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

Without competition, there can be no improvement. This is a genetics law but it is true also for the business world. However, many companies in the coffee sector are not that keen on competition, especially if it is on the sensory impact of the blends. Think about wine, a product from which coffee should draw inspiration if it wants to a step further towards the life of consumers. There is an incredible number of guides with all sorts of comments – expressed in differing ways – valuations at exaggerated rhythms and competitions with tens of editions left behind.

In our business, the International Institute of Coffee Tasters has recently finalised an unprecedented investigation on quality at the bar: 907 surveys in bars in the entire Italian territory, 20 bars in he city centre of Milan and Rome examined by means of the environment and sensory analysis.

On the one hand, the joy of the winners has been expressed in quiet tones, on the other, the anger of the excluded has been strong to the extent that the poorly appeased acrimony reached the governing bodies of major institutions. We should be happy about this because it is anyhow a reaction which means that something will happen. We would like this to turn into food for thought for everybody on what to do to improve rather than to boil down to plain expression of sorrow.

These are our thoughts while we are busy with the organisation of another big event at an International level: the second edition of International Coffee Tasting. The first edition, in 2006, was a success. Not only in terms of the number of attendees. Some companies bought entire pages on newspapers to advertise the award they won. Other participants asked if it was possible to display the logo of the competition on their product. Let alone the company that received an order of coffee from a big Dutch agent in order to supply 5000 families with the gold medal product.

International Coffee Tasting is the first and only competition in the world of this kind. Its rules are based on the strict rules applied to wine tasting and defined by the International Organisation of Vines and Wine. Expert tasters from the International Institute of Coffee Tasters taste, anonymously, the coffee and the data is processed with the support of the most modern statistics techniques.

What else can be done? Well, we are already aware that the anger of the excluded will show once again.

by Manuela Violoni

Head of R&D and trainer of the Taster Study Center, she is specialised in semiotics and in synaesthesia of marketing. She is the panel leader of the sensory analysis laboratory of the Center and trainer at the International Institute of Coffee Tasters.

The Ethiopian coffee origins, coming from Eastern Africa, are possibly the authentic origin of coffee. According to a certain theory, all the Arabicas of the world come from an area in the west of the country, Kaffa, where the Islamic culture supported the consumption of this non alcoholic and brain-stimulating beverage. Nonetheless, the legend has it that the use and growing of coffee, as we intend it nowadays, have been started by monks from Addis Abeba, who used this beverage to stay awake during the long watches of the night.

The Ethiopia Sidamo derives its name from the area in the south of the country where it is cultivated at an altitude comprised between 1,500 and 1,800 metres. It comes in two varieties, i.e. natural and washed. For the former, the harvest is between October and March; for the latter, between July and December. Export is in different moments of the entire year. Both origins are a blend of small and medium round beans.

The washed Ethiopia Sidamo we tasted is characterised by well-defined and strong positive aromatic notes. The high level of cocoa, similar to the level of the Brazil Santos or the famous Jamaica Blue Mountain, goes hand in hand with a very strong flower and honey note followed by a pleasant touch of dried fruit (chestnut, almond, walnut and pistachio). The spicy notes of tea, liquorice, tobacco, and rhubarb can be sensed alongside the sensations of fine herbs. There is also a nice sensation of toasted, caramel and cereals as well as a slight balsamic note of mint, anise and alpine herbs. The burnt sensation is quite soft and, positive note, the negative odours which stand for a poor processing and stocking are very soft. The only exception is a touch of animal – in the area of the sweating horse, wet hair, leather and sweat – which gives that wild something. Even more in the background, there is just a smell of lime and, almost unperceivable, of mould. This coffee offers several pleasant and unexpected surprises.

by Roberto Zironi

He is professor of Food Industries at the University of Udine and president of the Department of Food Science in the same University. In addition, he is the chair of the scientific committee of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters and vice-president of the International Academy of Sensory Analysis.

The definition of specific markers which describe a coffee all throughout the production process makes it possible to monitor and optimize both its hygienic-sanitary and sensorial quality so that levels of acceptability can be set and anomalies in the composition of the final aroma can be spotted.

Among the various components which contribute to the creation of the aromatic profile of a coffee it is not easy to establish which of them can be defined as markers of quality in that it is necessary to mediate between the characteristics seen as related to the specific coffee and the place of origin and the market needs.

In order to identify the markers of quality for coffee it is necessary to examine the components which determine the positive aromatic characteristics typical of a specific coffee along with the components generated during the roasting process. The point is that while the flaws, as explained in the previous issue of Coffee Taster, come from a few chemical species, the positive elements are the result of the interaction of tens or hundreds of different molecules. Currently, the specialists are trying to identify the individual markers of quality or the simple connections between the elements transformed during the roasting process.

The chemical compounds that produce such distinguishing features are present in the raw material and they undergo major transformations during the roasting process which not only occasion significant transformation of the individual original compounds, but also combines them creating synergies and antagonisms which contribute to determining the final aroma of the beverage.

It is important to note what follows:

• the body is given by fats, macromolecules and colloids;
• the perceived acidity is given by the aliphatic volatile and non volatile acids, chlorogenic acids, phenol acids and inorganic acids;
• the bitterness comes from compounds such as caffeine, trigonelline and chlorogenic as well as chinic acids;
• the sweetness comes from the sugar compounds still present after the roasting process;
• the fruity and flowery notes typical of coffees from south America are given by aldehydes, ketones and alyphates.

Moreover, there are several other sets of compounds which contribute to the overall aroma, for instance the furnas – which give the caramel note, pyrazines – toasted note, tiazoli, pyrroles, phenols and thiophenes.

The ratios between such compounds have an impact on quality. For example, the ratio between 4-vinilguaiacol and 4-etilguaiacol, elements which – taken on their own – are characterised by markedly different aromatic notes, is responsible for distinguishing traits, in terms of aroma, of the Arabica and Robusta.

In collaboration with: E.Cossio, F.Battistutta

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

The coffee production cycle is long and, especially, all too often there is no contact between the various stages: whoever harvests the beans in the tropical countries rarely has an idea of how they will be processed and of the expectations of the final consumer.
We want to focus on this last element in that coffee, a successful one, in the future must be able to satisfy the desires of the consumers. It must be said that satisfying expectations is something that goes from the ritual modality to the place where you drink coffee. Having said this, the most important aspect is sensory trends.
Resorting to the ten points identified by the Taster Study Centre, we can try and define the profile of the winning coffee.

Increase in the number of taste-aware people
In future we will have more and more time availability and a part of this will lead to an increase in the number of taste-aware people. The sort of people who attend courses to regain their ability to make autonomous choices through an effective use of sense organs. We can see this trend already: just come to think about the 5.000 people who attended the courses of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters. The increase of such people will, as a consequence, bring about a more demanding research for the satisfaction of the pleasure that can come from coffee. Ultimately, this will mean that people will point out to each other the good and bad products available on the market. The quality-minded companies will have a certain alley, all the others will be penalised.

Evolution of the analytical approach to taste
The increasing conviction of the inability to have a role in handling the major social issues will lead individuals to create for themselves some micro cosmos where they can find self-confidence, self-satisfaction and, in general, rewards. The small pleasures in life will become increasingly important and coffee is, undoubtedly, one of these. Greater attention will be devoted to the quality of what we drink and people will want to match taste and knowledge so that they can boast their specific competence.

Decline of gender differences
Males and females will be more and more similar in terms of tastes and, ultimately, of consumption. Coffee will become a way of getting together and the places where to drink it will become a sort of a stage of social life. This will be the background against which new rituals and sensory experiences will be sought for.

Looking for the lost sensory experience
We do not know to what extent this is true but many people say that coffee no longer has the aroma it used to, that intense and varied smell that you could find everywhere inside the bar. The diffusion of consumption systems that pay less attention to the olfactory quality – take automatic machines – and of a certain type of blends for home use – where, when you are lucky, only the aroma of roasted beans dominates – have deprived the consumer of an effective offer to a demand which, probably, has its origins in our genes. Well, the future will be characterised by a wealth of individuals looking for these sensory experiences.

Back to genuine aromas
Power, perfection, deepness: these are the three distinguishing qualities of an excellent cup of coffee. The Italian espresso owes a bit of its international success to these expectations of the consumer, even if they are unconscious. It is a strong sum of aromas and, when these are good, they are at the heart of a sublime moment of sensory satisfaction.
The preparation method is important because it can extract the very best from a blend but there is always the other face of the coin: if the blend is of poor quality, the negative sides of it will be even more noticeable compared with extracting via softer methods (e.g. filter and moka pot).
The return to genuine aromas will also reduce the trend to some experiences, such as aromatisation of coffee, whilst producing an increase of traditional matches, i.e. with milk or, in some cultures, with distillates.

The floral goes universal
Floral is the smell of life itself and is climbing the stairs of appreciation. In the coffee it finds its best expression in the varieties ripened at high altitudes – where the difference in temperature between day and night is sharper – subject to wet processing and then left for fermentation in pure and fresh waters. The not-too-strongly-roasted blends which have high quantities of the floral aroma will benefit from this and the same goes for consumption of pure varieties, single-origins which are becoming increasingly popular in Italy.

Decline of the fruity
The fruity aroma is one of the big favourites in that it is a promise of easily absorbable energy sources. Over time, in the industrial economies, it has been widely used to make products such as drugs more pleasant, hence being associated to negative things. In the coffee it almost always goes hand in hand with the floral and it is less strong than other sensations, consequently it will have no influence on consumption.

Cultural contaminations
Globalisation will produce a parallel and transversal flattening off of different consumption methods. If, till yesterday, Italy drank espresso and the US the filter coffee, already now, but especially tomorrow, the Americans will want espresso and Italians will be looking for other preparation methods. The segmentation between the various types will happen depending on the time of day: a long coffee for the morning, might be a single-origin, an espresso at the mid-morning break, a moka after lunch, for example.
The popularity of machines that are fed with coffee in beans, making it possible to have different preparations, will support this trend. And coffee will become more and more a ritual and always less of a habit.

Looking for softness
The world needs caresses. Therefore, from a tactile point of view, the coffee will be required to be more and more silky and absolutely astringent. The Italian espresso prepared with good-quality blends will be better positioned because it will have body, it will be syrup-like and creamy. Beverages such as cappuccino, which due to their nature have a remarkable tactile tenderness, will be rewarded. And with cream being criticised because of health issues, it will be up to traditional genuine beverages to satisfy the need for softness.

Looking for sensory consistency
Even if the consumer is not an expert taster, her/his subconscious verifies the level of consistency between the perceptions given by the various sense organs or between the perceptions of a different nature given by the same sense. In the coffee, the floral/fruity must keep a certain relationship with the roasted/spicy, the acidity with the bitterness, the bitterness and the roasted note with the colour of the creamy froth. From a coffee prepared with filter or moka, nobody expects neither the creamy froth nor the syrup-like touch, while for an espresso this is of paramount importance. And you name it.

Final observations
To wrap up, the coffee for the future will be the type of coffee capable of satisfying both taste and knowledge, the ritual moments and the needs of the life torn between increasingly hectic working styles and the desire to enjoy leisure time and, especially, through the little pleasures and the time we devote to ourselves. For coffee, if satisfactory from a sensory point of view, we can imagine what follows:

• a new interest in single-origin varieties;
• increase in consumption of coffee in beans both at home and at the workplace thanks to the new machines which make it possible to immediately grind coffee and prepare different types of it;
• greater use of single-dose coffee both at home and at the workplace;
• survival of traditional methods, e.g. the moka pot in Italy, which leave margins for a remarkable rituality and enable an adequate use of single-origin varieties;
• growth of Italian espresso in the world.

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

The espresso taken at the coffe shop is one of the few products of the ‘Bel Paese’, Italy, associated with the idea of pleasure that you pay for all the same, be it good or bad. Actually, its price depends more on the geography – in the South of Italy it is cheaper – than on the degree of pleasure it can give.
Hear this out: two coffee shops in the Loreto area in Milan; both nice and rather big in size. The first one is Bar Gatto, with tables outdoors. I step inside an there is a sparkling counter behind which is a shiny Faema positioned in a way that makes it possible for the barista never to turn his back on the clients. I ask for a coffee and promptly the barista prepares it with the machine. I am not able to fully see the operations he is performing but it seems to me that he is doing things professionally. Here comes the first surprise: after having finished his job he comes round to me and says: “Listen, I prepared two cups because I will drink one myself, just choose the one you like most”. Believe me, for a second I thought I was not really in Milan. I give a look at the two espressos, in one of them there is a white spot – the same old story: the two exits of the filter-holder never give you two identical coffees – and so I go for the other one. Nice hazel-shade creamy froth with a fine texture, the smell is flowery. To the palate it is silky, with a fine balance between bitter and acid and then it develops a complex aroma in which you can distinguish the toasted bread, the cocoa, dried fruit and nuts. I ask for the name of the blend because I cannot possibly spot it: Prestige by Covim. I say that the coffee is nice, sit there and chat for a while and then I pay: € 0,80.
I carry on my tour in the various coffee shops looking for the sort of quality in the espresso that has been defined by the International Institute of Coffee Tasters and shortly after I walk in another elegant coffee shops with an attractive name: Bar del Corso. Once again, the staff is polite. I start speaking about the price of a cup of coffee in Milan, a very popular topic at the time. They guarantee they will not increase it till the moment the supplier will increase the price of the blend. I ask for a coffee and immediately the bar tender removes the filter holder from a nice Cimbali, he fills it with a strong stroke, he presses it with energy, he wipes any coffee grounds off the rim of the filter, he fastens it and observes the coffee while it pours in the cup and stops the machine at the right moment. No doubts that he knows what he is doing and he is professional.
He hands the coffee over to me and I observe it. The colour of the creamy froth is right but the texture is rather coarse. The notes of straw, dry grass and wet earth are clear to the nose. To the palate, it is thick and has a good body but as you swallow it the tongue becomes rough and the interior of the cheeks wrinkles. With regard to sensations perceived at the back of the throat, the notes are just the same notes perceived by the nose but even stronger and more annoying. I pay for it: € 0,90. I keep in my mind the name of the blend: Hardy. I then head to the following bar but I am accompanied by an astringent sensation that does not want to leave my mouth. I hope I will be able to find something better but I no longer want to have any more coffee and I am afraid I will not be able to be a fair judge for the sample I will taste.

by Manuela Violoni

Head of R&D and trainer of the Taster Study Center, she is specialised in semiotics and in synaesthesia of marketing. She is the panel leader of the sensory analysis laboratory of the Center and trainer at the International Institute of Coffee Tasters.

Right on the Atlantic Ocean, with more than 180 million inhabitants, Brazil is the world leader in coffee production.
The history of coffee in Brazil dates back to the Eighteenth century when the Botanic Garden of Amsterdam, after having received a plant of Java coffee, only a few years later, sent its seeds to Suriname. The French themselves sent those seeds to the French Guinea in 1718 and from here the coffee reached Brazil.
The Brazilian origins, just like many other origins, are classified according to a set of criteria among which: the botanical species (Arabica and Robusta – or Conillon), the number of defects, the size of the bean (screening), the processing method (dry or wet), the taste, the year of harvest, the geographic origin. With regard to the geographic origin, Santos comprises the origins produced in the States of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and, sometimes, Paranà, i.e. those origins that historically have been exported through the Santos harbour.
The harvesting in Santos begins in June and export starts in July. Based on the classification defined by the NY, the Santos is of the type 2/3 (9 flaws), screen 17/18. It belongs to the group ICO natural Arabica. This coffee is a good match to the Robusta quality.
The strongest aromatic note of this coffee is undoubtedly the cocoa, with its chocolate nuances: the intensity of this smell is almost identical to that of the famous Jamaica Blue Mountain. The difference with the Jamaica Blue Mountain is that it has a stronger – medium intensity – burnt note (ash and coal). The marked merit of this coffee compared to others is in its floral aroma, decidedly clear, with sensations of honey and beeswax. Also the fruity aroma is rather good: fresh and dried fruits, with a peak on the nuts (walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts), finish off the picture of a nice Arabica – difficult to believe that it is not wet process. Other positive notes can be sensed: the fine herbs, for example, accompanied by sensations of tee, liquorice, tobacco and similar spicy notes, but also all those toasted notes such as caramel, cereals, toasted bread and biscuit. A touch of green (comprising the grassy, the artichoke, the tomato, the cooked vegetables, and the bitter grass) comes in, but with lower levels compared to other origins. The same goes for an almost unperceivable sensation of mouldy. While, more than in others, but very much in the background, there is a bit of a plastic note. This is a coffee characterised by a good range and amplitude of aromas and by an overall low presence of negative odours.

by Sergio Cantoni, chairman of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters

In 2007 the International Institute of Coffee Tasters (Iiac) celebrates its 15th anniversary. Its results are flattering: more than 5.000 registered members from all five continents, more than 500 ‘didactic’ events in most European countries – but also Japan and South America – a book on coffee tasting methods which has been translated into English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian – and will be soon translated into Japanese and Korean, tens of tasting sessions and at least as many conferences.
All this makes us proud and it is, first and foremost, the reason which lead the Iiac to promote this newsletter: we have important messages that we want to put across to a world that is rapidly changing. Indeed, coffee is no longer a mere commodity for an inattentive consumer. On the contrary, it actually is a beverage that is brilliantly matching knowledge and taste.
We are taking our distance from the idea of the species and the origins seen as generalisations of quality. The values coming from the combination between territory and sensory characteristics of the finished product are now being devoted new attention. Put it in other words, luckily enough, the times when the consumer asks the supplier to know more about the product, where it comes from, its composition and how it is prepared and, afterwards, comes up with a severe verdict by resorting to sensory abilities are now at the horizon. The espresso is no longer only made in Italy; whenever it is called “Italian” it must have specific characteristics, otherwise, it will just be an espresso from Seattle or somewhere else. The moka coffee will no longer be the classic brick that takes you up in paradise (thinking about the ad running on TVs), it will become increasingly a blend qualified by a specific narrative thread. In the wake of this, those who do not keep themselves always up-to-date and at high professional levels will lose their competitiveness. Our ambition, with Coffee Taster, is to make our small contribution to this sort of evolution which involves us directly. Therefore, this newsletter will deal with topical subjects and scientific research with an eye to sensory analysis. As Galileo used to say, there is no knowledge without the sensory experience.