Mar 25, 20211 min read

Italian espresso is candidate to become UNESCO heritage

Italian espresso coffee is worth about 5 billion euros. Manufacturing companies employ almost 10 thousand workers, and 3 billion cups are consumed every day. This Italian excellence is now a candidate for UNESCO heritage status.

The Italian Minister of Agriculture, Stefano Patuanelli, has announced the presentation of the candidatures of the “Rite of traditional Italian espresso coffee” and of the “Culture of Neapolitan coffee” as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Last March 1st, an appeal was launched by the main protagonists of the Italian espresso coffee chain. These are the Consorzio di Tutela Del Caffè Espresso Italiano Tradizionale, the Comitato Italiano del Caffè of Unione Italiana Food, the IEI – Istituto Espresso Italiano, Fipe-Confcommercio, the Gruppo Italiano Torrefattori Caffè, the Associazione Caffè Trieste, and the Consorzio Torrefattori delle Tre Venezie.

ITALIAN ESPRESSO COFFEE BY THE NUMBERS

Year after year, Italian coffee is a growing success. So much so that, according to the latest data released by the IEI, up to 3 billion cups per day are consumed. In Italy, experts explain, this is one of the most brilliant food & beverage sectors. The espresso coffee chain is worth about 5 billion euros with almost 10 thousand employees. The coffee sector can boast more than 800 coffee roasters with about 7,000 employees. According to analysts, Italy is the third country in the world, after Germany and Belgium, for export volumes of coffee in all its forms.