An Excellent Coffee Break Begins with Better Coffee, Says Coffee Educator Francesco Impallomeni

The coffee break is usually the first and the most common experience of food in the workplace—at least for us in Western countries. What can you do to make it special?

This podcast clocks in at around 44 minutes. You can also listen to it on iTunes, stream on Google Podcasts or Spotify or grab the RSS feed in your player of choice. So head out for a walk and let Francesco and I keep you company.

However, coffee is not just a product. It’s not just the dark golden liquid that we drink to get us going in the morning, or sip on–the–go from one meeting to the next.

Coffee is an experience. A ritual.

The coffee break is a moment that the most forward-thinking employers encourage as a way to bring their people together around the coffee machine. But that the least forward-thinking ones still dismiss as a waste of time.

This episode kicks off a mini-series of four episodes that are entirely dedicated to what we eat and drink at work as we continue to explore what happens when organizations challenge the prevailing idea that food culture is irrelevant or marginal to business success.

Today we start off with coffee. Not just any regular coffee. But specialty coffee.

Bringing the coffee experience into the workplace

To discuss coffee I've invited a friend. Francesco Impallomeni is a fellow Italian, born and bred in Italy and now based in Copenhagen. I met and sipped coffee with when I was still living and working between Copenhagen and Helsinki.

Francesco Impallomeni

Francesco is an Italian specialty coffee roaster, trainer, educator, and co-founder of Nordhavn Coffee Roasters (NCR), a micro coffee roastery. With an academic background in Politics and Economics, he studied the challenges related to agricultural development in the Global South.

In 2009 he was introduced to food project management by Slow Food organization where, among other things, he fell in love with coffee and his wife. With both these passions, he moved to Copenhagen wherein 2015 he co-founded his roastery. 

Today, NCR sources, roasts, and disseminates specialty coffee culture among ordinary consumers (including a few coffee nerds) and businesses such as offices, retail, and canteens where workers can enjoy a cup of specialty coffee during their coffee breaks.

Francesco joins me on The Nourishing Workplace to discuss everything from what specialty coffee is to why educating the consumer helps to improve the quality of life of everyone involved with coffee at different stages of the supply chain and how to practically improve your coffee break at work.

[mc4wp_form id="25727"] Key Take-aways

Short on time? Here are four quick takeaways:

The term ‘specialty coffee’ was first coined by Erna Knutsen, of Knutsen Coffee Ltd., in 1978. The concept was quite simple: special geographic microclimates produce beans with unique flavor profiles, which she referred to as ‘specialty coffees.’ Underlying this idea of coffee appellations was the fundamental premise that specialty coffee beans would always be well prepared, freshly roasted, and properly brewed. 

Education is a powerful tool to improve the quality of life of people involved with coffee at different stages of the supply chain

The espresso machine offers the opportunity to do team building in the workplace. Many tech companies are taking advantage of that.

An excellent product and human touch (typical of Italian baristas) would be the perfect bond.

Show Notes A shortlist of articles and resources mentioned in this episode plus further resources:

On coffee fermentation (Perfect Daily Grind)

On anaerobic fermentation in coffee (Daily Coffee News)

Nordhavn Coffee Roasters' Coffee Map

Mara Russo, graphic designer of The Coffee Map

Books: The World Atlas of Coffee*

Podcasts: The Coffee Podcast and Opposite Extract

More on specialty coffee (WE Factory)

*Affiliate link

Learn more about NCR:

Visit NCR’s website or follow NCR on Facebook and Instagram

Did you enjoy this episode on coffee culture?

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