As regular customers will know, we like to keep our finger on the pulse of global coffee culture. Italy has a long history with coffee, with Venice being one of the first ports in Europe to import coffee in the 16th century. Many of the standard coffee terms we use every day are Italian, including latte, cappuccino and espresso.
Now, Italy is pushing for its coffee culture to be protected as part of Unesco world heritage. This means it has cultural, historical or scientific global significance. Rather than putting forward the whole of Italian coffee culture, officials are campaigning for Unesco to add the act of ordering an espresso to their list.
Campaigners feel that in Italy coffee isn’t a drink, it’s a ritual and part of the national identity. The campaign has already found favour with the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and it now needs to go before Unesco itself for approval.
According to deputy minister of agriculture Gian Marco Centinaio the submission is more important than ever. We’re all working to repair the social relations fractured by Covid, and for Italians reclaiming their coffee shop culture is a big step forwards.
Italy has already registered 15 ‘intangible’ Unesco assets with more on the waiting list. These include Alpinism, traditional violin craftsmanship and falconry. As one of the countries the world really associates with the culture and drinking of coffee, we think Italy should get approval. We’d love to see coffee culture recognised by Unesco!
For more information about our top class coffee beans and coffee accessories, all available at competitive wholesale prices, take a look at our main website www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk. We’ve everything you need for your coffee business – or just for your own domestic use. And remember, next time you order yourself a cup of espresso, you could be paying tribute to a Unesco-approved activity!