New plant for Cma (Astoria and Wega) The new Cma, company that produces over 30,000 professional espresso machines – sold with the Astoria and Wega brands – each year, plant has been inaugurated. On its 40,000 square metres surface there are 4 production lines featuring lean manufacturing technologies. This is an industrial philosophy which belongs to the Toyota system and it is aimed at minimising – and actually getting rid of – all forms of wasting. This makes it possible to rationalise work flows and procedures for assembling the machines as well as to considerably increase productivity with a positive impact on overall efficiency.
Pellini partner in the Overland expedition Pellini Caffè took part in the Paris-Beijing expedition, the latest one organised by the Overland team, which will be soon broadcasted by RAI, the Italian national public television. One-hundred years after the competition won by the Prince Scipione Borghese on board of the legendary Itala, Pellini Caffè has accompanied the 4 Iveco lorries used for the expedition right to the heart of the Chinese Republic (the convoy covered in two months time a distance of 14.000 Km and crossed 11 countries). Recently, the Taiwanese importer and supplier of Pellini Caffè, You Chang Trading Co. Ltd, has opened an office in Shanghai.
This is how the nose talks to the brain How is the life-long connection between nose and brain created during the embryonic stage? The answer comes from a Telethon scientific research which also sheds light on the mechanisms of a rare genetic disease, i.e. the Kallmann syndrome, characterised, among other symptoms, loss of the sense of smell (anosmia) and severe reproduction deficits. The nerve endings start in the nose and, in order to go in the brain, must cross a border area which is a sort of barrier. Giorgio Merlo, a researcher from the Telethon Dulbecco Institute and his colleagues from the department of animal and human biology at the University of Turin have found out that some specialised cells act as if they were guards. This means that these cells are able to recognise the approaching signals sent by the nerves and they trigger a lowering of the barrier so that such signals can reach the brain. This takes place during the embryonic stage and creates the connection between the olfactory cells (which detect smells) and the brain (which processes them).
The photo exhibition of Illycaffè “From the beginning” in London The 6th of October was the closing day of the photo exhibition “From the beginning”. The photos by Sebastião Salgado have been taken in Illycaffè plantations in order to describe the culture of coffee in the countries where it is produced and to illustrate the various stages of the processing process. The exhibition has been organised in partnership with Amazonas Images, Contrasto and NBpictures and with the support of the International Coffee Organization and of the Embassy of Brazil in London.
Caffè Mokarico obtains the ethical-social quality certification Caffè Mokarico, from Florence, is the first roaster in the world that can boast three different certifications on environment protection, sustainable development and social accountability. It already had the ISO 9001 and the ISO 14001 certification and now it has received the SA 8000 (Ethical) certification for the company’s commitment to the fight against exploitation of child labour, to guarantying health and safety on the workplace, to the respect of human rights and workers’ rights with the support of all people involved in the production process and sales.
Enquiry of coffee tasters at the coffee shop The enquiry on the quality of coffee at the coffee shop, promoted by the International Institute of Coffee Tasters, has been kicked off. The tasters who are working all around Italy have already handed back several tasting cards. The tasters, apart from evaluating the coffee according to the strict method of the Institute, must fill in a tasting card which focuses on some of the most important aspects of coffee consumption other than the degree of pleasure perceived by the individual. This sort of investigation is complemented by a full-blown sensorial evaluation which is also focused on the analysis of the bar environment. To this purpose, twenty bars in the centre of Rome and Milan have been selected and analysed by judges – coffee experts – qualified in sensorial analysis. This research is supported by Altroconsumo, the first independent consumers association in Italy.
New certification sessions for Italian Espresso and for Espresso Italiano Trainers will take place in Italy from the 19th to the 22nd October 2015, just before the international trade show Host.
