The International Institute of Coffee Tasters (Iiac) is at Host 2017 with a series of events devoted to the Sensory analysis of the Italian espresso. At Host 2017, in Milan from 20 to 24 October, the International Institute of Coffee Tasters (Iiac) offers three events devoted to the Sensory analysis of the Italian espresso, in collaboration with three different partners.

The first is a seminar dedicated to Italian espresso tasting, which will be held on Friday 20 October from 2 pm to 2.45 pm as part of Cafe Chronology, a show organized by Specialty Coffee Association (Sca) and World Coffee Events (Wce) in partnership with MUMAC. An opportunity to discover the Iiac tasting method, the same used in Italian Espresso National Institute (Inei) certification. The seminar will be conducted in English by Carlo Odello, Iiac member of the board.

Iiac will also provide scientific support for Caffè Milani in its historical tasting sessions throughout the whole fair. Today’s espresso does not have the same aroma as the espresso sipped by our grandparents and great-grandparents. What was the coffee profile of the past and what will it be in the future? To answer this question, Caffè Milani restores and displays coffee machines from three different eras, with the recreation of the blends used in the past and a guide available for visitors.

On Monday 23 October, from 2.30 to 3.30 pm, IIAC will be the guest of Mumac Academy, with a new seminar on sensory analysis, taking advantage of the opportunity to study in more detail certain technical points tied to the psycho-physiology of the sensory analysis of our coffee. In particular, it will focus on the function of the olfactory system and on the olfactory components of a cup of Italian Espresso. The seminar will be conducted in English by Carlo Odello.

Again at Host 2017, IIAC presents the new edition of Espresso Italiano Tasting at Stand T32 in Pav. 22. This book has been an essential guide for numerous operators in the coffee sector in their training on Italian espresso tasting. The previous edition of 2002 was a bet that paid off for Iiac, who translated it into 11 languages, intended primarily for its own community of associates (more than 10,000 in over 40 countries around the world) and, naturally, for whoever wishes to learn more on the subject.

The new edition of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters’ book, a bestseller in the coffee business, will be presented at Host 2017. The book that has proved essential in the training of many professionals in the coffee business returns with a totally new edition: Espresso Italiano Tasting, guide to the sensory analysis of the Italian espresso. A bestseller right from the first edition in 2002 and a bet that paid off for the International Institute of Coffee Tasters (Iiac), which has translated it into 11 languages, intended principally for its associates (more than 10,000 in over 40 countries around the world) and, naturally, for anyone who wishes to learn more on the subject.

A book with one eye on the future right from the very first edition. “Iiac’s year of foundation puts it among the longest-operating organizations of the sector: 1993. Created to develop coffee tasting methods, its success story has been interwoven with the unique and compelling coffee extraction that is the Italian espresso,” points out Luigi Odello, Iiac Chairman and co-author of the book. “It was clear to the founders of the Iiac right from the start that they needed an accurate method of sensory analysis to measure the characteristics of the Italians’ best-loved cup of coffee.”

A book that serves and is of immediate use primarily to the coffee sector. “Indeed, the coffee industry distinguishes itself inasmuch as it is incredibly fragmented over space and time,” continues Carlo Odello, Iiac advisor and co-author of the volume, “so there is the risk that the different parts fail to understand each other, which is why sensory analysis assumes a crucial role today: it enables the parts involved to discuss the product in an effective manner and contributes to achieving their set objectives, the most worthy of which is to offer a high-quality espresso.”

The new edition of Espresso Italiano Tasting will be presented at Host 2017 in Milan from 20 to 24 October in the area of the Italian National Espresso Institute and the International Institute of Coffee Tasters (Pav. 22, Stand T32).

by Carlo Odello

Trainer and member of the board of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters

We all knew the International Institute of Coffee Tasters was landed in China. We held the first Espresso Italiano Tasting courses in Guangzhou and Beijing in December 2010. Thanks to our member of the board Darcy Sun, from March of this year, our manual Espresso Italiano Tasting is also available in Chinese. Furthermore we organized in July a new series of training courses and seminaries.

Now we are back again in Guangzhou where the International Institute of Coffee Tasters together with the Italian Espresso National Institute has patronaged a new edition of Caffè Italia. So, after the editions in 2010 held in Tokyo, New York and Paris and the 2011 Tokyo one, a new building block is added to the plan of spreading the real Italian espresso culture.

From 24th to 27th of November a Caffè Italia strengthen by the presence of 16 different blends will enter the scene during the Guangzhou Coffee Expo 2011. A tasting point proposing the Iespresso in its regional variations to the Chinese public, ranging from the region of Piedmont to Sicily. There is just one idea in mind: to continue spreading our espresso principles in China.

What is the most challenging thing of this new Chinese episode? The fact that Caffè Italia knew how to capture the attention of more roasters, a lot of which will be present in the area (if you are curious to know who they are, I redirect you to the coffee list that follows). The journey of our espresso in China is rather long but meanwhile we are making our way, and we sincerely thank those who are supporting us.  

Caffè Italia at Guangzhou Coffee Expo 2011, click to enlarge

by Carlo Odello *

The Host show will take place next month in Milan. If you are attending it, why do not you consider to attend the Italian Espresso Tasting course just the day before the show (20 October)? Let us make you discover the real Italian Espresso culture. If you are interested in understanding how to recognize and evaluate the real Italian Espresso, just download the leaflet. You can also drop me an email at carlo.odello@italiantasters.com if you need further information about the course.

Do you want to prepare your trip and get more information about the espresso you will find in Milan? Just read the article about the coffee tradition in the area of Milan. And remember that if you are a member of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters you will receive a free selection of articles of our quarterly magazine in English.

 * Trainer and member of the board of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters

by Carlo Odello *

We just scheduled an Espresso Italiano Tasting course just the day before the Host show in Milan (20 October 2011). Many professionals wrote us asking about this course: here it is! The course will take place in Brescia, hometown to the International Institute of Coffee Tasters. This means just 1,5 hours fom the Host show in Milan.

Why should you attend an Espresso Italiano Tasting course? I can think of many good reasons, but one seems to me the most important: to go back to the roots of Espresso, to understand the culture in which it was born.

I have been working in the coffee business for some years (not counting the years I was at the university but already spent some time at the events of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters and of the Italian Espresso National Institute). And I have been travelling around the world in the last few years training people how to taste Italian Espresso.

What did I discover? Easy to say: coffee is culture, means it is strongly connected to real life. It is like Chinese tea: you cannot understand it unless a Chinese explains it to you. That’s because he or she is Chinese and was born and raisen up in the real Chinese tea culture. The same for Japanese tea. And for any other specific tea culture.

Let us make you discover the real Italian Espresso culture. If you are interested in understanding how to recognize and evaluate the real Italian Espresso, just download the brochure from the link below. You can also drop me an email at carlo.odello@italiantasters.com if you need further information about the course.

Download:

Italian Espresso Tasting course: brochure (PDF)

* Trainer and member of the board of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters

Espresso Italiano Tasting, the official handbook of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters, has just been published in Chinese. And more courses and seminars on tasting Italian Espresso are coming in Guangzhou next week (July 26th-31st). The classes will be held by Carlo Odello, member of the board of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters. For  more information about the courses and the book please contact Ms Jolin (jolin@acoffee.cn).

The International Institute of Coffee Tasters will organize a new edition of Caffè Italia, the Italian Espresso event, at Foodex 2011, the most important food exhibition in Japan (Tokyo, Makuhari Messe, Hall 3, booth C01, March 1-4).

The second edition of Caffè Italia will give visitors the opportunity of tasting six different Italian Espresso blends and evaluate them. For the first time visitors will have to judge the espresso blends using a tasting card. Caffè Italia will also host training sessions held by Chihiro Yokoyama.

Carlo Odello, member of the board of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters and communications manager of the Italian Espresso National Institute, will be at Caffè Italia, too. "We aim at spreading the culture of the real Italian Espresso and Caffè Italia is a great opportunity for us – Mr Odello said – Japan proved to be very sensitive to Italian Espresso, we now have more than 300 tasters in the country. We recently launched the Espresso Italiano Tasting classes in China and are looking for partners in other Asian countries such as Korea and Thailand".

Caffè is organized in cooperation with the International Institute of Coffee Tasters – Japan, the Italian Espresso National Institute and the Italian Trade Commission.

For more information: info@coffeetasters.jp, carlo.odello@italiantasters.com.

The International Institute of Coffee Tasters in cooperation with Koffiekoning will organize the first Espresso Italiano Tasting course in The Netherlands. The course will take place in IJsselstein on November 30.

For more information about the course, please visit the website of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters.

For applying or getting more information about the price, please get in touch with:

• Tim Vogt:  tim@koffiekoning.nl, mobile +31 6 5026 8819
• Paul Verbunt: ph +31 30 6876087, mobile +31 6 3889 0789

The International Institute of Coffee Tasters, in collaboration with Caffè Umbria, will bring its Espresso Italiano Tasting seminar to Seattle this fall. Carlo Odello, board member and trainer of the Institute, will explain the characteristics of a true Italian espresso and the correct methods of evaluation. The seminar will open with an introduction to sensory analysis of Italian espresso through the analysis of the main stages of evaluation: visual, olfactory, gustatory-tactile and aftertaste. In the aroma portion of the course, we will explore the fundamental aromas and most frequent flaws and their causes. With the help of the Italian Espresso Trialcard, the official espresso evaluation guide of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters and the Italian Espresso National Institute, we will taste, compare and discuss three different espresso extractions. 

Each seminar includes:

• Espresso Italiano Tasting, the official manual of the International Institute of Coffee Tasters
• The Italian Espresso Trialcard, the official espresso evaluation guide
• Three espressos for the purpose of instruction
• Certificate of Attendance

Dates and times:

• Saturday, October 30, 9:30 to 12:30
• Sunday, October 31, 9:30 to 12:30

Registration Deadline: October 4, 2010

For more information and registration, please click here or write to annamaria@caffeumbria.com

The International Institute of Coffee Tasters is pleased to announce that an Espresso Italiano Tasting course will be organised in cooperation with FAC S.p.a. – Porcellane ACF. The course will be held in English on the 12th of February 2010 at FAC’s headquarters in Albisola Superiore (Savona, Italy).

To get more information please write to Debora Tallarico (debora.tallarico@acf.it) or to Carlo Odello (carlo.odello@italiantasters.com). For a description of the course, please visit the website.