The TriesteEspresso Expo, which includes the event “Trieste Coffee Experts – The Preview” hosted by Bazzara, took place on Friday 28 October 2022 at the Trieste Convention Centre (TCC) in Porto Vecchio.
At the preview of the Bazzara event, which took place from 2 pm to 5 pm, the biggest names in the Italian coffee sector were introduced by the President of the Region Massimiliano Fedriga, who addressed his greetings to the audience with an exclusive video.
Events like the one organised by Bazzara are extremely important. Coffee is not only a quality product, but it is a ritual which I hope can be recognised also on an international level, supporting a tourism lured by this unique experience. That’s why my wish is that this event and its atmosphere can help the institutions work together in order to boost this team feeling and the promotion of our territory.
Massimiliano Fedriga, President, Friuli-Venezia Giulia region
The biennial summit addressed several topical issues affecting the entire coffee production system, with a focus on sustainability. An opportunity for reflection and discussion, which allowed the dialogue to find the best ways to face the challenges of the market and underlined the need for networking: pooling the strengths of the entire sector and fostering the exchange of knowledge and expertise to improve professionalism has always been a focus for Bazzara.
Mauro Bazzara, the host of the event, emphasised in his speech the need for a cultural shift and a business model that moves from a linear pattern of limitless extraction to a circular pattern that ideally limits extraction to the minimum level necessary.
Our reference point is the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development. Therefore, the purpose of our company can expressed in a nutshell as ‘coffee for pleasure, people & planet’. This means for us – also as a benefit Society – not limiting our job to offer a sustainable product but being a sustainable company.
Among the new common aims listed in the company bylaws, some stand out: the compromise for the environment from different perspectives, such as the development of sustainable practices and innovation processes, the aim of having a positive impact on people and of supporting synergies and collaborations with every stakeholder.
Mauro Bazzara, CEO, Bazzara Espresso
The “Trieste Coffee Experts – The Preview” has been a stage dedicated to the great names of the coffee world. Besides Mauro Bazzara, CEO of the roasting company, other major figures have participated, e.g., Massimiliano Fabian, newly elected president of ICO, International Coffee Organisation; the Earl Giorgio Caballini di Sassoferrato, President of the Consorzio per la tutela del caffè Espresso Italiano Tradizionale; Omar Zidarich, President of the Gruppo Italiano Torrefattori; Fabrizio Polojaz, President of the Trieste Coffee Association, and Luigi Morello, President of the IEI, Istituto Italiano Espresso.
Other great names of the sector took part in the event, such as Michele Cannone and Edoardo Cucco, respectively Global Brand Director and Brand Manager of Lavazza; Massimo Renda, president of Caffè Borbone; Giuseppe Biffi, Digital Enterprise Siemens and Cosimo Libardo, Strategic Advisor of the World Specialty Coffee Organisation and newly elected treasurer of the International Board of the Specialty Coffee Association.
Massimiliano Fabian said in his speech that one of his main goals for this year is to make the ICO more efficient, to simplify the cumbersome bureaucracy in order to be truly efficient and have a practical impact to boost the circular economy for coffee, which should be seen as a common goal of the whole sector. For its part, the sector must be seen as a whole, including producing countries, public and private companies. The ICO wants to put them in contact with each other and provide them with data and useful informatics tools to plan a more sustainable activity.
Fabrizio Polojaz, representing an industry association, made an excursus on the evolution of the roaster’s profession and the preparation of espresso coffee – identifying our coffee companies as a typical expression of today’s Italian industry and highlighting the important role of the Trieste Coffee Association
Omar Zidarich highlighted that the attitude of the coffee world has changed after the difficult moments of the last few years and there is a greater willingness for dialogue between the key players of the production system. An exchange of information based on real facts, such as the exchange of data on waste from industrial processing as a raw material for the production of biogas. Something that can be a victory for the whole sector on a large scale
Luigi Morello took stock of the situation in the coffee world and addressed the question of quality as a whole. He explained how the Italian Espresso Institute offers consultancy services in terms of certification, as well as advertising and training on coffee, and concluded that the taboo of the retail price could also be removed if the end consumer was well educated.
Michele Cannone and Edoardo Cucco opened the speeches on “Innovation & Sustainability Oriented”, drawing the attention of the audience to the product “La Reserva de Tierra Cuba”, a coffee aimed at consumers who want to find the same ethical values and social responsibility in what they buy. Therefore, they are also willing to pay for a premium product.
Massimo Renda explained that in terms of sustainability, it is important to listen more to the customer, who is already very aware. Consumers must be seen as contributors to a positive race between the different production systems. With their choices, they reward the companies that work towards more efficient production systems, use more renewable energy and wage a continuous battle against waste.
Giuseppe Biffi explained how the digital factory can help companies achieve new goals in traceability and production efficiency. Key elements to satisfy customers who, in order to remain loyal to the brand, want to have transparent data on the origin and certifications of the products, who want faster and more accurate responses in case of complaints, and who want to be reflected in the ethical values promoted by the companies. Biffi did not overlook the issue of sustainability: an industry responsible for 1/3 of total energy consumption and for 20% of CO2 emissions must be equipped with highly efficient solutions and monitoring systems that allow each step of the production system to be made more efficient in order to improve. Virtual simulators are crucial in this respect, as they allow access to an out-of-line design and offer the possibility to identify and produce only the most promising and efficient solutions.
Last but not least, in this preview of Trieste Coffee Experts 2023, Cosimo Libardo made a comparison between the reality of large corporations and that of small companies, identifying in the words “intent” and “instinct” the driving factors that differentiate them. In a market that is increasingly divided into small groups and characterised by a fluidity that makes twelve-month planning difficult, the small company, in order to become a large company, must be able to speak to its consumers, starting with its employees. They are, in fact, the first consumers and through them, a company can create a specific identity that then becomes a community and lays the foundation for conquering a larger market and becoming a big company.
TriestEspresso Expo is an important exhibition that confirms for Trieste the undisputed role of the Italian coffee capital. It ended on 29 October with more exhibitions, tastings, workshops and incredible training events. Among them, Andrea Bazzara’s workshop entitled “The reason why the Bazzara’s coffee books, the production system and coffee tasting, now living their last reprint, had an international success” and Marco Bazzara’s workshop “The match between coffee and food seen as a form of art”, took place in the B Room, Hall 27 from 10 am to 12 pm.
