The programme of workshops, seminars, meetings and tasting sessions at Host is a busy one indeed, as intense and diverse as the beverage that is their subject. The series of initiatives on offer will explore in depth all the many and varied aspects of the world of coffee.
The workshops organised in the Coffee District space by CPC, the Coffee Promotion Consortium, a body that brings together the main firms that produce and trade in various types of coffee (roasted, decaffeinated, instant and in capsules) with UCIMAC, the association of espresso coffee machine and bar equipment manufacturers, are of the highest level.
The four busy sessions, with contributions from Italy’s biggest coffee roasting concerns illycaffè and Lavazza, and a number of big names from abroad, such as Square Mile Coffee Roasters – here to assess the new challenges of single-portion speciality coffee – will see the participation of experts like Patrick Hoffer, president of CPC; Maurizio Giuli, president of UCIMAC, who will discuss the markets with the biggest growth potential; Giandomenico De Franco of Competitive Data, who will illustrate trends in the single-portion market; Luigi Morello of SCAE and president Paul Stack; market data expert David Moorhouse of ICO; and Marco Anya of Allegra, who will identify key trends.
There will be other academic talks from Jonathan Morris of Hertfordshire University and Luigi Bonizzi of Milan University. Meanwhile, Lino Alberini of Misterlino will focus on services and motivations, while the raw material that forms the basis of the whole industry will be at the centre of the contribution from Massimo Battaglia of the Agronomic Institute of Florence.
Rhi Sausi of the Latin American Institute will speak on the subject of sustainable projects and Tanadej Kamonchan of Coffee T&I Magazine will talk about the history of coffee and tea in the Orient.
Francesco Torrigiani of Oxfam will offer an account of how the market has evolved in Italy over the last three years, and Massimiliano Fabian of Demus will look at the decaffeinated market, and issues of sustainability and research.
Enrico Finzi of Astra Ricerche will give a paper on a major investigation of coffee consumption in Italy and Angela Borghi of TradeLab will analyse the role of coffee in the out-of-home food and drink market. Finally, training will come under the spotlight in a contribution from Luigi Odello, of the Centre for Coffee-tasting Studies, and Massimo Barbieri of Burger King will address the subject of coffee from the point of view of the big business client.
Then there is the whole area of learning through tasting, and an opportunity for this will be given in the Coffee District, structured as a sophisticated “brew bar”, organised by Andrej Godina (in the picture), SCAE trainer and coffee expert, and three times barista champion of Italy Francesco Sanapo.
“For the first time we will be demonstrating to the general public the tasting method used by professionals known as ‘cupping’,” Godina says. “10 grammes of the blend are poured into a cappuccino cup, hot water is poured over it and it is left to infuse until it reaches the tasting temperature of 60°. Unlike espresso, which is a beverage with quite different chemical and organoleptic properties, cupping gives the opportunity to evaluate more directly the blend’s particular qualities of taste and aroma.”
The tastings, which will be held every hour, will in each case be devoted to a different macro-area, country or an individual coffee-growing estate that has brought the best of their production. “And to show off Italian tradition in the best light, we will also have special tasting moments devoted to espresso twice a day,” Godina adds.
And there are still more coffee-themed moments to look forward to: What it Takes to be Great: WCE All-Stars is the name of the event with which WCE, World Coffee Events, will bring to Host2015 the winners of the 2015 world barista championships, featuring celebrity personalities involved in the sector who will be demonstrating their skills, describing their experiences and illustrating the expertise needed to achieve greatness in the world of coffee.
And SCAE, Speciality Coffee Association of Europe, will be present with a series of interviews and the Barista Bonanza demonstrations and educational presentations in two locations: the Coffee Stage, with 45-minute seminars on types of coffee and discussions of questions of an economic and commercial nature, and a second location where famous baristas will hold tastings of special coffees from around the world.
