U posjeti kod illy

Iako su moja strast specijalna piva, ovaj blog ima namjenu promovirati kulturu kvalitetnog pijenja, a to onda znači da ću pisati i o kvalitetnim destilatima, vinima, pjenušcima, itd. Također ću pisati i o kvalitetnoj kavi, a to je ono što upravo slijedi.

Na početku valja napomenuti da cilj ovoga bloga nije promovirati određenu marku, već promovirati kvalitetu, te iskustva koja nam pruža „druženje s kvalitetom“. U ovom slučaju, primjer je konkretan i spominjanje marke je nezaobilazano. Vidjeti ćete zašto.

Tijekom prošloga tjedna sam doživio neponovljive trenutke radeći na projektu za tvrtku illy iz Trsta, (kažu da "illy" ide malim slovom) poznatog svjetskog proizvođača „premium“ kave. Tu priliku sam imao zahvaljujući partnerstvu škole MIB School of Management (na kojoj trenutno studiram) i tvrtke illy. Za potrebe projekta nam se pridružilo šest MBA studenata s Rollins College-a (Orlando, USA), tako da smo nas ukupno 11 studenata proveli nezaboravne trenutke u „brainstorming“-u i druženju. O detaljima vezanim uz novi marketinški projekt tvrtke illy trenutno ne mogu pisati, no kada to bude moguće napisati ću post, pogotovo ako illy odabere neke od naših ideja te ih primjeni u praksi. Tijekom izrade projekta smo dva puta imali priliku posjetiti sjedište tvrtke u Trstu i neka od tih iskustava želim podijeliti s vama.

Fascinantno je koliko illy pridaje važnosti kvaliteti, te kontroli kvalitete. Inače, tvrtka je osnovana 1933 i za one koji nisu znali – Francesco Illy je izumio „espresso machine“, mašinu za kavu. Tvrtka je uspješno poslovala u narednih 45 godina, no kada se 1977 tvrtki pridružio Francescov unuk Riccardo, došlo je do zaokreta u strategiji tvrtke, te ubrzo i do strelovitog rasta. Riccardo je tada donio jedinstvenu odluku u svijetu kave – illy će proizvoditi samo jedan visokokvalitetni i jedinstveni „blend“ kave. Tijekom nekoliko godina, eliminirao je 19 od 20 dotadašnjih „blendova“ i zadržao samo jedan najkvalitetniji. Otada, illy proizvodi samo jedan 100% Arabica „blend“ kave za sve proizvode, što je praktički nezamislivo za veliku većinu svih ostalih proizvođača kave. Danas, illy kava je prepoznata kao visokokvalitetna svugdje u svijetu i biraju je oni koji cijene kvalitetu i koji se žele diferencirati od „mainstreama“. Zbog toga im niti nije teško plaćati višu cijenu (cijena je oko 30% viša u odnosu na konkurenciju). Da bi illy uspio održati kvalitetu kave identičnom, primjenjuje rigorozne kontrole kvalitete sirovina, te održava iznimno čvrste odnose sa svojim dobavljačima širom svijeta.

Kada šećete tvrtkom i proizvodnim pogonom i kada vidite tu čistoću, ne začudite se kada vam pokažu stroj koji kontrolira svako zrno kave koje ulazi u pogon, te koji odbacuje svako ono koje nije „idealno“. Odbačena zrna se skupljaju, pakuju i na kraju se ponude i prodaju na tržištu. Da, dobro ste pročitali – neki proizvođač na kraju kupi zrna koja nisu bila dovoljno dobra za illy, te od njih proizvodi svoju kavu, koja možda opet završi u vašem omiljenom baru! Kao što bira zrna, illy bira i barove. Ako pojedini bar želi imati illy kavu u svom lokalu, mora ispunjavati i određene uvjete, a to je prvenstveno vezano uz pripremu kave i stav vlasnika bara prema usluzi i kvaliteti. Baristi koji rade s illy kavom često znaju reći da je „zahtjevna“ za pripremu – to nam govori da  illy kava zahtijeva određena „pravila ponašanja“ u rukovanju s njom i samo u tom slučaju nam pruža ono vrhunsko od sebe. Upravo takav vrhunski espresso sam popio na centralnom baru u holu tvrtke zajedno s kolegama i nasmiješenim radnicima illy-a koji su upravo bili stigli na pauzu. Nakon espressa smo probali i desert iz posebnih automata – „caffè crema“ – nešto između sladoleda i granite, na bazi illy kave...jako fino, no mislim da nije na prodaju...

English version

Visiting illy

Even though my greatest passion are the special beers, this blog is intended to promote the culture of quality drinking, and this means that I will write also about quality distillates, wines, champagne, etc. I will also write about quality coffee, and that is precisely what follows.

At the beginning it should be noted that the purpose of this blog isn't to promote a particular brand, but to promote the quality and experiences which gives us a  „hanging out with quality“. In this case, the example is concrete and the brand mentioning is unavoidable. You will see why.

During the last week I experienced unique moments working on a project for the Trieste's illy company, the world's famous manufacturer of „premium“-quality coffee. I had such an opportunity thanks to the partnership among the MIB School of Management (where I'm currently studying) and the illy company. For the project purposes we were joined by six MBA students from Rollins College (Orlando, USA), and so totally 11 students spent memorable moments in „brainstorming“ and having fun. The details of this new marketing project by illy I cannot write currently, but when possible I will write a post, especially if illy selects some of our ideas and applies them in practice. During the project development we have had two opportunity to visit the company headquarters in Trieste, and some of these experiences I want to share with you. It is fascinating how much importance illy attaches to the quality and to the quality control.

The illy company was founded in 1933 and for those who didn't know – Francesco Illy has invented the „espresso machine“. The company has operated successfully in the next 45 years, but when in 1977 the company joined Francesco's grandson Riccardo, occured a big shift in company's strategy, which quickly led to the fast growth . At that time Riccardo decided something unique in the world of coffee – illy will produce an only one blend of high-quality coffee. Over a few years, he has eliminated 19 of 20 previous blends and kept only the best one. Since then, illy produces only one „100% Arabica“ blend of coffee for all the products, which is unthinkable for the vast majority of the all other coffee producers. Today, illy coffee is recognized as a high-quality coffee all around the world and is chosen by those who appreciate quality and those who wants to differentiate themselves from the „mainstream“. Those people are ready to pay a higher price for this opportunity (the illy price is cca 30% higher compared to the main competitors). To be able to maintain the quality of coffee identical, illy applies a rigorous quality control of raw materials, and maintains very strong relationships with its suppliers around the world.  

When you are walking around the company and production plant, and when you see the cleanliness, you aren't surprised when they demonstrate you a machine which controls every coffee bean entered in production, and which rejects every one that isn't „ideal“. Discarded beans are gathered, packed, offered and sold on the market. Yes, you've read it correctly – some manufacturers buy the beans which were not good enough for illy, and produce its coffe which theoretically could end up in your favorite bar! Similar to choosing the coffee beans, illy is choosing the bars. If particular bar wants to have an illy coffee, the bar must meet certain requirements, primarily related to the preparation of coffee and bar-owners attitude concerning the service and quality. Baristas who work with illy coffee often say that is very „challenging“ to prepare it – this tells us that illy coffee requires a certain „code of conduct“ in handling with her and only in this case provides us with exellence. Such a excellent espresso I've drank at the central bar in the lobby of illy company along with my colleagues and smiling illy workers who had just arrived for the break. After the espresso we've tasted the desert from special machines - „caffè crema“ – a something between the ice cream and granita, based on illy coffee...very nice, but I think it isn't for sale...

"Tasting experience" u Riminiju

Još uvijek se nalazim pod dojmom "Sapore" sajma u Riminiju, kojem sam kao gost prisustvovao prošlog vikenda. "Sapore" je jedini sajam u Italiji koji je specijaliziran za HoReCa kupce i profesionalce. Sajam predstavlja izložbu pića i prehrane, što uključuje široki raspon svježe i zamrznute hrane, plodova mora Mediterana, maslinovih ulja, bezalkoholnih i energetskih pića, vina, pjenušaca i šampanjaca, raznih destilata, piva te pripadajuće opreme za svaku kategoriju.

Kao zaljubljenik u kvalitetna specijalna piva, većinu dvodnevnog vremena sam proveo u "pivskim" paviljonima. Pritom sam najviše ostao fasciniran brojem talijanskih mikropivovara koje su predstavljale svoja piva, te kvalitetom njihovih piva. Pivovare poput "Amarcord"-a ili "Birra del Borgo" su kvalitativno zaista uz bok najkvalitetnijim proizvođačima piva iz Belgije ili pak Velike Britanije. Talijanski ale-ovi i stout-i ne zaostaju za najkvalitetnijima iz spomenutih zemalja.

Italija je u svijetu posebno poznata kao proizvođač vrhunskih vina, no u posljednjih 5-10 godina raste i broj talijanskih mikropivovara (danas ih je već 300-tinjak) koje sve više ostavljanju traga i na svjetskoj sceni. Također, u istom razdoblju je rastao i uvoz "premium" i "superpremium" specijalnih piva u Italiji, uglavnom iz Belgije i Njemačke. Zaključak je da prosječni Talijan sve više konzumira kvalitetna specijalna piva a to svakako ide na uštrb njihovog tradicionalnog pijenja vina, prosecca i drugih talijanskih pića poput aperol spritz-a i sl. Pojedine studije navode da u zemljama koje su tradicionalno "vinske" zemlje (dakle Italija, Francuska,...) pada potrošnja vina a raste potrošnja specijalnih piva, dok u zemljama koje su tradicionalno "pivske" zemlje (pr. Njemačka), pada potrošnja piva a raste potrošnja bijelih destilata i vina. Svakako, na navedeno utječu trendovi i promjene u potrebama potrošača na pojedinim tržištima, ali isto tako i potreba potrošača da se okreću visokokvalitetnim proizvodima na uštrb komercijalnih "mainstream" proizvoda.

Zanimljivo je napomenuti da na "Sapore" sajmu nije izlagala niti jedna od velikih pivarskih multinacionalnih kompanija (AB Inbev, Heineken, Carlsberg, SAB Miller), pa čak niti neke velike pivovare s recimo "premium" proizvodima (Erdinger, Paulaner). "Sapore" je mjesto za visokokvalitetne proizvode u pojedinim kategorijama, pa su tako među izlagačima piva našle marke Amarcord, Birra del Borgo, Chimay, Augustiner, Schneider Weisse, Corsendonk, itd. Vidljivo je da se ovaj sajam razvija u smjeru - visokokvalitetno, prirodno, biološko, kontrolirano,...

Vjerujem da smo u Hrvatskoj već "zagazili" u slično razmišljanje, te da se kultura kvalitetnog pijenja razvija sve više. Dakako, na tome treba raditi i dalje te ljudima objasniti koje su razlike između kvalitetnih i komercijalnih "mainstream" proizvoda. Svatko voli sljubljivati kvalitetnu hranu s kvalitetnim pićem, no da bi tako i bilo, kvalitetno piće nam mora biti dostupno i ponuđeno. Kada ga jednom odaberemo i isprobamo, teško se vraćamo na staro...zar ne? I ne samo zato što ujutro nema glavobolje...


English version
Tasting experience in Rimini

I'm still under the impression of „Sapore“ fair in Rimini, which I attended as a guest last weekend. „Sapore“ is the only fair in Italy specialized for the HoReCa customers and professionals. The fair is an exhibition of beverages and food, which includes a wide range of fresh and frozen food, seafood from Mediterranean, olive oil, non-alchocolic and energy drinks, wines, sparkling wines and champagnes, various distillates, beers and related equipment for every category.

As a lover of high quality special beers, I spent two days mostly in a „beer“ pavillions. There I was especially fascinated with the presence of high number of Italian microbreweries and the quality of their beers. Breweries like „Amarcord“ or „Birra del Borgo“ are indeed  qualitatively alongside the finest beer producers from Belgium or Great Britain. Italian's ales and stouts are not far behind to the best beers in the mentioned countries.

Italy is especially famous in the world as a producer of premium wines, but in the last 5-10 years there are growing a number of microbreweries (today in Italy are more than 300 microbreweries or brew-pubs), which are increasingly leaving their mark on the world market. Also, in the same period, grew the import of „premium“ and „superpremium“ special beers in Italy, mainly from Belgium and Germany. The conclusion is that the average Italian consumes more and more high-quality special beers and this certainly goes to the decreasing of their traditional drinking of wine, Prosecco and other drinks like Aperol spritz, etc. Some case studies state that in countries that are traditionally „wine“ countries (i.e. Italy, France,...), wine consumption is falling and the rising is consumption of special beers, while in countries that are traditionally „beer“ countries (e.g. Germany), beer consumption is falling and the rising is consumption of wine and white distillates. Certainly, that is affected by the trends and change of the needs of consumers in particular markets, but also by the switching of consumer needs to a high-quality products instead of commercial „mainstream“ products.

It is interesting to note that on the „Sapore“ fair were not exhibited any beers by the big multinational brewery companies (AB Inbev, Heineken, Carlsberg, SAB Miller), and even some large breweries of, let's say, „premium“ products (Erdinger, Paulaner). „Sapore“ is the place for a high-quality products in each category, so among the exhibitors you could find the brands like Amarcord, Birra del Borgo, Chimay, Augustiner, Schneider Weisse, Corsendonk, etc. It is evident that this fair is developing itself only in the direction – high quality, natural, biological, controlled,...

I believe that in Croatia we have already „stepped“ in a similar mindset, and that the culture of quality drinking is developing more and more. Of course, it should be work on this topic and to further explain to the people the great differences between quality products and commercial „mainstream“ products. Everyone loves to combine a good food with a good drink, but to have this possibility, quality drink must be available and offered. When you choose one and when you try it, it is very difficult to go back to the old routine...right? And this is not just because there is no headache in the morning...