What’s the state of art of the coffee market in the UK? We interviewed Simon Speed Andrews, Head of Training of Miko Coffee.

What’s the situation of the coffee market in the UK?

The coffee market is not precise, we have always been led by the culture of Italy, but serve what is more akin to America with a new lead from Australia and NL. The ‘Starbucks’ phenomenon in the early 90’s has capitulated the spread and expansion of the coffee shop. The problem lies with the fact that we drink milky style drinks and the coffee has not always been the main criteria for good coffee. The culture is now changing and the customer is seeking good quality coffee and the espresso element is becoming very important.

What is the general culture about espresso in the UK?

Espresso Culture per se is not evident, however this I think is in part due to the ‘Starbucks’ phenomenon, again with the high level of antipodeans arriving and working in the coffee industry this has changed the outlook for more artisan roasted quality blends and the focus is on the espresso but regrettably still more single origin 100% Arabica coffees rather than good blends.

What is the future of the espresso market in the UK and what do you think should be done?

The future for the espresso is very positive, however to change the culture we need to focus more on the espresso and educate not only the coffee companies but also the general public, in terms of the benefits of a quality blend and how to prepare correctly the espresso. Unfortunately little care is given to the beans by the coffee house or those that serve it and a lack of knowledge in how to prepare good espresso has led to what I can only describe, as at best a mediocre experience, to at worst nothing more than a flavourless poor experience.

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

The 56th Fancy Food Show edition opens in New York on the 27th of June. Throughout the entire exhibition, that closes on the 29th of June, visitors can enjoy Caffè Italia in the area of the Italian Trade Commission (ICE), booths # 2704-18 / 2805-13 / 2817-19 at the Javits Convention Center.

The Italian Espresso National Institute, in collaboration with the Italian Trade Commission (ICE) and the sponsorship of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters, will offer to visitors seven coffee blends of different Italian regions. Torrefazione Saturno, La Genovese, Filicori and Zecchini, Mokarico, Caffen, Zicaffè and Torrefazione Paranà have joined Caffè Italia.

The Fancy Food Show is one of the most important North American food industry exhibitions. The last edition registered 24 thousand visitors that evaluated 180 thousand products of every kind brought by over 2,500 exhibitors of 81 nations.

Espresso Italiano Roasting, the new publication from the International Institute of Coffee Tasters, has just been published. It is completely focused on the Italian way of roasting and blending.

Italian espresso stands out as a concrete expression of the elegance typical of “Made in Italy”, products covering the key role of testimonial of our agro-food culture. And this is why science can only resort to all the modern available means to photograph this art, hoping to replicate and innovate it.

And the aim of Espresso Italiano Roasting is all about this, in fact it focuses on collecting and arranging the output of coffee research using appropriate technical terms to promote its diffusion, giving special attention to the current available means in the field of coffee roasting. As a matter of fact, each single chapter and paragraph is soaked in sensory analysis, which is the main tool used at present for selecting green coffee, setting the roasting process and realizing the blends. The countless correlations involving chemistry, technology and sensory results will easily guide the readers, giving them the tools to understand phenomena they have certainly already observed in the past without the necessary competence.

Espresso Italiano Roasting is in fact based on the experience that the author has achieved with the courses held by the International Institute of Coffee Tasters, the thousands of consumer and laboratory tests carried out by the Taster Study Centre and the tens of samples that have undergone sophisticated chemical analysis.

Espresso Italiano Roasting is only available in electronic format (high resolution PDF) and can be ordered on the website of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters. The index and the first chapter are freely downloadable from the same website.

by Luigi Odello

Secretary General of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters, he is also a lecturer at the University of Udine, Verona and at the Cattolica in Piacenza. In addition he is the Chairman of the Taster Study Center and Secretary General of the Italian Espresso National Institute

We are not resented with Coffea canephora, but this time we just can’t help to consider some of its characters that, not only justify its use in our national cup, but make some people consider it necessary. We refer to its dowry to give body to the coffee which is unique for some roasters (especially for those who want to save money and do not want to fight with baristas), but easily substitutable by Arabica of some origins, mature and perfectly roasted for some other roasters.

Just put aside malice and consider only the technical part of the issue: the search of concentrate, thick coffees, almost colloidal. Those coffees that stand with success the horrible sugar test. Are still in fashion or are they as the kind of wine perfect to be tasted but that we do not drink?

Until about twenty years ago we looked for drinkability of wine: it was said that it had to be fresh and fruity. Then slowly the thesis of the major critics arose: fleshy, concentrated, muscular wines.  The companies sacrificed on the altar of economic business all their asset to increase the density of strains in the vineyard, to reduce the amount of water in the must, to build barriques since with a touch of American-woody their wine was "trendy". The result? The reduction of volumes consumed. Indeed, could you dine with an Amarone, an Australian Shiraz or a Chilean Cabernet with an alcohol content around 15%? Now the wine to drink is coming back, most suitable to French and Italian oenology that focus on elegance, not on surprise.

At this point we wonder if it is better to reconsider the coffee, does it really matter to have a "tablet" of coffee frequently having to suffer traces of earth, wet bark, damp basement floor, pharmacy and iodized phoenix usually accompanied by a good astringency? Please go back and teach people the style, offering an Italian espresso with a very fine cream, a taste and touch profile characterised by silkiness and a flavour distinguished by valuable notes of flowers and fresh fruit, and a hint of dried fruit and spices.