At the 45th edition of Sigep -The World Dolce Expo, to be held at Rimini Expo Centre from 20th to 24th January, alongside the gelato, pastry, bakery and chocolate sectors, the coffee supply chain will also be highly represented in an enthralling atmosphere that encompasses every stage of its processing, starting from the producing countries. The beverage is an indispensable social ritual: according to research by Mediobanca, divulged by SCA Italy, 3.1 billion cups of coffee are consumed globally every day. Italy, a leader in coffee processing, ranks seventh as a consumer country and, furthermore, its export quota of roasted coffee has increased by 12.9%.
At SIGEP 2024, coffee becomes an opportunity to discover new products and the technologies revolving around this well-known beverage, starting from enhancing the varieties and focusing greatly on environmental and social sustainability. Numerous companies from the Italian peninsula will be attending the exhibition, ready to present the various blends that take into account different tastes and market trends. The most prestigious Italian groups will include Caffè Moak, Caffè Molinari, Caffè Moreno, Caffè Pascucci, Caffè Toraldo, Caffè Vergnano, Club Kavè, Essse Caffè, kenon, Hausbrandt Trieste 1892, Illy Caffè, Luigi Lavazza, Julius Meinl, Nestlè, Nespresso and Segafredo Zanetti. The machinery and technology sector will feature: CBC Royal First, Bravilor, Dalla Corte, Evoca, Gruppo Cimbali, Simonelli Group, La San Marco, La Spaziale, Sanremo, Rhea and XLVI, while exhibiting coffee grinder manufacturers will include Ceado and Fiorenzato.
Sigep 2024 gives the theme of sustainability a central role, interconnecting it with the consumption styles that affect the market and are reflected in the choice of companies, such as specialty coffee, which implies a higher quality, and the selection of green coffee, thus involving a chain that brings growers, exporters and roasters together to make coffee fair and sustainable. A study conducted by Circana found that consumers are more loyal to places that act sustainably. In fact, about 45% of European consumers said that sustainability is the focus of their choices but this is strongly driven by loyalty, or rather, loyalty to where they drink it.
There will be no shortage of keynote talks, starting with Comunicaffè entitled “The future of coffee: what are the possible scenarios and how to assess risks and opportunities”. The panel of speakers will include Michele Cannone (Lavazza); Davide Cobelli (coordinator Sca Italy); Alessandro Galtieri (Aroma); Maurizio Giuli (vice president Ucimac Costruttori Macchine Caffè); Alessandro Mazzocco (Ofi) and Tommaso Nastasi (Deloitte).
Also noteworthy is the Slow Food Coffee Coalition, an international network that unites the main players in the coffee chain, from cultivators to consumers. In fact, each player in this network aims to grow, promote and consume good, sustainable coffee cultivated according to a traced agroforestry system by involving the communities that produce the specific coffee. It is no coincidence that several countries of origin of the famous drink, such as Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras and Venezuela, will be at Sigep 2024,.
Coffee at Sigep is increasingly connected to the other exhibition sectors, especially chocolate. This edition’s continuity between the coffee and chocolate halls intends to express the important communication between the two sectors, which, besides the many supply chain similarities, also have the same producing countries in common, such as Latin America and Africa, both represented at Sigep. This confirms the enormous value of partnerships with organisations such as IILA – the Italian-Latin American Institute, which, together with Sigep, is committed to enhancing supply chain sustainability and the projects of the producing countries, the true custodians of the coffee’s richness. As far as Africa is concerned, Kenya will also have a stand at Sigep 2024 and will be organising, together with ITA, a related talk in the Choco Arena entitled “From the bean to the cup: how Kenya and Italy are working together to relaunch quality coffee production”. A collaboration project between the two countries involving 21 Kenyan coffee cooperatives distributed in 7 different regions of the country, each of which will be represented at Sigep.
The finalists of as many as 7 competitions will be able to enter the international circuit of World Coffee Events and represent Italy in the world, organised in collaboration with SCA Italy, the Italian division of the Specialty Coffee Association.
- CIBC – Italian Coffee Barista Championship (20-21 January)
The competition consists of preparing, in a maximum time of 15 minutes, 4 espressos, 4 coffee and hot milk drinks and 4 customised non-alcoholic espresso-based drinks, to be served to a panel of expert tasting judges. The rules of the competition are the same as the World Barista Championship, a veritable “Barista Olympics”. Platinum Sponsors: Fiorenzato; LaCimbali.
- CILA – Italian Latte Art Championship (22-23 January)
In this competition, competitors will have to prove their manual skills combined with their artistic spirit. Participants must pass various stages to reach the final, where the six best will compete. Here, in a maximum time of 10 minutes, they will be asked to prepare four artistic coffee and milk-based beverages, producing two identical cups of each. Different techniques can be used: decoration and “free pour”. Moreover, two identical macchiato espressos using the “free pour” technique must be prepared and presented to 2 visual judges, 1 technical judge and a head judge. The championship is valid for the World Latte Art Championship (WLAC).
- CIGS – Italian Coffee in Good Spirits Championship (22 January)
Coffee in Good Spirits is a fascinating discipline that combines the worlds of coffee and bartending to create classic or fancy drinks. In this competition, competitors will have 10 minutes to prepare two Irish coffees and two hot or cold cocktails based on hot coffee and spirits. The championship is valid for the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship (WCIGS).
- Italian Brewers Cup Championship (22 January)
This method of preparation is widespread in the Nordic countries, the United States and Asian countries and is also being met with interest in Italy. The coffees will be brewed by the contestants using the so-called manual ‘pour-over’ methods, or rather, with filtration systems where the barista will pour hot water over the coffee powder, which will be retained by a filter. Participants, who will prepare 3 drinks each to be served to 3 sensory judges, will not only be required to produce a good coffee but also prepare it correctly with a value of solids that will be measured by the judges with a ‘refractometer’. The championship is valid for the Brewers World Cup (BWC).
- Italian Cup Tasters Championship (21 January)
In this competition, competitors will test their ability to distinguish the differences in taste between various cups of Specialty Coffee. Using taste and smell and applying all their attention and experience, competitors will have to identify, in the shortest possible time, the cup containing a coffee with a different taste within a set of 3 cups. For each round, 8 sets of 3 cups each will be placed on the table. The championship is valid for the World Cup Tasters Championship (WCTC).
- Italian Coffee Roasting Championship (21-22-23 January)
The roasting competition, which debuted internationally in Nice in 2013, will take place with a busy three-day programme on: green coffee classification, coffee roasting and roasted coffee tasting. The technical jury, under the supervision of an international judge, will be tasked with supervising and awarding the total score to the competitors at the end of the three days. The championship is valid for the World Coffee Roasting Championship (WCRC). Platinum Sponsor: Dm Italia.
- Italian IBRIK Championship (23 January)
The competition concerns the preparation of coffee with the Ibrik, the pot used to brew coffee in parts of Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The championship is valid for the World Cezve/Ibrik Championship.
LEVA CONTEST AND LEVA CONTEST SENSORY
Lastly, Leva Contest and Leva Contest Sensory, the two competitions specifically for espresso coffee, organised in collaboration with the non-profit association Masters of Neapolitan Espresso and Camaleonte Srl, a company committed to the dissemination of coffee culture, will be back in Hall A2. The Leva Sensory contest emphasises the barista’s ability to extract the best espresso. The Leva Contest, on the other hand, is a speed competition, where, in the shortest possible time, competitors must present the greatest number of smudge-free cups of espresso extracted with a Leva machine, complete with saucer and spoon, a sufficient layer of creaminess and the right volume in the cup.
Sponsors. Golden: Bwt Water; Dm Italia; Pulycaffè. Silver: 9 Bar; Alpro; Centrale Latte d’Italia (Turin premises); Dvg De Vecchi; Imperator; Nuova Ricambi; Pascucci. Technical: 7 Grams; Adda Service; Bazzara; Metallurgica Motta; Quarta Caffè; Vetrodue.