Training and tasting

Courses

Improving the art of making an excellent cup of coffee never ends: this is why we dedicated part of our Torrefazione to courses for tasters.

Courses with IEI collaboration

The workshops held with IEI (Istituto Espresso Italiano, Italian Espresso Institute) and with the Centro studi assaggiatori (Tasters Studies Centre) are conceived for those who work in the field, but are also open to coffee lovers, and those who wish to deepen their knowledge of coffee.
In particular, the IEI courses we host consist of the two modules, Espresso Italiano Tasting and Espresso Italiano Specialist, which allow participants to become, respectively, coffee tasters and qualified operators in the field of Certified Italian Espresso.

San Salvador brand courses

The desire to create a space dedicated exclusively to tasting coffee led us to project and conduct workshops and events in keeping with our style. We select the top experts, decide on the course formats and invite our customers. This is a way of bringing together the coffee “operators” we work with who are also enthusiasts and connoisseurs. Staying abreast of the latest developments and not losing the know-how derived from tradition whilst tasting and savouring this extraordinary drink is a privilege for us.

Practical courses

Level 1

Professional

Target participant

For all those who want to improve their skills in the field of coffee beverages

Final skills

Perfectly managed grinding and coffee extraction
Optimised equipment usage
Basic management of milk frothing

Duration

4 hours

Level 2

Advanced

Target participant

For all professionals who want to reach advanced skill levels in the field of coffee beverages

Final skills

Perfectly managed grinding and coffee extraction
Optimised equipment usage
Perfectly frothed milk production of coffee-based recipes

Duration

1 day

Level 3

Specialisation

Target participant

Accessible only to those who have participated or have excellent second-level skills

Final skills

Competition training

Duration

1 day

Latte Art course

Target participant

Professionals with an excellent level in whipping and managing milk for classic preparations

Final skills

Excellent command of coffee and cappuccino decoration techniques with milk froth.

Duration

1 day

Theoretical courses

Level 1

ESPRESSO ITALIANO TASTING
Coffee taster licence - module 1

Target participant

For all those who want to learn coffee tasting

Final skills

Coffee taster licence.
Knowing how to distinguish extraction errors, types of coffee and the main aromas.

Duration

1 day

Level 2

ESPRESSO ITALIANO SPECIALIST
module 2

Target participant

For those who have obtained a taster licence

Final skills

Advanced tasting.
Distinguishing advanced coffee aromas.
Advanced notions on blends, equipment, and coffee origins.

Duration

1 day

Cafés having staff with Level 2, a certified blend and a certified machine and grinder can qualify as a “licensed establishment” for Italian espresso.

For information on course prices, click here

The hall of frescoes

The tasting venue

We have created a space next to our premises dedicated solely to the pleasure of coffee, the Hall of Frescoes (Long-lost Hall Rediscovered). An open area, with an experimental flavour and in continuous evolution, where the company’s specialists meet to prepare, test, correct, and improve the blends of premium quality coffee.

The history of this space is impressive: this was the location of the old San Francesco oratory, considered destroyed in the 19th century after being abandoned and deconsecrated. This building was constructed at the behest of the Lambertenghi family during the 1500s, beside the smaller building where they lived and in which Cardinal Carlo Borromeo was a guest in 1578. With a single nave, the oratory was decorated with a pictorial layer on all its surfaces, with a segmental vault, a double-pitched coffered ceiling and a painted frieze. In 1800 it was abandoned as a place of worship and used as a private residence: the walls were plastered and painted over, covering the frescoes.

By chance, the family of Saveria Favier, founding partner together with husband Delio Biancotti of our Torrefazione, came to live right here; after an appraisal, the painted walls hidden beneath the lime were discovered and the long-lost oratory of San Francesco was rediscovered.

This place’s unusual past convinced us to nurture its value and open it to visitors to show it in all its beauty. It seems to us the perfect place to taste our premium quality blends and allow the aromas in the air to take us far away.