A groundbreaking report on coffee industry has been presented,
a striking video on Naples aired – and the controversy is served. To dispel any
doubt, the only thing to be done now is to watch “Report” TV program on 7th
April.
Andrej Godina
is in the eye of the storm: the expert taster gave a ‘fail’ mark to an espresso
served at Gran Caffè Gambrinus, one of the most renowned cafés in Naples. His negative
evaluation has enraged public opinion over the last few days. The trailer that
has been aired is just a small part of the report that the Italian TV channel Rai
3 is airing on 7th April at 9:00 pm. It was produced by Bernardo
Iovene, a journalist working for “Report” journalistic TV program who
accompanied Mr. Godina in his visit of some coffee bars and cafés in Naples. It
is an investigation carried out with the aim of providing an exhaustive view of
the coffee sector in Italy. As Mr. Iovene himself stated, this investigation is
not meant to focus on Naples alone, but rather to highlight “the quality of
coffee we drink in Italy, the professionalism of baristas and of the other
staff involved, the pureness of coffee blends in use and the influence of
roasting companies on the consumption of this product”.
What
happened, actually, at Caffè Gambrinus in Naples? Mr. Godina and the “Report”
troupe followed the typical tourist itinerary through the city centre, from the
railway station to Piazza del Plebiscito. The same was done in Florence, as
well. Along the itinerary, this singular “tourist” entered many cafés where he
could taste the traditional espresso and his discoveries were not so positive. To
those who accused him of providing a subjective, non-impartial judgment, he
replies: “I have a long experience in coffee tasting and have been meeting and debating
with many Italian and international roasters through the years. I am certainly
aware of the fact that different Italian regions have different tastes as far
as coffee is concerned. Nevertheless, there is actually a widely recognised
definition for “espresso coffee”: a drink that is extracted with a precise
method and is characterised by a thick, more or less finely-textured and
persistent crema on its surface. Besides, apart from the perception of its
aromatic notes – which can be characterised by a certain amount of subjectivity
– product defects can actually be objectively found”. By ‘defects’ we mean, for
example, the mouldy, woody or earthy flavours that are associated with poor-quality
coffee beans, the rancid flavour due to an incorrect preservation of coffee and
to an insufficient cleaning of machine and coffee-grinder and, finally, the
typical burnt flavour that can result from over-roasting or from mistakes in
coffee extraction.
Andrej Godina
has grown in the coffee sector and has investigated this subject thoroughly,
also thanks to his Ph.D. studies. He was involved in the journalistic
investigation in quality of impartial specialised consultant. He has
collaborated with many major roaster and companies in the coffee sector all
over Italy, but operates independently.
Over the last
year, he has been promoting the event “Io bevo caffè di qualità” – (“I drink
quality coffee”) aimed at raising people’s awareness about coffee –, which has
involved consumers and professionals in a educational/tasting ‘itinerary’ that
includes different extraction techniques and has recorded very high participation
so far.
This is the
actual focus, as Andrej Godina himself states: “My intention is not to attack
Neapolitan coffee tradition and culture at all. If this is the message that has
gone through, I apologise with all Neapolitan citizens in full respect of the
habits and tastes they are rightly fond of. What I fight for is coffee’s
objective quality, both as regards raw material and result in cup. Just as the
culture of good wine has finally been affirmed in Italy, we must join up to
spread the knowledge of good coffee”. By spreading information and by investigating
coffee from plant to cup, “we will be able to recognise actual quality, award
it and finally give an added value to a product we love very much but,
unfortunately, we still don’t know well”, Mr. Godina concludes.
While waiting
to discover what the “Report” journalists have actually reported, Mr. Godina is
at disposal of other expert tasters for a face-to-face debate and – why not? –
for organizing a meeting in Naples, maybe at Caffè Gambrinus once again.
Andrej
Godina’s brief professional profile: in 1997 he became a marine and cargo surveyor, specialised in coffee, and was
entered in the register of the Chamber of Commerce of Trieste; in 2008 he
obtained the Ph.D. in Science, Technology and Economics in Coffee Industry at
the University of Trieste. Member and Master Barista of the Speciality Coffee
Association of Europe – SCAE, he has obtained all the Certifications of the Coffee
Diploma System (http://scae.com/education/cds-certified-list.html) and has become an authorised SCAE trainer. In 2013 he was awarded the
prize of best authorised SCAE trainer. He has been providing technical advice
to roasters and companies of the sector throughout Italy, selecting coffees for
the creation of blends and teaching in training and certification courses.
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