MILAN, Italy – Varesina Caffè, the historic coffee roaster from Varese is coming back to HostMilano to present a sneak preview of its new Meden blend, created to commemorate its centenary. Also on the calendar is cooperation with the Associazione Pasticceri per la Vita [Confectioners for Life Association], which will offer tasty accompaniments to visitors to the stand.
From the 18th to the 22nd October, Varesina Caffè will be exhibiting at HostMilano on stand D38 E37 – pavilion 22 and will celebrate an important finishing line: there are 100 candles on the cake (strictly coffee-flavoured) from the historic roasting plant in Varese that started business in 1919 at a small town centre shop in via San Martino.
To celebrate this event the company is offering a sneak preview of its latest Meden blend to clients and to attendees at Host: Meden is a 100% Arabica blend made up from 8 highly-prized single-origin beans that have been carefully selected, so it can release intense aromas of orange peel, almonds and toasted bread.
The new product is wrapped in seductive packaging, with new colours and textures, and comes with a dedicated coffee cup, so that this unique experience can be passed through to the consumer from the very first sip.
“This blend is intended to celebrate our predecessors, who have contributed to the success of our business over the years, until it became a reference standard for espresso quality in Italy and abroad” – Paolo and Stefano Maffina declare. They are the current owners, and the players in expansion towards international markets, after having received the management of the firm from the hands of their parents, Abramo and Bianca.
These convictions led to the desire to “commemorate a century of passion for coffee with the people who made Varesina Caffè great”: that is, the clients, trading partners and end consumers, who are appreciating the precious aroma in their premises more and more.
A special area within the stand will be devoted to the Meden blend: a central counter will be equipped with an espresso coffee machine devoted to preparing it. The area can be recognised from the packaging’s colours, as featured on the new product layout.
The choice of completely changing the graphic appearance projects the firm towards its second century in business, but without forgetting its origins: the name Meden, in fact, recalls the mountain scenery of the Valtellina area that has been so close to the heart of Maffina family history.
Centennial celebrations combine with solidarity
This year too Varesina Caffè is offering food – coffee combinations: this time together with the Associazione Pasticceri per la Vita, the non-profit organisation that brings together the most confirmed professionals, and which has been organising events and happenings in support of its solidarity endeavours, such as the multiple prize-winning project “Pastries in Prison”.
The topic selected for this year is the coffee – panettone combination, as a tribute to the tradition of the capital of Lombardy and its typical cake. During Host itself, in fact, the Panettone World Championship will be organised in Milan by the Maestri del Lievito Madre [Masters of Natural Yeast].
The menu includes the whole range of Varesina Caffè blends in combination with a small panettone, prepared by seven different confectioners in the area. The Association’s co-ordinator Pierluigi Brun and the other confectioners will be in attendance at the firm’s stand on Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. to present all the various product combinations to visitors.
Varesina Caffè, a company looking to the future
The innovations at Host are not just limited to the new blend. Varesina Caffè will introduce two new lines to the public, designed to enrich the on-site offerings.
The first initiative concerns the distribution of a product that already exists, but which is positioned for customers who are ever more aware of the environment.
Varesina Caffè is launching 100% bio-compostablecapsules where both the capsule itself and the packaging, which used to be made from a combination of plastics and aluminium, are now produced in paper derived from maize. This is therefore a completely reworked product that can be disposed of in wet waste containers: coffee, capsule and filter, right down to the packaging that contains them.
The second innovation is the launch of chocolate-flavoured and white chocolate chip handmade biscuits, to go with a variant flavoured with vanilla and fondant chocolate chips, both offered in elegant packs.
These two flavours perfectly accompany the aromas of the Varesina Caffè blends, and form a moreish combination of savours when tasted.
The firm is inviting all coffee lovers to its own space at HostMilano stand D38 E37 – pavilion 22, to celebrate 100 years of passion for coffee with several flavour tastings.
Varesina Caffè: a history of passion
The first cupful of Varesina coffee was served in 1919, when the small roaster plant ran its business in the historic centre of the city of Varese.
The goal of serving coffee that was always excellent has been maintained, and the company grew over the years thanks to its strong and authentic values.
Abramo Maffina, the father of the current owners of Varesina Caffè, Stefano and Paolo Maffina, forged his entrepreneurial project with a great deal of humility, devotion, competence and far-
sightedness, and was able to leave his sons an inheritance of in-depth knowledge of coffee, and first and foremost, one big dream.
In 1994, Varesina Caffè transferred to larger premises, a little way outside the city and improved and certified its own production facilities, so as to make its mark as a trading concern in the coffee and espresso made-in-Italy sector.
After careful selection, green coffee beans arrive in jute sacks at the Varesina Caffè warehouse. Here, after further processing to clean and select the raw beans, they are stored in a silo structure with 20 separate compartments, one for each kind of single-origin coffee purchased.
Lastly, the coffee roasting stage takes place following the traditional recipe of old, but with the support of built-in technologies and avant-garde equipment.
