Francesco Sanapo of Ditta Artigianale has won the 2019 Italian Cup Tasters Championship, held at Sigep Rimini from 19 to 23 January.
Ditta Artigianale is a specialty micro-roastery with support from Scuola Masterbar by Caffè Corsini.
Francesco scored a perfect eight out of eight, correctly identifying the odd-one-out in eight sets of three coffees in the fastest time.
The is Francesco’s first time competing in a coffee championship since placing sixth at the 2013 World Barista Championship in Melbourne. He was previously named Italian Barista Champion in 2010, 2011 and 2013. Francesco also created reality TV series Barista & Farmer.
“It was my first time in a tasting competition and I’m very happy that I won,” Francesco says. “I want to dedicate this victory to my team of talented youngsters of Ditta Artigianale. I wanted to set an example for them and show that, first of all, we compete to demonstrate our talent and our personal growth. During this competition, I put practice into my daily work, my training was tasting Ditta Artigianale’s coffees everyday as well as Corsini’s to understand and recognize all the taste shades, something I’ve been working on for years.
“This victory means a broader guarantee for my customers, who are always my first thought, showing how, besides the research for quality, we offer a real and strong competence too.”
Ditta Artigianale’s Michele Anedotti also won the 2019 Italian Roasting Championship, held at the same event.
In his debut at the competition, Michele, who has spent more than 20 years working at Caffè Corsini, surpassed Moritz Hofer, who placed second, and Luigi Paternoster, who placed third, to win the competition.
“I’m really happy. This is a very important result both for me and Caffè Corsini,” Michele says. “I competed mostly to find a comparison with those who do the same job that I do and who share the same passion. I gave my best but the victory was totally unexpected. It was a great experience of personal and professional growth.
“The roasting competition requires a great concentration, it’s three intense days and I believe that my everyday background really helped me a lot. The judges really appreciated my blend and that gave me many points.”
Francesco and Michelewill represent Italy at the 2019 World Coffee Championships in June at World of Coffee in Berlin, Germany.
“We are very proud to have two champions like Sanapo and Anedotti,” says Patrick Hoffer, President of Caffè Corsini. “It gives the idea that our story is going on and that our future will be glorious. Caffè Corsini has been supporting these champions since 2008 and will continue to do it.”