October 1st is International Coffee Day. It was launched in Milan in 2015 to promote fair trade coffee and to raise public awareness of the situation of coffee farmers.

On October 1st, like every other day, we certainly drank our coffee, the one of the mocha at home, sleepily, at the bar to have a chat, in front of the coffee machine with colleagues or at the restaurant after lunch.

In fact, Italy has a consolidated tradition linked to coffee, which until recently was strongly connected, but also limited to the consumption of espresso.

Of course, the hard core of coffee fundamentalists in the Italian way, those who expect the same espresso shot as the local bar even abroad, is difficult to eradicate, but the spread of Specialty Coffees is gradually gaining ground.

After a first wave, which corresponds to the very first diffusion of coffee in the United States one hundred years ago and a second wave in the 60s and 70s with a product of superior quality and widespread, with Specialty Coffee we refer to the third wave.

This definition was first introduced in 1974 by Erma Knutsen, an American roaster to classify coffees that came from geographical areas where the microclimate had a significant impact on the sensory properties of the bean.

Upstream is certainly the selection of a valuable product, which is such thanks to the climate and the height of the land, but the different methods of harvesting and roasting the bean, which make it a truly sustainable product and the method extraction that takes place in an alternative way to how we are used to, play an important role.

In fact, the beans are harvested by hand so as to ensure the integrity of the product on the one hand, and to ensure the work of small local companies on the other. In fact, the relationships between growers, traders, roasters and bartenders become closer and "microroasteries" are created, the very small roasting companies that offer an artisanal product to be enjoyed slowly, a bit like a vintage wine.

In Italy, Specialty Coffee is undoubtedly a niche product, in the past also underestimated by the big players and labeled as a passing trend, but currently it is constantly growing with even an app dedicated to consumers and baristas to navigate the different italian cafes and roasters. (reference to Guida Caffè, Italian Specialty Coffee Guide https://italianspecialtycoffeeguide.com/)

The world of Specialty Coffee is therefore made up of small businesses that guarantee superior artisan quality with effort and attention, thanks to the controlled and certain supply chain in support of local production companies.

The conservation of Specialty Coffee is therefore a fundamental aspect so that a product of excellence, cared for in all its facets, arrives with the same properties and characteristics with which it was conceived in the tasters' cups.

The Packstyle packaging has a line dedicated to the conservation of coffee, both in beans and in powder, keeping its aromatic characteristics unaltered. Packstyle offers a varied range from a dimensional point of view, with pouches that can comfortably contain a pound, up to the new format that will soon enter the doypacks family and will contain a kilo of product. Finally, the product can also be visible thanks to the creation of a transparent window on the front of the pouch, easily applicable following our tutorial.

As for the materials, also in this case, the packaging for coffee is available in different versions. In addition to classic solutions, such as film, aluminum or paper and aluminum together, Packstyle shares its attention to the environment with Specialty Coffee companies, expanding its offer with sustainable materials, such as recyclable high barrier film, which provides excellent protection against oxygen, carbon dioxide and aromas and the recyclable paper, also with an EVOH barrier against external agents.

In addition to being resealable, with zips designed to easily open and close the bags and maintain the quality of the product, and be suitable for vacuum packaging and in a protected atmosphere, the Packstyle bags intended for coffee packaging are available with the degassing valve that avoids that the gas generated by the coffee causes the package to burst. At the same time, the valve only favours the escape of gas, preserving the aroma and freshness of the coffee unaltered.

However, the advantages of turning to Packstyle for the purchase of packaging are not limited to the technical aspects of optimal product conservation, because we know well that the packaging, in addition to storing and protecting the product, is the main communication vehicle towards the user.

Specialty Coffee, being still a niche product, needs to exploit the information function of its packaging, indicating the origin of the coffee, information relating to the territory, the botanical varieties, the processing method, the aromatic notes. Only with the micro-runs offered by Packstyle, i.e. minimum orders of 50 pieces, can small coffee roasters afford precise and up-to-date packaging with all the information the consumer needs. In fact, since Specialty Coffee is the product of special soils, sought-after crops and small families of local farmers, the information relating to it is often evolving and only thanks to the small quantities of Packstyle it is possible to propose an optimal packaging from a protective point of view, and accurate from an informative point of view, avoiding printing waste.

Furthermore, thanks to technologies such as QR codes, sensors and augmented reality (which we talk about in the blog at the following link), packaging becomes smart by activating multifunctional communication.

As for Specialty Coffee, we rely on small local producers, supporting local economies and paying equitably for the goods, Packstyle also offers packaging produced entirely in Italy, following high quality standards with ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 certifications. Furthermore Packstyle uses clean energy supplied by the Forgreen group and makes use of Aticelca certifications for the recyclability of paper and FSC for origin from forests and plantations managed in compliance with rigorous environmental and economic standards of the paper used.

For a product such as Specialty Coffee, choosing a packaging in line with its sustainability philosophy is an important message that indicates the consistency of the brand throughout its entire life cycle, from the producer to the final consumer. Packstyle, with its sustainable and recyclable products, with the ability to order small quantities while avoiding waste, with its environmental certifications is a company with an ethical behavior that fits well into the virtuous chain initiated by the spreaders of the Specialty Coffee phenomenon.

So we just have to enjoy a special coffee, not only in taste, but above all for the ethical choices behind it. We at Packstyle have mentioned them to you in this article because awareness is the first step towards a greener and more sustainable world.