For two days judges from various countries tasted and assessed coffee from all over the world

Brescia, 7 november – The fourth edition of the International Coffee Tasting held in Brescia on the 29th and 31st October has closed. Coffees from all around the world have been challenging each other. 26 judges from 11 countries were given the task of assessing as many as 113 coffees from 13 countries: the winning products of the competition were chosen from a truly international selection (Editor’s note: the list is below).

"The winning coffees possess an exceptionally wide range of aromas – commented Luigi Odello, president of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters and Professor of Sensory Analysis at various Italian and foreign universities – accompanied by a bold but round and smooth body".

Among the competing products there were also coffee pods and capsules, a phenomenon which has increasingly grown in recent years. It is very interesting to observe how these coffees come very close to perform as espresso, but are still not able to reach its silkiness, rich body and powerful aroma.

"It is equally interesting to see how non Italian espresso roasters are progressing – concluded Odello – Many of them are definitely trying to align themselves with the Italian style ".

The competition sponsors were Wega Macchine per Caffè, Luigi Bormioli and Compak. The competition also enjoyed the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies and of the International Academy of Sensory Analysis.

The winners of International Coffee Tasting 2012 (ex aequo, in alphabetic order with the name of the winning product in brackets)

Espresso – Italian blends

•  Costadoro, Turin (Coffee Lab)
• Esperia Distribuzione, Monza Brianza (Caffè Milano)
• G.I.Fi.Ze, Bologna (Club Kavè)
• Holly di Ulivieri Raffaele, Perugia (Bar 100% Arabica)
• Italcaffè, La Spezia (Excelso Bar)
• La Genovese, Savona (Caffè Anniversario Metal Box)
• La Genovese, Savona (Caffè Qualità Royal)
• Milani, Como (Milani Gran Espresso)
• Mokaor, Vercelli (Intenso)
• Omkafè, Trento (Superbar blend)
• Taurocaf di Alberto & Anzola, Turin (Caffè Alberto Pappagallo Rosso Blend)
• Torrefazione Caffè Gran Salvador, Brescia (100% Arabica CE)
• Torrefazione Caffè Gran Salvador, Brescia (100% Arabica N)
• Torrefazione Caffè Roen, Verona (Espresso Bendinelli – 100% Arabica Gourmet)
• Torrefazione dei F.lli Morandini, Brescia (Maxima Blend 100% Arabica)
• Torrefazione El Miguel, Varese (La Cafferia – Portofino)
• Torrefazione Olimpica, Rieti (Faraglia Espresso Barrique)
• Torrefazione S. Salvador, Sondrio (Super Bar)

Espresso – Non Italian blends or single origins

• Cafés Dromedario, Spain (Dromedario Colombia Nariño Supremo "El Tambo")
• Cafés Dromedario, Spain (Pozo Artesania)
• Cafés Dromedario, Spain (Tostadora Natural Hosteleria)
• Caffè Principe, Germany (Ottanta)
• Droga Kolinska, Slovenia (Barcaffè Bar)
• Gourmet Coffee Roasters, South Africa (Häzz)
• Milano Coffee, Canada (Espresso # 1)
• P & F Coffee, Thailand (P & F Espresso Blend)
• P & F Coffee, Thailand (P & F Splendid Blend)
• Peaberry, Thailand (House Blend Coffee Roasted)
• Peaberry, Thailand (Roadster Blend Coffee Roasted)

Coffee pods and capsules

• Caffè Agust, Brescia (Natura Equa Biofairtrade capsule)
• Mocoffee, Switzerland (Bel Canto – Strato Coffee Machine)
• Torrefazione Caffè Roen, Verona (Monodose Capsule)

Coffee for non-professional automatic coffee machines

• Milani, Como (Milani Guatemala Antigua El Pulcal)

The 2011 Professional Master of Coffee Science and Sensory Analysis will be held in Brescia (Italy) from June 27 to July 1. The Professional Master will be taught in English.

The goal of this Professional Master is of providing, through sensory analysis, criteria and practical application tools for orientating production, along the whole production process, towards the achievement of a product able to ensure customers’ maximum pleasure.

Practical training will explain and illustrate the tools for recognizing through senses qualities and defects in the cup, how to obtain maximum sensory potential in extraction at the coffee shop, sensory analysis tests for assessing quality and stability of production result and, finally, sensory analysis data and the specific tests for fast selection of green coffee, roasting and blending methods, supported by scientific confidence. The whole with the aim of achieving consumers’ best satisfaction at cup stage.

More information: please download the form.

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

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

For the moment being it’s a niche, but we believe it’s bound to become big. We are speaking about single origin coffees. A recent investigation conducted by the University of Padova highlighted that also consumers are able to distinguish between a blend and single origin coffee. In this case too, from a sensory point of view, the winner, with statistically relevant results, was the blend. This clearly means that our roasters are truly very good at choosing coffees from all over the world, at making each type express its best characteristics and at creating unbeatable blends. However, there has been a genuine interest for single origins and this makes us think that this trend will lead to having a coffee menu at restaurants, a better-aware consumption of coffee at the coffee shop and to valuing the ritual of coffee at home.

The debate must be a serious one. Otherwise, the origin simply turns into a meaningless coat of arms thus losing its natural value. In this respect, the first thing to do is focus on how the issue is currently tackled: mentioning the origin conveys a false sense of homogeneity. Basically, when the end users read on a package “Brazil”, they immediately think that all the coffee from this big producer has its own common and homogeneous characteristics; specific features which make it possible to distinguish it from other coffees. This is not the case. But even when we speak about Guatemala Antigua, which is more specific, we cannot claim that there are specific traits which make it easy to distinguish it from other coffees of the same category. More than that, roasting methods have a major impact on the final result, something similar to the crucial influence that the fermentation technique has on the grapes and the type of wine. Put it in other words, we could have greater sensory differences between two coffees from Costa Rica which went through different types of roasting procedures compared to the differences between a Costa Rica and an Ethiopia which have been roasted in the same way.

So, if for wines there is Barbera (vine variety) of the Monferrato (area) of a certain producer, we should have something very similar for coffee. It is extremely important to never neglect the brand which conveys its philosophy and know-how to the final product. If we really want to value this new market segment, then the product should come with some explanatory notes on the specific characteristics of the origin, on the roasting methods and on the sensory traits that can be spotted when drinking the product from the cup. The info provided should be correct and mirror reality, it should not be general and some sort of poetry coming from creativity. A lot of work must be done on this: we are spotting severe mistakes with taste being mixed up with aromas and, especially, there is no correspondence between what is written and what is highlighted with sensory analysis. This disappoints the consumer and jeopardises not only the credibility of the reference but also of the entire market segment.