Barista’s General Manager and coffee fanatic, Laurent, attended HostMilano in Italy and had an incredible experience. He shared with us his discoveries, his top picks, along with the latest trends and products he saw at the event.
HostMilano is the world’s largest trade fair dedicated to food service and hospitality, and it takes place every two years in Milan. For coffee professionals, it’s a must-see event that brings together major industry players, from roasters to manufacturers of espresso parts and machines, as well as coffee processors.
Laurent attended the event to see HostMilano’s coffee section, which covered an area the size of eleven football fields. Safe to say he drank his fair share of coffee at the event!
Innovation and design are the two words to describe the new products and trends Laurent discovered at HostMilano. When it came to Rocket Espresso Milano, our trusted brand for all the espresso machines we sell and use every day, a handful of new releases for 2020 caught our coffee lover’s attention.
One of the latest home espresso machines is the Appartamento, now available in black with copper circles on the side. The R9 One, the company’s highest range of home machines, will now be available with wooden panels and a lever, reminiscent of some of the older machines, for making espresso.
Rocket’s commercial machines include the R9V, which offers a range of settings for baristas to adjust the pressure based on the type of coffee. The main new features for commercial machines are the systems and mechanics located under the counter, freeing up space on the work surface, which now only has to accommodate the brew group.
Throughout his visit, Laurent had a few favourites as far as equipment, especially with machines and grinders. The brand La San Marco had a fully transparent machine in glass panels, offering a clear view of the internal mechanics. They also had a double-sided machine on a counter, allowing baristas to work with multiple brew groups at a time, on either side. Not only do they offer a sleek design, but they’re highly efficient machines.
The company SanRemo also caught Laurent’s attention with its four–brew group machines featuring a camouflage design. The brand is going all out with its designs, and this machine make for the perfect coffee shop centrepiece!
When it came to grinders, a fundamental piece of equipment for good espresso, the brand CEADO made Laurent’s favourites. These highly efficient grinders offer a choice of six different burrs, ranging from a good-value set to very high-end blades. As he visited the different booths and exhibitors, Laurent discovered the coffee grinder museum presented by Cunill, displaying a wide variety of grinders, some of which were from early in the 20th century!
During his visit, Laurent observed three major trends: the importance of design (as mentioned above), machine automation, and the environmental aspect of coffee packaging.
With more and more automated machines offering high-quality coffee, there’s no excuse for anyone to be drinking bad coffee these days. These efficient, high-end machines are a great choice, especially for offices, for example. The trend is growing without compromising the quality of the product.
Industry players are placing more and more importance on the environmental impact of coffee packaging, which presents major challenges. Choosing a material that acts as a barrier against moisture and oxygen is crucial for keeping the product fresh and increasing its shelf life. As of now, there’s no perfect option that keeps the product fresh while offering a recyclable or compostable material. However, research is being conducted on the subject to find new solutions. Proposals for aluminum-free membranes are beginning to emerge, while short-, medium- and long-term solutions are being developed to reduce the industry’s environmental footprint. Our team is certainly keeping a close eye on the issue!
