An interview with Andrea Albertino on the 1st BSF Symposium

As the first BSF Symposium gets underway, we talk to Andrea Albertino , who came up with the idea a few months ago.

Q: Where did it all start?

A: I actually had a first chat with Luigi Odello , the President of the Italian Tasting Association, and invited him to one of our online webinars. He initially accepted, but then put me in touch with Manuela Violoni , who proposed the idea of an all-day event around coffee. After talking to Elisabetta Milani , Marketing Manager at Caffè Milani, we decided to go ahead and organise a full day dedicated to coffee. We then got the approval of the BSF Council and started looking for speakers.

Q: Who are the speakers?

A: The world of coffee is huge, and we decided to bring together speakers from both industry and academia. I started with Prof. Carlo Bicchi, who was doing a webinar for the BSF in 2021, who put me in touch with Luciano Navarini from the well-known Illy Caffe, Trieste. The name of Imre Blank was suggested by Prof. Peter Schieberle and has more than 27 years experience as a scientist in Nestlé. Manuela Violoni, who works with Luigi Odello, will give a presentation herself and lead a sensory game in which participants will be challenged to taste coffees. Flavourtech will be represented by Tim Birks , who will present the Spinning Cone Column technology, which is widely used to concentrate aroma volatiles. The last of the day, due to the time zone, will be Clay Gordon , who spends his life talking about chocolate, here presenting the similarities with coffee.

Q: The list of speakers is impressive, who is this symposium aimed at?

A: I would probably say both flavourists and technologists working with coffee and coffee flavours would benefit. Coffee is a difficult matrix, it doesn't need flavours per se, but its complexity is always a challenge to recreate. The market for coffee flavours is very big, from ice cream to milk-based drinks, for example. The event is almost sold out, but we still have a few places for last minute participants.

Q: Why this location?

A: Elisabetta Milani offered to host the event and the location is in Como, close to the famous lake. Participants will also be able to visit the Museum of Coffee in the afternoon.

Q: What are the next steps for the BSF?

A: The BSF started online events during the pandemic and we want to continue; our last event with Caro Verbeek in collaboration with the BSP had the highest number of participants, but we think there is nothing like a face-to-face meeting where ideas come together. It will also be a great opportunity to meet former colleagues and friends.

Reserve your place, we look forward to seeing you in Como!