A Sustainable and Traceable Model

Inloher is distinguished by its commitment to sustainability and coffee traceability. The company has implemented a system that allows tracking every stage of production, from seed to cup, ensuring that the produced coffee has minimal environmental impact. Agroforestry practices, where coffee grows alongside other plants like corn, beans, and honey plants, not only preserve soil health but also contribute to biodiversity protection. This approach is crucial to comply with EU regulations on coffee imports, which require that products do not come from deforested lands.

Unlike commercial coffees, which are often dried in mechanical ovens, Inloher dries its coffee in the sun, in natural dryers. This gradual process preserves the quality of the coffee better and helps reduce energy impact. Additionally, 100% of production is certified as sustainable, thanks to techniques that combine quality with environmental protection.

Fertilizers and Sustainable Agricultural Practices

Inloher uses a holistic approach to fertilizers, prioritizing organic ones. In some cases, for organic coffee, mineral and organic elements are also used, ensuring production without compromising soil health. The responsible use of fertilizers is crucial for ensuring plant growth while maintaining a balance between productivity and environmental sustainability.

The company has obtained several important certifications, including Rainforest, USDA, JAS, FAITRADE, and BIRD FRIENDLY. Moreover, its supply chain is entirely carbon neutral, a result of years of work to measure, reduce, and offset its CO2 emissions. Each batch of coffee is offset for 20 tons of CO2, and every package sold ensures that the coffee was produced with an overall reduction in atmospheric emissions.

Selecting Producers: A Commitment to Quality and the Common Good

Inloher has established direct relationships with over 4000 Honduran producers, many of whom are small families that have been growing coffee for generations. Each producer has 5 hectares of land and does not manage all stages of processing, such as peeling and transportation to the warehouse, independently. Inloher supports the producers by providing dryers, fertilizers, and technical assistance, and purchasing the coffee to aggregate it into lots that meet strict quality standards. Additionally, the practice of immediate payment, unusual in Honduras where producers often wait months to be paid, creates strong loyalty between the producers and the company.

To ensure quality, Inloher visits the plantations and evaluates the micro-benefit systems of the producers, ensuring that every stage of the process meets the required standards. The “Specialty Coffee Program” allows them to differentiate the coffee by the color of the bags, with orange bags indicating high-quality coffee and white bags for commercial coffee.

Sustainability as a Priority

Inloher is not only a producer of high-quality coffee but also an example of social and environmental responsibility. The company is involved in sustainability projects, such as the use of alternative fertilizers, the rust management program (a disease that affects coffee), and the implementation of solar dryers. Inloher has also initiated a women’s empowerment program in rural mountain areas, involving them in coffee production and business decisions. Moreover, Inloher is working to ensure that every part of its supply chain is transparent, monitoring and offsetting its CO2 emissions to reduce the carbon footprint of the coffee that reaches consumers’ tables.

Another commitment that showcases Inloher’s dedication to sustainability is its collaboration with the Grano de Esperanza Foundation and Beneficio de Café INLOHER S. de R.L. Honduras, which has led to a significant improvement in food security for small producers in the Lempira region. Thanks to this partnership, over 100 thermal bags have been distributed, ensuring that food consumed by workers during agricultural activities is transported and stored safely, contributing to the protection of their nutritional health and the well-being of their families.

The alliance between Danesi Caffè and Inloher represents an important step towards a sustainable future in the coffee industry. Thanks to both companies’ commitment to quality, traceability, and sustainability, every cup of Danesi coffee offers consumers a product that is good for the palate and the planet. Choosing Danesi means choosing a coffee that, in addition to delighting, contributes to a greener and more responsible future.

A ritual that aims to become a UNESCO world heritage object and that unites Italy by Telethon foundation

29 September 2023 – The Consortium for the Protection of Traditional Italian Espresso Coffee organises an online event to celebrate the ritual, culture and social aspects of Italian espresso coffee, representative elements of the cultural identity of our country, on Sunday 1 October at 11 a.m., on the occasion of International Coffee Day (click here to participate). 

The programme of the event (which you can view here) includes an overview of the various aspects that characterise this 100% Italian ritual: the tradition that surrounds it, its ability to connect people through sharing, and its sustainability. The event aims to raise awareness of and develop the project of candidacy for intangible heritage of humanity of the Ritual of Espresso, the UNESCO principles and the Charter of Values that the communities representing the Ritual of Espresso throughout Italy have committed themselves to spreading and promoting. The Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Francesco Lollobrigida, who has ownership of this application dossier, will speak.

Events will also be held throughout Italy – again on 1 October and by the Communities representing the Ritual of Espresso – to support the UNESCO candidacy and promote the collection of signatures in support of it. And that’s not all: on the same day, the Consortium for the Protection of Traditional Italian Espresso Coffee promotes the initiative called “Un caffè per…” (‘A coffee for…’), dedicated to the Telethon Foundation (here for the donation and to support the candidacy), an organisation for biomedical research and the treatment of rare generic diseases: a supportive habit of the Neapolitan tradition transferred by the Consortium to a broader plan through a charity campaign carried out in collaboration with all the representative communities of the Ritual of Espresso.

Here are the events that will take place in the main Italian cities

The representative communities of the Ritual of Espresso of Turin, Milan, Venice, Trieste, Bologna, Rome, Naples, Lecce, Pescara, Palermo, and Modica, which support the UNESCO intangible heritage candidacy dossier, will be the scene of the following initiatives:

Trieste

10.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m., CC Montedoro Conference room and Antico Caffè San Marco. Conferences and time dedicated to the discussion with the public and to the further discussion of the value and culture of Italian espresso coffee, organised by the members and partners of the Trieste Coffee Association. The events will start on Saturday 30th and end on the first of October.

Bologna

Through Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, the importance of conviviality and sociability surrounding the Italian espresso will be explained with the request to sign the Charter of Values to support the application.

Rome

11.00 a.m. – 3.00 p.m., BIBO bar (Piazza dei Santi Apostoli). Coffee heritage of the future: an event on the occasion of International Coffee Day to celebrate the rich tradition and culture linked to this drink, nominating it as a UNESCO Intangible Heritage Object. In this unique meeting, the charity initiative “A coffee for ..” will be promoted in collaboration with the research of the Telethon Foundation and a dessert based on coffee prepared exclusively for the day and a special review of the espresso will be served.

Naples

10.30 a.m. – 6.30 p.m., Gran Caffè Gambrinus (Piazza Trieste and Trento no. 42). “Bartender for a day”: anyone who loves coffee can go to the Gambrinus and experience the thrill of making an espresso with the lever machine.

Lecce 

Permanent programme for the dissemination of the culture of the Ritual of Espresso through collaboration with Hotel Institutes. This initiative involves a constant programming of engaging activities for the students of these institutions, aiming to share best practices and fundamental knowledge related to the art of espresso.

Palermo

10.00 a.m. – 1.00 p.m., Moltivolti (Via Giuseppe Mario Puglia no. 21). The “Moltivolti” (‘Many faces’) of coffee and its values, educational event: a day dedicated to the “many faces” of coffee, its ritual aspects and the values it represents in Italy and in the world. The emblematic community of Palermo joins the multi-ethnic community of Moltivolti, a social enterprise that promotes food as a tool for dialogue between different people and cultures in the Ballarò district.

In other cities, also thanks to FIPE, the Association of Historical Bars of Italy, some Museums dedicated to the history of coffee, as well as individual initiatives, events will be held that are aimed at charitable collection in favour of the Telethon Foundation and signatures in support of the candidacy.

Interpersonal relationships have always been characterized and consolidated by encounters between people. Shaking hands, looking at each other, an affectionate embrace or simply walking side by side: all apparently normal and common gestures, but which in these times tragically marked by the Coronavirus have unfortunately become more rare and difficult.

The recent health emergency has brought about many changes in our lives, so much so that it is natural to ask ourselves a precise question: “what can help us to keep the social fabric together and cohesive in the absence of the constant physical presence between individuals? Big changes often confuse us because they require us to change many of our activities or habits, quickly adapting them to a new and often uncertain scenario.

However, it is not only necessary to interrupt or change them, but rather to be able to adapt them in the best way to a different context, without distorting them or losing the beauty they bring. In other words, we should frame the dear and old habits through a different and innovative perspective, to keep their meaning alive through different dynamics or ways. The “coffee ritual“, a constant of Italian culture and the everyday life of almost all of us, is no exception. 

Same ritual, new forms

Coffee is undoubtedly a fundamental element in our culture: considered a real social ritual, it has always been a symbol of “conviviality“. How many sealed friendships, how many loves are born and how many important contracts are signed (just to limit ourselves to a few examples) in front of a good cup of coffee!

With the new rules of social distancing, however, it would seem much more difficult to create moments of sharing accompanied by our favorite drink. And yet, this is not exactly the case: we can do it equally, even if in different forms! How? Keeping the right distances, as long as necessary, taking the necessary precautions, or for example with the support of social media and video calls, to continue drinking coffee in the company (even if at a distance) of friends, colleagues, family or acquaintances!

In short, we will be able to find many new ways to enjoy coffee in company, respecting the rules and public health: because the “coffee ritual” is something that belongs to us deeply, and nothing in the world will lead us to give it up!

Being together, even if at a distance.

Yes, in Italy coffee is much more than a drink and this is also reflected in art and culture. The great Eduardo De Filippo, for example, in “These ghosts” gives us a real “Lectio Magistralis” on the sacred ritual of coffee which he defines as “poetry of life“. His sharing of coffee preparation with balcony neighbors anticipated in some way what would actually happen in this pandemic period.

We sometimes cried, sometimes rejoiced, sometimes sang, sometimes chatted… But something was (almost) always present: the cup of coffee, or the scent emanating from the mocha on the fire that spread between windows and buildings. An ancient and rediscovered way of being together, of recovering the relationship with others, of living one’s time in a more sociable way, just when we are asked to stay away. “Let’s have a coffee together, even if at a distance” is in fact a phrase full of meanings, which go far beyond the taste and aroma of a drink – giving meaning to many moments of our lives.

For this reason I emphasize once again that it is not necessary to stop considering coffee break a moment of meeting. If we do not live it together by giving us a pat on the back or a kiss of greeting, it will be enough for us to transform it or adapt it – when necessary – to the new needs and forms of sociality, which the modalities of “being together” will require.

Coffee will always remain an excellent “excuse” to share time, to enrich our conversations or “break” the days of work and study, giving us moments of pleasure and union even from a distance…

A tradition to be protected, now more than ever.

I could not close this article without mentioning the Consortium for the Protection of Traditional Italian Espresso Coffee, which we at Danesi Caffè have been proudly part of since its foundation, whose primary objective is the recognition by UNESCO of traditional Italian espresso as intangible heritage of humanity, precisely as a distinctive, precious and special ritual.

Even in this period of emergency – which has put a strain on many commercial establishments and sometimes the same on habits of coffee lovers – the Consortium has in fact continued to carry out various activities, with the aim of promoting cultural and socio-anthropological contents of the Italian traditional Espresso Coffee Ritual by narrating them, supporting them, giving voice to Italian bartenders and their stories, presenting new initiatives born to overcome difficulties, and much more.

Coffee, there is no doubt, is something that gives not only taste and pleasure, but also a “sense of belonging“. In fact, its methods of consumption – however different along the whole peninsula – acquire the same ritual character everywhere, linked to special events and moments of our daily routine and our lives. A real intangible heritage, both personal and collective, which characterizes us as individuals and as people. Therefore, we always keep this special ritual alive, even if sometimes in new forms or contexts. Because the crisis – sooner or later – will pass, but the coffee ritual will always be with us. Indeed, part of us.

Ilaria

The result is the guarantee of the most extensive and reliable supply of sustainably coffee product, high- quality features. The influence of climatic change on coffee production is no longer a questionable matter. As the ICO (International Coffee Organization) says, between 2008 and 2009, a production decrease linked to climatic changes has been registered in Middle America and Mexico. Emblematic, in this sense, is the case of Colombia, which lost 50% of its production.

The situation in El Salvador is even worse: those phenomena which occurred in a five year time frame, are now not that sporadic. Drought and flood happen almost every year, with huge consequences on coffee fields, such us the decrease of plant performance and, in general, the decrease of product quality.

Even Brazil, the world’s largest coffee producer, the last three seasons of harvest has faced important challenges related to the occurrence of severe drought phenomena. Suffice it to say that at the beginning of 2014, the drought that hit on Brazil has been among the most severe historically recorded, while the almost lack of rain that is coming down for over a year in the eastern areas of the country has resulted in a reduction harvest of those areas by more than 30 % compared to previous levels.

No exception, in this sense, for the production situation in Asia. In fact, for countries like Vietnam or India, affected by drought and arid lands, in 2017 we do not expect a particularly fruitful year in terms of production.

Not different is the African situation: last Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) report, about export activities in January 2010, shows that the total exportations of Robusta quality coffee, between October and January 2009/10, had a 17% volume decrease. This condition has grown worse due to the drought, which damaged the plant in its embryonic delicate phase.

So, the progressive decline of produced and exported coffee is attributable to critical climatic conditions (high temperature and sporadic rainfalls) and to the growing diffusion of Coffee Wilt Disease, topic on which they do not invest. In addition, according to the 2009 FAO report, the harvest performances are mostly influenced by climatic changes and by the competition among people, livestock and means of transport into the access to alimentary resources, in a place in which land and water run low. Perhaps the horizon there is only a possibility and a way forward.

That of an ethical economy and the construction of an increasingly close and correct relations between the different industry players, since it is only through cooperation and mutual respect that will be able to face the complexity of the issues involved and the future challenges of this as all other agricultural sectors.

The major element of innovation, today, is the centrality of the concept of “diversity” together to create value in the direct relationship between the producer and the roaster, fully aware that the success of any organization and of each product is also measured through the kind of relationship and dialogue that are established with its suppliers, in a continuous process of improvement, support and mutual growth.

One of the positive consequences of this report will be to gradually improve and/or increased efficiency in coffee production and processing conditions for the producer, whereas globally the caffeicola production is largely carried out by small producers. In this way, they will be adopted in the most advanced process technologies and cultivation techniques, which are to be regarded as instruments and means for an economically sustainable caffeicola production. At the economic level, the increase in productivity and quality of coffee means higher revenues for producers, without this resulting in increased productivity that lead to lower global prices.

Danesi Caffè, one of the first member companies of the Consortium, actively supports the UNESCO candidacy: we too believe that traditional Italian espresso is a precious heritage of our culture to be protected, promoted and enhanced like many other Italian agri-food products. The term “Espresso” indicates the coffee consumed quickly in bars and cafes, prepared expressly for the customer with a particular extraction method, using a special machine that allows you to obtain a drink served in a very concentrated, creamy cup, with a taste and with an intense aroma.

This preparation method, called espresso, is known today all over the world as a symbol of Italian coffee, as well as an expression of an entire population and its culture. The Consortium for the protection of traditional Italian espresso coffee, the Italian Coffee Committee and the INEI have also defined the “Disciplinary of traditional Italian espresso” which generically dictates the good rules for obtaining the highest quality of a traditional Italian espresso, prepared in bars or cafes, and which will integrate the Dossier to the Unesco Italian Commission for the candidacy for intangible heritage of humanity.

Giorgio Caballini of Sassoferrato, President of the Consortium for the protection of traditional Italian espresso coffee, is keen to specify that: “It was a constructive work that saw important realities of the coffee world engaged together for the first time to achieve a shared goal in order to to offer quality and tradition to the vast majority of Italian citizens who consider traditional Italian espresso coffee an integral part of their national heritage and identity. An example for the whole country system in defense of our cultural identity and economic fabric. I thank all those who have contributed to its realization ”.

Danesi Caffè, a member of the Consortium since its establishment in 2014, has passionately participated in the achievement of this further important objective aimed above all at safeguarding the art and tradition of a historic product such as espresso coffee, an excellence of Made in The document is available on the website of the Consortium for the protection of traditional Italian espresso coffee at this link.  

But try to imagine that you were told that there is a flour – with which bread, pasta, desserts can be made –  made not from wheat but from the fruits of the coffee plant. How would you react? Imagine then that you were told that this “coffee flour” has exceptional nutritional qualities and it tastes good. Indeed a great taste.

But not only: this food can allow millions of people to have a better life, it can improve the economy of many countries and…. It’s good for the environment! It sounds too good to be true and perhaps it’s a fantasy. But no: coffee flour exists, and has all these characteristics. Surprised? Let’s take a step back: I want to tell you a short story.

A brilliant intuition for a revolutionary food

In the year 2012. Dan Belliveau is a Starbucks executive, responsible for overseeing the coffee production and purchase process. Travelling often to local farmers, especially in Mexico, is surprised and troubled by something.

During the processing coffee seeds are extracted from the fruits of the plant. The seeds are then transformed into coffee blends, the fruits are simply thrown away. These are enormous quantities.

Here is where he has a “crazy idea”: “And if we could use all this fruit pulp to create a new product, in order to avoid waste and to give to the farmers a bigger source of revenue?” He then decides to contact some of the larger coffee companies in the United States, explaining his findings and the situation, but he just receives as an answer a laugh accompanied by a “you are crazy!”.

In spite of that he does not give up. He decides to invest in the project, he conducts a series of tests and experiments, he acquires the patent and in a short period of time he obtains amazing results: from the pulp of the coffee fruits you can obtain a flour with excellent properties and great flavor.

He creates his company, the Global Holdings, and launches a bet: the commercialization of “coffee flour” based products.  

From the first steps to success: coffee flour is conquering the world

Big coffee companies and multinationals companies were not the only skeptics of this new flour. Even the farmers, once it was explained to them that they would have been paid for the “waste” of the coffee process, the fruits of the coffee plant, thought it was a joke.

In the early days – as Belliveau himself recounts – they renamed the sack of fruits with an unflattering inscription: “project caca” (we leave the translation to you).

But once overcome all the difficulties and skepticisms, the production enters in full mode: pasta, bread, waffles, muffins, biscuits, sweets and many other products are made using coffee flour.

The success is immediate and overwhelming. To give you an idea, consider this data: about after two years, in 2015, a giant company like Google – always very attentive to innovation and to quality in every sector of their business – decided to include several products made with coffee flour in their employee lounges and cafeteria around the world.

Subsequently, other multinationals, such as the historic HSBC, chose to adopt coffee flour in their cafeteria or lounges scattered around the globe.

A new “food era” has begun. 

A superfood with unique features

But what is causing all the success of coffee flour? The reasons are various.

First of all, this flour has exceptional nutritional values, incomparable with classic wheat flour or other cereals: it has a high content of fiber, iron, potassium and is rich in antioxidants; a very low fat and sodium content; no presence of gluten, making edible even to those that suffer from celiac disease.

And the taste? Surprisingly, it looks like it does not taste like coffee. Whoever has tasted pastries made with this flour explain that they recognized a light almond aftertaste, with floral or roasted fruit notes, depending on the variety. A trace of caffeine is present, although in minimal quantities, there are already in progress studies aimed to offer a version of this product 100% caffeine free. 

Sustainability, opportunity and environment

According to current estimates, each year close to 46 billion pounds of coffee fruits are “discarded” in the world. About 10% is used as fertilizer, while the remaining portion is literally thrown away.

Let’s imagine now the positive effect that using these massive quantities of product it could have for the coffee growers living in developing countries. What was previously a waste suddenly it becomes a new source of income.

As it already happens in some coffee farms, for example the cooperative Samac in Guatemala – where alongside and in support of which Danesi Caffè has been working directly for several years – here the remnants of the harvest are recycled and transformed in compost to grow mushrooms which will be then used as a source of food or a second source of revenue for the farmers.

With more revenues, the families of the coffee growers can live better lives, buy clothing, have their children study, reach a better economic stability and overall tranquility. Not limited to this: new jobs are created and part of the earnings can be reinvested in technology and techniques to improve production, counteract natural calamities, control the challenges of global warming, possible geopolitical instabilities or fluctuation of prices ensuring a better and constant quality of the coffee that we consume every day.

Even the country where cultivation takes place (be in Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Rwanda or any other) gets a new and important source of input that can be converted into infrastructure, education, public health and so on.

As if this was not enough, the environment receives a great advantage! The coffee berries, now being reused, are in fact no longer thrown by the ton in the rivers, preventing the pollution of waters sources as well as the damage to local flora and fauna. 

Commitment for a better future

In short, we can say loud and clear: the coffee flour is a revolutionary food that does well and does good. And it is tasty too.

The world of coffee never stops to amaze. Among many variables, one thing is certain: investing in research, quality, and sustainability – a road that we at Danesi have already taken a long time ago – can lead to great achievements.

For a more fair world in which the aroma and taste of coffee are synonymous with quality and respect.

Ilaria Danesi

Yet a pink coffee exists, even if pink is not the color of the drink, but the color of respect, attention, and ethics that the women of the IWCA – International Women’s Coffee Alliance – deepen for the creation of a coffee market more fair, healthy and resilient.

Quality is a smart and responsible choice

For a long time we at the Danesi have chosen to move towards a kind of selection of raw materials used in our blends that prefers mainly the qualitatively superior varieties.

However, in a “fragile” sector like that of coffee not only in relation to the unpredictability of the seasonal trends but also in large part due to the volatility of prices and international geopolitical disturbances-it is a rather difficult task. Most of the 25 million coffee growers are small, with a reduced ability to withstand the great challenges of our present and the near future, such as the effects of climate change taking place.

It is not a secret, in fact the coffee cultivations of small producers located in the most disparate, distant and impervious parts of the globe, are in some respects more attentive to the qualitative yield of the beans but that, from a production point of view, are also the most fragile ones. The motivations are varied and very often also include the social structure of the local communities involved in the production.

When a cultivation of coffee is pushed only in the direction of a more intensive production, a (harmful) mechanism is triggered, so that: the profit margins of the producers are reduced; the field’s workers leave the rural areas; the crops become more unstable due to the lack of biodiversity; the use of fertilizers and pesticides increases dramatically; we do not invest in the future of crops, such as the adoption of new agricultural practices that are more friendly to the environment and a more efficient use of agricultural inputs.

In a similar context, choosing the right partner that can guarantee ‘something’ that goes beyond coffee is essential if you look to the future to try to improve it.  For this reason, Danesi, through the IWCA, has decided to support the Rwandan cooperative COCAGI in the town of Gishoma.

A better coffee, a better community

Near the Kivu Lake, the COCAGI Cooperative began its valuable work in 2004 by aggregating around 250 coffee producers. Today there are over 1000 members of the consortium, of whom 267 are women and this is a very important fact.

As in many African rural societies, women are the center of social and productive life. Stimulating the community, relying on women’s potential and not excluding women from development processes is a truly responsible gesture.

The COCAGI, in fact, involves its producers – therefore also about 300 women – in making important decisions for the future of the cooperative, signing health insurance for members, manages a fund to pay the educational expenses for the younger members of the community, buy and  shares amongst the members livestock and so on.

But above all, the cooperative runs a laboratory where it grows about 10,000 new seedlings every year, replaces the depleted crops and defends the territory and the soil against the risks of erosion (due to urbanization and/or climate change) 

Why Danesi said yes

The initiative, promoted by the IWCA is one of the best actions of social responsibility that revolve around the world of coffee. For us, at Danesi the choice was motivated primarily by our desire to explore new cultivations and varieties of coffee to keep the level of our blends high.

Secondly – but certainly not in importance – because we have every interest in these communities to preserve over time and guarantee the standards of their  productions.

“Quality” is not just a word of the present, but it is above all a word of the future, because a production that wants to define itself by quality can only be so if it also has the basis of sustainability that allows its quality to be replicated year after year, season after season.

Our long history (112 years of activity) has enriched us with experiences in the world of coffee, so much so that we reach this awareness long before others: quality “is” responsibility and the two cannot be separated. It is from this distilled – or perhaps it is the case to say “extract” – of experiences that Danesi – who not by chance has an all-female management – has chosen to support the COCAGI cooperative because the quality is above all a matter of responsibility.

Ilaria Danesi

It seems like a surreal question, but let’s try to imagine for an instant what would happen if indeed it happened for real.

Our days in the post-coffee era

The first trace of “its absence” would be found at the moment we wake up: no percolating moka, no aroma filling the kitchen and the other rooms in the house, milk never looked so pale. It’s pointless to rush to the first bar: even there, no coffee.

From the counter, stunned people stare at each other, they are sleepy, they are mumbling something to the barman: “I would like a…..A….. I don’t know, what would do you recommend to wake me up a bit?” “A nice hot tea? What do you think?” Perplexity and dejection begin to float in the air of the bars, as it happens in all the bars and coffee houses of the world….. Outside of the bars the situation is more or less as follows: “Will we meet for a coffee today? I have to tell you an incredible story!”

“Yes ok, let’s meet, but coffee does not exist anymore, don’t you remember?” “Well then let’s meet and drink a fruit juice, a glass of white wine, I don’t know, the important thing is that we meet, correct? “Ok listen, no fruit juices: it’s just sugar and I am on a diet.

About wine I think you’re joking, unless you have decided to begin drinking at 3 o’clock in the afternoon?” We begin to witness a collective neurosis. Suddenly the world is hit by a deep emotional state of “saudade”: an indefinite and indefinable lack of something, we don’t know where it comes from and why, but it’s real.

Coffee no longer exists and we keep on thinking about it, even if we can’t even remember its aroma. In the meantime a yawning epidemic has erupted and it has traveled three times around the world from mouth to mouth. 

Coffee and the end of the world

Even if melancholic, life without coffee is still bearable. But for millions of people coffee extinction represents an authentic drama, actually a tragedy. Big and small coffee farmers from Africa, Latin America and South East Asia find themselves without their only source of income and livelihood at any moment.

This proud agricultural world finds itself facing all the uncertainty of a reality without coffee. Fields are abandoned, many farmers emigrate and are forced to leave their homes, others try the difficult road of agriculture conversion, unfortunately with no success.

Who farms coffee knows thousands of secrets of that plant, but only knows very little about other agricultural crops and their market. We witness the disintegration of the “People of Coffee”, which represents not only the farmers but all the operators of the coffee supply chain, including the roasters as Danesi who are specialized in the selection and work process and see good coffee as a life mission of many lives interwoven together.

Coffee has disappeared from the world, and with him a whole world: that of coffee. And yet someone has survived and tries to find a valid alternative. Big coffee multinationals have diversified their business and have made millionaires investments to study and understand which beverage could be given to the world instead of coffee: a concoction made of water and artificial aromas that remembers a lot (so little) coffee.

Because coffee will also have disappeared, but not business, shareholders and investment funds… The show must go on, with or without coffee. 

Just a fantasy?

What if it was not just a fantasy? Today, as yesterday, many coffee producers still exercise a great deal of pressure on the production of their crops in order to maximize yield while not respecting biodiversity.

At the same time, the tangible effects of climate change are exposing many crops to unprecedented weather phenomena that make plants weaker and often reduce their production drastically. By continuing on this path, the fate of coffee will be characterized by a slow and progressive decrease of the varieties that can be cultivated.

Maybe the end of coffee is not so close, but if there was a path to get there sooner, be aware that many growers around the globe are taking that path at maximum speed even if they do not intend to.

Long life to (quality) coffee

There is a commitment that our company has put in place many years ago to avoid finding ourselves in a world without coffee: a series of projects have been undertaken to prevent losing forever some of the coffee varieties and cultures.

Due to this reason Danesi looks for producers and cooperatives of producers able to grant certain standards of work and processing in full respect of both sustainable cultivations and the local communities living on coffee. Danesi promotes an idea of conscious agriculture through these short supply chain projects, because we know that a coffee farmer who is strangled by the logic of lowest price will have no funds to invest in more durable, sustainable and reliable crops.

All this because at Danesi we can’t imagine a world without coffee and its many varieties.

Ilaria Danesi

*Le intermittenze della morte, José Saramago, 2005

To our great satisfaction and pride, we recently introduced in our production line a new system to clean green coffee consisting of a new optical sorting machine providing great technological support to the production process. Through this state-of-the-art machinery it will be possible to introduce only the best quality coffee beans with the best characteristics in the roasting process, “scientifically” eliminating beans that present the smallest defects. The result? Only one hundred percent quality blends are created of an even better taste!

However, at Danesi we firmly believe that technology cannot and should not represent the only resource to rely on. There are human components that were, are and will still be irreplaceable for a long time. Due to this particular reason they make the difference.

Between tradition and innovation

Danesi Caffé is a company with over 100 years of history and tradition. From the earliest times when coffee was milled manually and transported in sacks on tricycles around the streets of Rome it was also the time when my great grand-father Alfredo opened the first coffee emporium in Tomacelli street. A lot of time has gone by but Danesi has been able to grow always combining and balancing technology, people, and tradition.

In the last 100 years Danesi has been gradually adding new and more modern equipment and machinery (some of which are unique for the Italian market!). Progressively it has also restructured its assets and management to keep pace with times and it has expanded its presence both in Italy and abroad.

Yet there are aspects that have not changed and will not. For most the family management (we are now in the fourth generation), the sincere passion, the human component, and the immense love for coffee is present in all aspects. 

Live your coffee

Coffee should be lived with passion and consistency. That’s why I love traveling as much as possible, go to the plantations (Brazil, Guatemala, Rwanda, and many other countries of the globe), to see the plants with my own eyes, feel the soil, study and understand the new cultivation techniques.

But also to talk to the local growers, learn about them and listen to their histories, share their satisfaction for a good crop for that year, the fruit of their work and sacrifice, but also the preoccupation for a constantly uncertain future.

The thing that I like the most when I walk in the rows of coffee plants is to touch the branches, the leaves and to smell and taste the red cherries that are waiting to be picked.  I like to suck and taste the pulp letting them stimulate the tip of my tongue with the sweetness and my taste buds sliding down my palate.

I also love the time spent in the tasting room sampling one by one the coffees I have to choose to compose our blends. Sometimes I close my eyes in order to savor with all my senses the coffees that give me the feeling of chocolate and toffee, peach and apricot, a basket of citrus fruits, or of a sweet spicy dish.

Then I open my eyes, I rinse my mouth, and I start from the beginning: It is the senses and sensations, driven by experience, to give the final response and make me decide if all this will be transformed, through the proper processing and thanks to technology, in Danesi blends created to be true “pastries” to be tasted at the end of every meal. Never bitter. Never sour. Never bland and astringent, but round and sweet to which you never need to add anything. 

The Sommelier of Coffee

Do you now that coffee is just like wine? It is tasted to evaluate its organoleptic characteristics, qualities and properties. It is the process of cupping. Be careful: doing it is not so easy, and it is not for everybody, “technical skills” are needed, sensitivity, and most importantly a lot of passion and experience.

I studied and worked hard to get the official certificate of “Q Grader” of coffee. Putting myself in the game in the first person. I did this precisely for the love that I have had for coffee since my childhood, and thanks to my family tradition and the Company and for what I feel for this unique drink and its aroma.

I remember the stories that grandfather Nino told me and my sisters when he on the eve of the Second World War used to go to Naples, the land import of the green coffee nearest to Rome with a FIAT Topolino, loading two bags at a time. It was when, at the age of 13, I saw my grandfather prepared with skill and meticulousness, a coffee with a mocha.

He watched it until the coffee came out and then poured it into a cup, and drunk it with his eyes closed, at that point, so much curiosity and passion trigged inside me for coffee.

A continuous research

Coffee is a living product, it is in continuous transformation. There are many species and varieties, and every single factor (climate, geography, soil composition, cultivation techniques, and processing of drupes, roasting, preparation, etc.) affects its characteristics and taste. This is why it is not possible to test and taste a coffee only once and “live on residuals.” No!: quality must be checked (and selected) continuously, not only through cutting edge machinery, but also thanks to hands, eyes, nose, mouth, and… sensibility.

When we receive the new coffee samples in the factory, we first put them through a manual selection bean by bean. Each green bean is evaluated thanks to our senses: its surface, its shape and consistency, its color, the presence of imperfections, etc.

Only those who pass this strict and severe control are chosen and subsequently reselected in large quantities by means of our most modern technological machines.

Finally, they are processed, toasted and transformed into traditional Italian coffee. When the blends are ready, in fact it is still time for tests and tasting: observing, sniffing, tasting… And then? Then we talk, we compare the product (so many beautiful and compassionate conversations with my sisters and my father Roberto!), it’s time to make the decision: all is needed to understand, choose and select only the most and best intriguing qualities. 

The Coffee Experience

In short, coffee is first of all an experience: sensory and cognitive. Secondly, come into play machinery and cutting-edge equipment that help to complete a process. Only through these steps coffee can become an experience of maximum pleasure for the final consumer.

This is why at Danesi Caffé the most modern and refined technology will always be flanked (or in this case I would say “guided”?) by human knowledge and sensitivity. That is why we are able to offer you with sincere pride and satisfaction a high-quality coffee. A coffee to be enjoyed with your heart, your head, and all your senses.

Simply… Danesi Caffé!

Ilaria Danesi

“Gutta Cavat lapidem” (The drop digs the stone), stated an ancient Latin proverb. The meaning is simple but profound: every little gesture, if repeated and shared, can lead to great results. Or, in other words: one step at a time allows you to get really far towards a desired destination.

And if I told you even with “one cup of coffee at a time” one can get important results and a better future? Yes, it is exactly like that. The choice of our daily coffee can make a huge difference, not only for ourselves, but also for the environment, the communities and for the people in need.

How? I will explain it shortly, first let’s take a step back. 

Crisis and Challenges

In the era of globalization (since the end of the 1980s), profound changes have taken place in the global coffee sector, radically mutating the role of coffee in the economies of many producing countries.

These economies have been severely affected by the fall of prices in international markets, by the reduction in income from coffee exports and by the widespread corruption in public institutions. Still today, the volatility of international prices, climate change, the lack of manpower and the need for profit are all factors that press unceasingly on the coffee producers so to use new techniques and employ more technologies.

The objective? Minimize production costs and, at the same time, maximize returns while maintaining quality standards.

In the search for a solution

The decline in coffee prices must in fact be compensated by an increase of productivity, if we want that coffee cultivation is to remain a sustainable activity for small business and that larger and more specialized companies can survive in the future.

Increasing productivity levels requires the introduction of innovative technologies, improvements in agronomic practices and a greater control in the administrative and financial management of the plantation.

However, this does not mean that implemented technologies necessarily represent sustainable cultivation models in the long run. It must also be said that the technology transfer cannot be possible unless the farmers have direct access to credit and receive a constant support from their native countries. In short, this situation is anything but simple. 

Investing in the future

What can be done to ensure sustainability of coffee plantations with a low environmental impact in the long term? In order to meet this challange, the transfer of technological, financial and administrative know-how is essential.

In several producing countries, various systems for the transfer of technologies and innovations have been implemented, these systems on one hand take into account the needs and necessities of the growers and on the other they aim to improve the efficiency of their crops and lead to increase the net profits.

It is a long road to achieve a satisfactory social impact.  We need a continuous and constant commitment. 

Danesi Caffè made its choice

Danesi Company chooses to select and buy green coffee that will employ in its blends from those groups of small farmers and those medium-size companies employing new technologies not to produce higher yields, but to grow a better quality product while respecting the environment where they work and live.

Danesi also chooses to support directly small farmers in order to promote their development, their capacity and self-sufficiency to grow sustainable coffee in the long term. In short, we commit ourselves to make our contribution.

And you, what do you choose?

So, does it really make sense to continue to rely on certain multinational companies or companies with few scruples, indifferent to any social issue, perhaps to save a few cents per coffee? Or is it better to choose (thankfully we are more and more!) who decided to invest with effort and passion in today, thus ensuring a better future? Danesi Caffè for a long time has been moving in this direction, so as to become one of the distinguishing traits of the Company.

I want to state loud and clear that there cannot be quality without responsability and vice versa. This is why we have decided to untie ourselves from downward price logics, which would damage primarily the farmers and the local producers. This is why we have never betrayed our “first commandment”: quality and respect, always. 

One coffee at a time

It is clear: each person can contribute to a better future, favoring those producers who have chosen to follow the path of sustainability. If it will be so coffee beside being good will also have a very special aftertaste, that of ethics and respect.

Because even the simple choice of coffee to be poured into your cup can make the difference and contribute to a better future: for the environment, the people and the whole planet. Yes, “gutta cavat lapidem”: small gestures can lead to great results.  

Ilaria Danesi