Tony Loeb

☕ Andrej Godina, coffee expert and PhD in coffee industry science, technology, and economics, reacts to a Report episode on Rai 3, aired on December 15, highlighting the lack of training among Italian bar staff. Millions of coffee cups are served daily by untrained personnel, leading to poor quality caffeinated drinks often masked with sugar or milk. The episode showcased a Trieste café, Caffè degli Specchi, where the bar owner was unaware of the actual coffee blend served. Godina emphasizes the importance of proper equipment maintenance, barista training, and consumer education to justify coffee price increases, following the rise in raw coffee costs.

📈 At the annual Convention of the Consorzio Intesa, a talk session was held to discuss the growing trend of serving network-treated water in public places. Network-treated water currently holds at least a 15% market share in Horeca venues, with an expanding trend that's affecting the mineral water producers and Horeca distributors for whom bottled water sales are a significant business asset. Key industry players like Ferrarelle, Sanpellegrino, San Benedetto, Maniva, and Vera participated in the debate. Initiatives are being planned for joint producer/distributor efforts to educate about the advantages of bottled mineral water and the downsides of microfiltered water, including non-certified sources, nutritional depletion, hidden maintenance costs, legal fines for mislabeled water, and a three-to-one water wastage ratio by filtration systems.

📌 Marco Bussone, presidente of Uncem, voices concerns over significant budget cuts affecting local entities, particularly municipalities, in the 2025 budget law. Uncem's proposed amendments to limit cuts and promote investments remain unaddressed, posing risks to community services, inequality reduction, and support for the vulnerable. Bussone emphasizes the need to reform the local entity system and Uncem's willingness to contribute to new pathways.

💸 Aicalf, representing low-fare airlines in Italy, opposes the new 50-cent increase per passenger in the local tax for boarding rights on flights to non-European destinations. The tax applies to airports with annual traffic of over 10 million passengers. Aicalf's president, Alessandro Fonti, warns this hike could harm competitiveness, as demonstrated by studies presented in parliament, and directly affect passengers who rely on the affected airports for travel beyond tourism. The measure contrasts with the Ministry of Transport's plans to reduce the tax nationwide.