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 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.

In November 2008, there will be the second edition of International Coffee Tasting, the only one international competition where coffee is tasted according to the scientific rules of sensory analysis. While for wine there are many competitions and they are now part of its history and tradition, in the coffee sector competitions are often focused on the barista and almost never on the product. Coffee Taster is aimed at promoting a competition between the coffees from all over the world as to highlight the degree of pleasure offered by the product that comes from well renowned areas, that is cultivated with all the necessary attention, thoroughly processed, skilfully selected, properly roasted and, when needed, finely blended. It puts emphasis on the most prestigious products and points out to the consumers the best products available on the market, thus stimulating producers to pursue quality in its most modern sense: customer satisfaction. International Coffee Tasting 2008 will be organised, just as the previous edition, by the International Institute of Coffee Tasters with the technical and scientific support of the Taster Study Center. Single origin coffees or blended, in beans, ground or in single dose for espresso, moka or filter will be admitted to the competition. During the 2006 edition, 81 coffees have been evaluated by three commissions of expert tasters. Medals have been awarded based on threshold scores in full compliance with the competitions rules which established that the coffees which could be awarded a prize had to account for maximum 30% of all participants. It was a very tight competition and some products did not win a medal just for a few tenths of a point. There was a very strict selection that awarded prizes only to high-level products. The announcement of the competition and the application form are available at www.coffeetasters.org. For further information please write to info@coffeetasters.org.

by Carlo Odello

We met Gennaro Pelliccia, Production Technical Manager at Costa, he makes sure that the quality of the coffee they produce is good value-for-money. He started off with Costa as a barista in December 1991, then he joined Gino Amasanti at the Roastery in 1997 after his studies in Mechanical Engineering.

First of all, let’s find out something more about Costa: its history and what it is today.
Costa was set up in London in 1971 by two Italian brothers, Sergio and Bruno Costa. The two of them noticed that there was some demand for good-quality, blended coffee so they started supplying such a product to catering services and specialised Italian coffee shops in the UK. In 1978, the Costa brothers opened up their first store in London. This was the beginning of their expansion with two new selling points being opened every year. In 1988, they moved to a bigger site, in the Old Paradise Street, in the Lambeth area, south of London. In 1995, Costa was acquired by the Whitbread Group: at the time it had 41 stores all around the country. Today it is the leader in its sector and it is also the operator growing at the fastest pace: at present, it has 600 stores in the UK and 222 abroad.

What does the coffee market in the UK look like?
According to April 2007 figures, there are approximately 9.300 stores which comprise branded coffee shops, independent and unspecialised operators. It is assumed that there will by a growth by 4.2% per annum which will lead to having 11.000 stores in 2010. As for branded coffee shops, the big chains market, from 2001 to 2006, there was a 10% growth per annum. At present, there are 2.973 stores of this type in the UK: the market share of the branded chains accounts for 32% of the global British market; this percentage should get up to 37% by 2010.

Do you believe that there is still margin for growth for Costa?
Yes, undoubtedly. Twelve years ago we carried out an investigation that made it clear that the market was open to the creation of places, not dominated by males, as is often the case with pubs, where people could meet. This was the ground on which the further development of Costa was built. There has been a positive growth trend for coffee shops also due to a major change in eating habits in the UK over time. Today people do not eat at home most of the time and tend to prefer quick snacks. This is the reason why the coffee shop is the ideal solution.

Let’s speak about quality in the UK.
No doubts that over the last 10 years espressos and cappuccinos are much better in our country. This is also thanks to the clients. Over the last five years, our most evolved clients – those that, after having been to Italy, asked us to offer products which were to a greater extent Italian-style. In addition, the attitude to the product is different: once upon a time, the espresso was chosen because it was probably the cheapest option on the menu. At the beginning there was also a certain linguistic concern triggered by words the pronunciation of which was deemed to be difficult, e.g. ‘caffè espresso’ or ‘latte macchiato’. Actually, nowadays, it is a real choice, part and parcel of the life-style.

How about the future?
This looking for Italian-style products and for better quality will not cease: whoever will not be able to meet this need will have no chances in the market. The next step will actually be the choice of the coffee shop depending on the quality. Costa has already prepared itself for picking up this challenge in an effective way. We measure ourselves against the parameters set by the Italian Espresso National Institute and we use machines and grinder-dispensers that are certified by the Institute. However, the monitoring is not just downstream, at the coffee shop, it starts well in advance on the entire production cycle.

Back to British consumers, do they tend to be loyal to brands?
They are, first of all, loyal to the experience of taking an espresso or a cappuccino in a certain type of place. For example, several clients of Costa are professionals who stop at the same coffee shop on their way to work or when returning home. Our baristas know their tastes and make them feel as if they were at home by offering a tailor-made service. So the clients are loyal because of that atmosphere and that place which looks familiar to them. The very wide product range gives them satisfaction and plays a role in making them loyal.

What is your view on single-dose coffee pods, and, more in general, on any solution that makes the espresso experience possible without a coffee shop?
In the UK there is for sure a developing market for consumption at home of this type of products, though we must not forget that most of the coffee drank at home is instant coffee. The single-dose coffee pods, or other solutions of this sort, are still not too common neither at home nor at the office. In the UK they are becoming increasingly popular at places that are not specialised in coffee, e.g. pub restaurants, where at the end of a meal some clients simply like to have a cup of coffee. In these places, the low sales volume and the high frequency in staff turnover make it difficult to afford having the proper complete machinery and the blend in the form of beans. This is the reason why they opt for the professional espresso machine with filter-holders for single-dose coffee cartridges. Also in the Costa stores we use this sort of solutions for the decaffeinated and Fair Trade products in order to be able to serve a product which is always fresh.

What is the policy of Costa Coffee on the international stage?
Currently, we have more than 200 stores all over the world: Ireland, Eastern Europe, Middle East, India and Pakistan. For the moment being, we have got no plans to enter Italy where there are already independent and well-rooted suppliers that provide an excellent product to the country. In general, in Italy, branding policies are not too strong yet.