….And the ESPRESSO ITALIANO CHAMPION 2023 goes to… SOUTH KOREA..congratulations to SONG HYE-JIN

After two days of competitions, the young Korean barista and coffee trainer Song Hye-Jin was awarded – the first woman – the international title of Espresso Italiano Champion; Andrea Nulli placed second and Nico Bregolin third.

Eight professionals from different countries around the world competed in the competition starting on Saturday with the semi-finals and on Sunday with the finals to make perfect espressos and cappuccinos. Furthermore, this year the test also included an evaluation by marketing judges, with a part dedicated to the competitors telling their story and the presentation of the product presented. The competition was supported by Rancilio with the Specialty RS1 espresso machine (IEI Premium certified) and by Eureka with the Helios grinder-dosers.

For this edition, the organization has also offered a sum of three thousand euros, a sort of scholarship to be reinvested, together with the help of Iei, in training activities in the coming months. This is a message that wants to pass on to all professionals, not just the established ones like the winner, and which is based on the importance of continuing to study and discuss the subject and techniques of the art of making espresso and cappuccino. Continuously contributing to the training of professionals in the sector is in fact a mission for Istituto Espresso Italiano, a skill which, as Luigi Morello, president, underlines – «starts from the knowledge of the raw materials, from the technique up to communication with the customer final, fundamental piece of the whole chain and I am pleased to see gathered at Host figures who are already established in this work, but who still want to improve and get involved”.

Korean Song Hye-Jin works as a barista and coffee trainer for the Dmine Coffee Roasters company, where she is a teacher at the company academy, with the task of promoting coffee culture and education on the consumption of quality espresso. «For me it is an immense honor to be the first woman to become world champion of Italian espresso – she declared at the end of the competition -. This will certainly help me even more to promote and bring greater visibility to the culture of Italian espresso in my country, Korea.”

Istituto Nazionale Espresso Italiano S.r.l.