MILAN, Italy– Neapolitan-style made with a mocha coffee machine, Turkish coffee, French coffee made with a French press, or using the drip method so popular in Northern Europe and North America – or Italian-style with an espresso machine.
Coffee is possibly the most popular hot drink in the world and many many cultures have worked out their own particular way of extracting the heavenly elixir from the roasted coffee beans.
Nowadays, in a global scenario where the level of cultural exchange is constantly on the rise, people from different coffee cultures are swapping ideas about methods and tastes, making the coffee world even more exciting and dynamic.
And the place where the whole world gets together to talk about the new trends is SIC – the International Coffee Event being staged at HostMilano, the two-yearly International Hospitality Exhibition scheduled at Fieramilano in Milan, from Friday October 23rd to Tuesday October 27th 2015.
At SIC all the various facets of the coffee universe will be there, with a selected number of coffee roasters, coffee importers, coffee producers, coffee-cup and accessory suppliers, together with trade professionals representing the five continents, and the number is constantly growing.
This year, the show is attracting much higher numbers than in 2013, strengthening its role as an outstanding meeting-place for the top companies on a global scale.
These include: Ancap, Andaluza De Cafes, Arc, Blaser Trading, Brambati, Cafes Malongo, Cafes Novell, Caffè Cagliari, Caffè Carraro, Caffè Diemme, Caffè Molinari, Caffè Moreno, Caffè Ottolina, Caffitaly System, Casa Del Caffè Vergnano, Club Kavè – Filicori Zecchini, Corsino Corsini, Costadoro, Covim, Danesi Caffè, Gimoka, Goppion Caffè, Hardy, Hausbrandt Trieste 1892, illycaffè, Imperator, I.p.a. Industria Porcellane, Kimbo, Lavazza, Loring Smartroast, Moka Sirs, Neuhaus Neotec, Nordic Approach, Opem, Pelican Rouge Coffee Roasters, Pellini Caffè, Probat-Werke, Sandalj Trading Company, Segafredo Zanetti Coffee System, Torrefazione Portioli and Trismoka.
Because, although people in almost every corner of the world have invented their own way of making coffee, each type is reliant on the roasting method which is most effective and which best enhances the taste of the most suitable blends or single origin beans selected for the purpose. And new tastes require new periods of experimentation: third wave coffee roasters, high-quality micro-roasters specializing in small batches of coffee, are undergoing a true renaissance, and have decided that SIC is the perfect platform to make themselves known to an international audience.
“The Italian roasting scenario is made up of a longstanding number of small-scale companies: out of a total of more than 800 companies, 80%-85% are small firms.
This scenario is undergoing a profound evolution,” explains Patrick Hoffer, Chairman of CPC – the Coffee Promotion Consortium, a partner of Host2015, which, along with UCIMAC, the sector of ASSOFOODTEC representing Italian manufacturers of espresso coffee machines and equipment for bars, will be organizing a training program ranging from the presentation of data and research to contributions from experts and practical demonstrations.
Amongst other things, the area will be showcasing 9 microroasters, newly evolving companies, small coffee roasting firms just coming to the fore, who will be bringing with them their new dimension of the coffee culture.
The aim is to enable trade professionals to share knowledge and information, bring coffee roasters and roasting-machine manufacturers together, integrating the Italian approach with experience of total quality geared to all the markets.
“As well as the small traditional coffee roasters,” Hoffer continues, “whose real strength lies in their artisanal know-how, roasters of a new generation are now emerging, micro-roasters, who are bringing a new aspect of the coffee culture to our attention.
In particular, consumers are increasingly sensitive about where coffee comes from and, in the case of the most highly-prized varieties, we can say that a concept similar to that of the ‘terroir’ of great wines is emerging.
During the last few years, this trend has been spreading even more among the public at large, thanks partly to marketing operations on the part of multi-national coffee-pod and coffee-capsule manufacturers, and chains of coffee-shops.”
The mind-boggling program of events planned in the macro-area includes thrilling displays by world champions in What it Takes to Be Great – WCE All-Stars: at WCE All Stars, the champion baristas of 2015 will be hosting interactive sessions which include performances on request and visual demonstrations, hinging on their various areas of expertise: latte art, manual preparation, tasting and sensorial skills.
The new trends like specialty coffee will be the focus of the workshops jointly organized with SCAE, the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe, which will be attending HOST at two separate stations under the slogan ‘Barista Bonanza’. The Coffee Stage will be hosting sessions by selected experts whereas, at the second station, baristas of world caliber will be making special coffees from all over the world for visitors to taste and enjoy.
On the other hand, the ultimate challenge for ‘Latte Art’ artists will be the Milano Latte Art Challenge organized by Trismoka: 12 baristas will pit their skills against each other in 9 different categories, ranging from traditional ‘drawings’ to much more complex techniques.
The 8 top baristas will be admitted to the final stage of the contest, where they will compete again, but this time only one will become the overall champion, decided by a jury of three highly-qualified judges. To make the contest even more challenging, strict rules will oblige the competitors to reproduce the figures proposed by the organization to the best of their ability.
At the series of events entitled ‘Enjoy the Table’ jointly organized by ALTOGA, the Association of Lombardy coffee roasters, coffee importers and wholesale food retailers, and ART, the Association of Arts of the Table and Gifts, the pleasure of coffee will encounter the pleasures associated with the table in a series of daily themes focusing on ingredients and presentation, combining the esthetic side of the table with the sensorial pleasures surrounding food.
Another great new feature of Host, organized jointly with AIFBM, the Italian Food & Beverage Manager Association and the Locali Top magazine, will be hosted in a comfortable, tastefully furnished designer lounge where F&B Managers from Italy and abroad will be encouraged to attend a series of encounters, tutorials and other events about the growing role of F&B Managers in hotels where the catering offering plays a fundamental role.
Another very attractive feature of SIC is the fact that is located in the context of HostMilano, the world’s leading trade fair in the Ho.Re.Ca., foodservice, retail, large-scale distribution and hotel sectors, in a single macro-area with the Bar-Coffee machines-Vending sector – alongside such players as Animo, Bianchi Vending, Bunn-O-Matic Corporation, Cma, Dalla Corte, Elektra, Franke Kaffeemaschinen, Gruppo Cimbali, La Marzocco, La Spaziale, Mahlkoenig Gmbh & Co., Marco Beverage Systems, METRO Italia Cash and Carry, Nuova Simonelli, Rancilio, Rhea Vendors Group, Sanremo and Wega – and the Gelato–Pastry sector, which encourages the hybrids required by the new multi-function formats of hospitality. It will also be in synergy with the two other macro-areas of the show, Food service equipment – Bread-Pizza-Pasta and Furniture and Tableware.
In all, more than 1,900 exhibitors will be attending Host2015, 40% of whom come from outside Italy. They will occupy space in 14 pavilions (2 more than in 2013), and will come into contact with more than 140 thousand trade professionals and more than 1,500 hosted buyers selected from all over the world.
And, this year, there’s another important reason to visit HostMilano and SIC. In fact, this time, the two-yearly hospitality trade fair coincides with the last few days of EXPO Milano 2015, devoted to the theme of food, and being staged in an area right next to the fairground, until October 31st.
Not just a unique chance to gain an insight into the most interesting trends coming up in the next few years on a global scale, but also another chance to do business, thanks to the many international trade professionals who will be visiting the event.
