After ten years of fervent and intense activity Sandalj Trading Company’s training centre, the Italian Coffee Academy, has renovated and revamped it’s headquarters. The new laboratory is now in a 60 sqm space on Trieste’s Grand Canal, the historic city centre. Under the supervision and guidance of Edy Bieker, Sandalj Trading Company’s quality manager, and the cup tasters Maurizio Stocco and Giampaolo Carini, thirty thousand coffee cups are analyzed and evaluated each year. Starting from the samples presented and offered by the producers at origin, going on to our outturn samples for the lots that have been purchased and unloaded, our analysis also involves a rigorous evaluation of the blends created for and with the roasters. It is a complete quality control at every and each stage of the value added chain.

In the new laboratory, there are sample roasters that can roast a range from 100 grams to two kilos of coffee, there are various versions and models of espresso and coffee machines that allow for tasting and evaluation of coffees in the largest possible range of extractions. The black granite cup tasting table is a fixed one, an adaptation to the rotating ones, which is more suitable for espresso tasting. A very practical archive with space for over 3.500 samples which can be stored for an extended period of time, usually up to one year or longer, guaranteeing easy access to all coffees shipped and delivered during the course of the year. The new laboratory will permit us to improve our quality control for all coffees supplied by Sandalj, and will consolidate the Italian Coffee Academy’s role in the distribution and diffusion of the espresso culture around the world. Other than providing cup tasting courses and lessons on the art of Italian coffee blending, already enjoyed and appreciated by hundreds of enthusiasts from all around the world , the Academy is enjoying increasingly important role in tailor made courses and specialized consulting aimed at selected clients and company groups. Our roaster clients will consequently be able to offer their staff specialized training seminars geared towards improving current product lines if not creating new ones altogether.

With this new centre, already a landmark and a benchmark for gourmet coffees and high quality Italian blends, Sandalj will now be able to provide roasters with the necessary support to improve their company profile. Please feel free to book a course with us or organize a company visit to our premises you will always be most welcome!