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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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• Coffee Experience is back, the largest coffee tasting event in the world

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.

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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

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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.

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The first Espresso Italiano Tasting courses will be held in China in Guangzhou (December 27-28), Shanghai (December 30-31) and Beijing (Jan 1-2).

Carlo Odello, trainer and member of the board of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters, will teach the classes. Mr Odello will also attend the Coffee Expo in Guangzhou (December 23-26).

The courses are organized in cooperation with Coffee Secret Company. For more information please get in touch with Mr Darcy Sun Kai: +86 (20) 62352855, darcysunkai@gmail.com.

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The third edition of International Coffee Tasting, the international coffee contest organized by the International Institute of Coffee Tasters, ended on October 27. For two days, 27 tasters from nine different countries (Italy, Japan, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Serbia, Germany) evaluated 121 coffees from Italy, Germany, Mexico, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, and the USA.

The major types of coffee competed for their place: espresso bar, moka, pods, capsules, and filter. All products were prepared by professional baristas and evaluated anonymously by the tasters who recorded their scores on taste cards. These were then processed statistically.

"Espressos of extraordinary elegance are appearing on the coffee scene. Espressos that no longer amaze with a luxurious, full body and oodles of crema but seduce us with an incredible freshness and remarkable aromatic complexity” – commented Luigi Odello, the General Secretary of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters and Professor of Sensory Analysis at several universities in Italy and abroad. "These products certainly represent the cutting edge in the future of high-quality espresso, especially in those countries where espresso is not traditionally consumed”.

“There has also been a considerable improvement in the single-dose coffee sector”, Odello adds. “In fact, now we have pods that allow for the optimal extraction of coffee and innovative capsules, both frequently conceived for restaurant coffee menus”.

The Winners

Italian Blends for Espresso

• Caffè Qualità Oro – La Genovese, Albenga (SV)
• Bar – Caffen, Napoli
• Bar 100% Arabica – Holly Caffè, Città di Castello (PG)
• Caffè Tonino Lamborghini – Officina Gastronomica, Parma (PR)
• Miscela Degustazione – Trismoka, Paratico (BS)
• Cinquestelle – Caffè Cartapani, Brescia
• Extra Bar – Caffè Fantino, Peveragno (CN)
• Superoro – Caffè Cagliari, Modena (MO)
• Oro Oro – Torrefazione Caffè Gran Salvador, Brescia
• Natura Equa Bio Fairtrade – Caffè Agust, Brescia
• Caffè Alberto Miscela Pappagallo Rosso – Taurocaf, Caselle Torinese (TO)
• Caffè Elite Bar 100% Arabica – Italcaffè, La Spezia
• Faraglia Espresso 100% Arabica – Torrefazione Olimpica, S. Rufina Cittaducale (RI)
• Espresso Bendinelli 100% Arabica Gourmet – Caffè Roen, Verona
• Olimpia – Torrefazione Parenti, Bologna
• Noir – Paladini, Borgo San Lorenzo (FI)
• Master Club Coffee – Costadoro, Torino
• Pelourinho 100% Arabica – Magazzini del Caffè, Brescia
• Super Bar – Torrefazione S. Salvador, Villa di Tirano (SO)
• Battistino – Torrefazione Caffè Michele Battista, Triggiano (BA)

Non Italian Single Origins And Blends for Espresso

• Barcaffè Prestige 100% Arabica – Droga Kolinska, Slovenia
• Espresso Single Origin Malawi Mzuzu Geisha Viphya – Adesso, Poland
• P&F Espresso Blend – P&F Coffee Limited, Thailand
• Bizzarri Blend – 100% Arabica Coffee – Caffè Umbria, USA
• Bacio Espresso Miscela Italiana – Bontà, Mexico
• Extra Milano – Massimo Cerutti, Switzerland
• P&F Splendid Espresso Blend – P&F Coffee Limited,Thailand

Single Origins or Blends for Italian Moka

• Oro Oro – Torrefazione Caffè Gran Salvador, Brescia
• Gayo Mountain Sumatra Indonesia – Corsino Corsini, Badia al Pino (AR)
• Caffè Alberto Miscela Espresso Casa 100% Arabica – Taurocaf, Caselle Torinese (TO)

Single Origins or Blends in Pods or Capsules

• Bacio Pods – Bontà, Mexico
• Caffè Morettino 100% Arabica Espresso – Angelo Morettino, Palermo
• Espresso Made In Italy – Caffè Agust, Brescia
• Costadoro Coffee Pod – Costadoro, Torino
• Caffè Roen Cialda Monodose – Caffè Roen, Verona
• Cialda Densacrema – Zicaffè, Marsala (TP)

Single Origins or Blends for Filter Coffee

• Barcaffè Filter 100% Arabica – Droga Kolinska, Slovenia

Read also:

• 2008 International Coffee Tasting: the winners
• International Coffee Tasting 2010: updated website
• 2008 International Coffee Tasting

The International Institute of Coffee Tasters in cooperation with Koffiekoning will organize the first Espresso Italiano Tasting course in The Netherlands. The course will take place in IJsselstein on November 30.

For more information about the course, please visit the website of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters.

For applying or getting more information about the price, please get in touch with:

• Tim Vogt:  tim@koffiekoning.nl, mobile +31 6 5026 8819
• Paul Verbunt: ph +31 30 6876087, mobile +31 6 3889 0789

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