the most worthy of which is to offer a high-quality espresso.”

The new edition of Espresso Italiano Tasting will be presented at Host 2017 in Milan from 20 to 24 October in the area of the Italian National Espresso Institute and the International Institute of Coffee Tasters (Pav. 22, Stand T32).

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Free entry tickets to Host 2017 for Iiac members

Host 2017, the most important exhibition in the world for hospitality, is back from the 20th to the 24th of October in Milan. As usual it will be a remarkable showcase for the international coffee business. 

Thanks to the agreement between the International Institute of Coffee Tasters (Iiac) and the organization of Host 2017, Iiac members are entitled to get a free entry ticket to the exhibition. A great opportunity to see what is new in the coffee business, take a look at the new editions (in Italian and in English) of the book Espresso Italiano Tasting and enjoy the international semifinal and the final of the Espresso Italiano Champion 2017 organized by the Italian Espresso National Institute (Inei).
 
Iiac and Inei will be at pavillion 22, booth T32.
 
Iiac members will receive by e-mail the invitation code to download their entry ticket.
 

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Italian Espresso certification programme and certification for Espresso Italiano Trainers in Fall 2016

New certification sessions for Italian Espresso and for Espresso Italiano Trainers will take place in Brescia (Italy) from the 25th to the 28th of October 2016. 

The Italian Espresso certification programme is run by the Italian Espresso National Institute (Inei) in cooperation with the International Institute of Coffee Tasters (Iiac). It is made up of two modules (M1 Espresso Italiano Tasting and M2 Espresso Italiano Specialist). The two courses will take place on the 25th and 26th of October.

The certification programme for Espresso Italiano Trainers will immediately follow on the 27th and 28th of October. Candidate trainers have to attend two more modules (M3 Senses Brain Sensory Analysis and EIT Espresso Italiano Trainer course). Certified trainers will be entitled to hold the sensory seminar Espresso Italiano Experience on behalf of the Iiac. The content of the seminar includes information on espresso and tasting techniques with the final aim of teaching the students how to assess the quality of Italian coffee. Each student receives a certificate after passing the thoery and tasting exams at the end of the seminar. There are more than 190 Espresso Italiano Trainers in the world.

For more information, please see the attachment or write to carlo.odello@italiantasters.com.

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Registrations Open for the International Coffee Tasting 2016, the World Coffee Tasting Competition

The eighth edition of the International Coffee Tasting will be held in Brescia (Italy) on October, 18-19. The commissions of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters (iiac), the scientific and independent association that concentrates exclusively on the sensory analysis of the coffee, will meet in Brescia to evaluate samples of coffees coming from all over the world.

International Coffee Tasting 2016 accepts coffee in all different styles, from espresso beans to capsules, from pods to filter coffee. Each company participating to the competition will receive its ranking and the sensory profile of its own product. The winners will be entitled to use the official logo of the competition on the winning products.

The international Coffee Tasting 2016 is open to coffee roasters from all around the world. Coffee roasters can submit their applications within the 1st of October.

The competition is organized by International Institute of Coffee Tasters (Iiac) with the cooperation of the Italian Tasters – Centro Studi Assaggiatori (Csa) and the support of Iiac Japan, Iiac Korea, Iiac Taiwan and Iiac China under the patronage of the International Academy of Sensory Analysis (Iasa).

More information:

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Seminars on tasting Italian espresso at the Ism 2016 (Cologne, Germany)

The Ism 2016 in Cologne (Germany, 31st January – 3rd February) will host seminars by the  International Institute of Coffee Tasters (Iiac) on tasting Italian espresso. Carlo Odello, member of the board and lecturer of the Iiac, will host the seminars twice a day at Caffè Italia, the special area focused on Italian espresso. Caffè Italia is also endorsed by the Italian Espresso National Institute (Inei). The seminar program is available here.

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Welcome to the “rare soils” that tell us where coffee comes from

by Emanuela Pusceddu, PhD in Physics


IBIMET Institute of Biometeorology – National Research Centre (CNR)
 
Quality and authenticity are important aspects for the agri-food industry and consequently also for the safety of consumers and manufacturers.  A problem affecting the agri-food industry, both from the point of view of product quality and economically, lies in the issue of counterfeit origins, adulteration and labelling of products.
 
The scientific community has focused its attention to thwart fraud on food matrices, such as wine, oil, wheat, rice and many other products.
Several studies have addressed the issue of varietal traceability of agricultural products and allowed to develop solid analytical methodologies while to date, there are few studies on geographical traceability. Currently, several investigative techniques are able to characterise bio-matrices from a chemical, physical and biological viewpoint.
 
Some of these techniques take into account a family of chemical elements, the so-called "rare soils" (family of Lanthanides). These chemicals are contained in the soil and are absorbed by plants, and are also found in fruits or in food products. In particular, the analysis of chemical elements has been applied successfully in this field, such as mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS). One study demonstrated with this technique that the composition of multiple elements in food products is strongly influenced by the solubility of inorganic compounds in the soil. This shows that there is a correlation between the chemical elements present in the soil, in the plant and in the fruit. The possible identification of trace elements, such as the lanthanides in bio-matrices may be used to identify the geographical location of the soil that produces them.
 
Currently, an experiment is under way to determine the traceability of coffee in collaboration with the Italian Espresso National Institute (Inei) and the International Institute of Coffee tasters (Iiac). Preliminary tests revealed a substantial difference between the quantities of Lanthanide elements contained in green coffee taken from samples from two different countries. Therefore, we have been able to observe the discrimination between two samples of coffee originated from different soils. The same type of experiment was also conducted on coffee after roasting, coming from two different countries. Even in the case of the roasted samples, it has been possible to observe the discrimination between the two agro-products from different soils.
The next steps of this study focus on the refinement of the technique used and the construction of a database of coffee with the guarantee of geographical origin. This work will allow us to achieve significant results for the agri-food sector, in the field of geographical tracking and authentication, in order to protect consumers and manufacturers.

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The video of the finals of Espresso Italiano Champion 2015

Watch the finals of the Espresso Italiano Champion 2015 in Milan at Host on the 25th of October, the only barista championship completely focused on the Italian espresso and cappuccino.

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The king of Italian coffee is Greek

The king of Italian coffee is Greek: Giannis Magkanas, 24 years old, graduates as a champion successfully passing the semi-final and final phases of the Espresso Italiano Champion 2015 championship, organised by the Italian Espresso National Institute (INEI).

Despite his young age, Giannis Magkanas has been active for several years in the coffee industry. After studying at the Essse Caffè training centre, he now works for Essse Caffè Greece within the Quality Assurance and Training departments. “In Greece having an Italian Espresso is a very common thing, – he declares – Greeks love Italian coffee as it is both complex and balanced”.

“It is truly positive for the Italian coffee industry that the winner of the Espresso Italian Champion 2015 is a young Greek man – commented the President of INEI Paolo Nadalet – This represents a symbol of the vitality of our product which is able to keep on fascinating professionals and consumers well beyond the Italian borders”.

Most of all, Espresso Italiano Champion keeps on being an important educational event. “The competition is and must remain an important moment of comparison between professionals, a push to do better and better – declared the General Secretary of INEI Luigi Odello – As of this year we have seen many excellent professionals and the level of the competition has further increased as compared to last year’s edition”.
 

In the picture: Gianni Magkanas, Espresso Italiano Champion 2015, with Paolo Nadalet, President of the Italian Espresso National Institute (INEI)

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Espresso Italiano Champion 2015: the semi-finals and grand final to be held in Milan on 25th October to select the king of Italian espresso

 

The Espresso Italiano Champion 2015 selection competitions, promoted by the Italian Espresso National Institute (INEI) in Italy and abroad, are coming to a close. Dozens of baristas have taken part in the contest organized by the companies associated with the INEI.

Of the nineteen baristas who will go through to the finals, a third of them are not Italian and come from Germany, Greece, China, Korea and Taiwan. These coffee professionals will take each other on in the Espresso Italiano Champion 2015 semi-finals on 25th October at Host 2015, the sector’s most important fair worldwide.
 
The semi-finals will be hosted by Wega, Astoria and Vibiemme in their stands and the grand final, on the same day, by Wega. For Cristiano Osnato, Director of Vibiemme, this is “a great opportunity to enhance human capital in our country”. Astoria Sales Director, Stefano Stecca, echoed this when he declared that “the baristas are the real exponents of our idea of quality, with whom we share passion and skills every day”.
 
Paolo Nadalet, Managing Director at Wega and INEI President, emphasized that the Espresso Italiano Champion is an important step for the hospitality industry because it “shows a vast audience of experts how much impact Certified Italian Espresso standards have upon the ability to offer a consumer a perfect product”.

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Flavors, coffee seeds maturity and fashion trends​

Luigi_Odello

By Luigi Odello, chairman of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters (Iiac)

The biological world, on which we rely on for food and many of life’s pleasures, is selfish. We should not think that fruits develop flavors for the enjoyment of humans. Actually, they do so as a means to find “collaborators” for the propagation of their species. Consequently, until the seeds are ripe we shouldn’t dream of an appealing flavor, and we shouldn’t expect a rewarding tactile or taste sensation. Only when the seeds are ripe, and the plants reduce their defenses against external attacks do the fruits become sweeter and reduce their astringency. Unfortunately, most of the fruits that are available commercially are acidic, sometimes astringent and often flavorless, because (amongst other reasons) they have been picked too early. 

This is a straightforward concept, but historically various trends have managed to quietly push against it. Remembering wines of the 80’s, there was a movement that encouraged the picking of grapes before the point of physiological maturity. A little acidity was convenient and the wines were surely easier to preserve. The results however weren’t great.

Now this is happening to coffees, sometimes by necessity and sometimes by lack of competence. On one hand, labor cost increases have lead to mechanical picking wherever possible. The effect of this is that in many places only a small part of the coffee fruits achieve sugar levels of 20 Brix (which is the threshold required to get minimum flavor) and an even smaller part achieves 25 Brix, which is the level necessary for a first class coffee.  In addition to this, to avoid surprises in the logistic chain, many coffee farmers resort now to accelerated drying. In addition to these factors, there is the modern trend of lightly roasting to maintain acidity. Together these lead to a failure to develop even the minimal precursors of flavors that exist in beans.

Some roasters would like the public to believe that coffee that contains a mix of citric and malic acids is the best coffee there can be. Among the supporters of this new trend there are some who, if the coffee has citric acid, will comment that it has citrus notes, and if it has malic acid, they will say it has apple notes. For us, these are reasons to mistrust many representatives of these new trends, and to reaffirm the philosophy of the fathers of our Espresso Italiano: roast slowly and roast fully, using only perfectly mature coffee beans. We’re happy to be out of fashion.

Translated by Cris and Martin at www.caffedelbar.com, a Swiss and UK based website dedicated to gourmet Italian coffee and the Italian espresso bar culture.

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