New certification sessions for Italian Espresso and for Espresso Italiano Trainers will take place in Brescia (Italy) from the 27th to the 30th October 2014, just after the international exhibition Triestespresso.

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 27th and 28th October and are valid for the Inei’s certification Italian Espresso.

The certification programme for Espresso Italiano Trainers will immediately follow on the 29th and 30th 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 100 Espresso Italiano Trainers in the world.

For more information, please download the PDF or write to carlo.odello@italiantasters.com.

We are pleased to announce that Scae invited the International Institute of Coffee Tasters (Iiac) to hold a seminar about the methodology of tasting Italian espresso at the upcoming World of Coffee in Rimini.

The seminar Espresso Italiano Experience will be held on the 10th June (10–12 AM) in the cupping room by Carlo Odello, member of the board of the Iiac, communications manager for the Inei (Italian Espresso National Institute) and founder of the Ibs (Italian Barista School). He will talk about the scientific tasting method developed to assess the quality of a cup of Italian espresso. Participants will thus learn how to use the Italian Espresso Sensory Map and the tasting sheet developed by the Inei for its certification program for Italian coffee roasters, machines and grinders manufacturers and baristas.

For more information and reserve your seat, please contact Julie Barwick, Scae Education Development Coordinator, at julie@scae.com or visit http://scae.com/news/scae-notices/919-exclusive-first-look-world-of-coffee-workshops.html

The International Institute of Coffee Tasters (Iiac), which for over twenty years has dedicated its work to the tasting of Italian espresso coffee, actively collaborating in the promotion of this product with the Italian Espresso National Institute, has now strengthened its presence in Asia with the opening of two new branches in Korea and Taiwan.

Over the past two years, the educational and promotional campaigns of the Institute in these two countries has seen significant growth in the numbers of local tasters. This area now boasts an impressive number of 38 Espresso Italiano Trainers, instructors with the task of promoting the culture of Italian espresso coffee through ongoing and varied educational activities. Alongside these figures, there are the Italian instructors who regularly hold sensory analysis courses in Seoul and Taichung.

“The creation of these branches in Korea and Taiwan will provide these two countries with more organisational autonomy, and represents another step forward for our work – commented Luigi Odello, Chairman of Iiac – These two new branches can now be added to the Japanese branch in Tokyo, now active for six years, thereby reinforcing the network that in Asia alone has nearly 700 tasters, many of whom have now reached advanced training levels”.

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.

After last year’s lucky first edition, Coffee Experience is back, the largest coffee tasting event in the world. It will be held from the 8th to the 12th of April in Verona,at the Agrifood Club, the salon hosted within Vinitaly, the most important exhibition dedicated to wines and distillates. Even this year it will be possible to taste 35 different coffees available for the over 100,000 visitors that every year come to the exhibition in Verona.

"Last year we reached more than 7,000 tasting cards – says Luigi Odello, president of the Italian Tasters, VeronaFiere’s partner in the event – A precious amount of data that has evidenced industry trends. This year’s second edition will be an further test to verify the public’s tastes and preferences".

"Coffee Experience also represents a showroom of international importance for participating companies – continues Odello – The presence of foreign buyers and operators is in fact strong, strategic presence in a moment in which attention for expresso is growing abroad, and which in some nations has even surpassed traditional preparations".

Coffee Experience benefits the patronage of the Italian Espresso National Institute and of International Institute of Coffee Tasters.

The roasters that would like to participate with one or more products can write to claudia.ferretti@italiantasters.com or call 030 397308.

The competition rules and the application form for the International Coffee Tasting 2010 are now avaiable on the website of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters.

The International Coffee Tasting 2010 is an international competition for single or mixed origin coffee, in beans, powder or single dose forms, for espresso, mocha or filter coffee. It will be held in Italy on October 26-27 and is organised by the International Institute of Coffee Tasters with the cooperation of the Centro Studi Assaggiatori (Italian Tasters).

The International Coffee Tasting proposes:

• to create a competition between coffees from throughout the world in order to emphasize the hedonic quality of the product which comes from particularly gifted areas and which is carefully grown, expertly selected, knowledgeably roasted and then, whenever appropriate, masterfully blended;
• to emphasis quality production by indicating to consumers the best products on the market;
• to stimulate producers to follow a quality path in its most modern definition: i.e. customer satisfaction.

For more information, just visit the website or send an email to info@coffeetasters.org.