The cappuccino is up for a revamp with Lavazza brewing a host of new blends at Baristas across the country, Francesco Viarizzo, master trainer at Lavazza, tells Neha Bhatt.
What is this Piaceri Del Caffe range that you have brought to India?
We have introduced three hot and three cold beverages. Among the hot, we have the Cappugiro — the inverted cappuccino in which we use the froth from the coffee instead of the froth from milk. The Cappuccino Aroma is flavoured the way you like it, with a choice of orange, hazelnut or chocolate. The Marocchino is the intense one, a shot of expresso layered with warm frothed milk. Among the cold coffees, Ice Bianco Expresso is interesting — iced expresso in a glass rimmed with sweetened ground coffee which creates a completely different sensation. The Ice Cappuccino, on the other hand, is thick, velvety and tastes great when flavoured orange. The one to be had in style is Expresso Crema Shakerato topped in a mocktail glass.
How have you worked around these recipes to find the right blend for the Indian coffee drinker?
We have noticed that Indians like coffee in large as well as in small quantities. We have worked on these recipes for about 10 years — that’s how long it has taken for these to materialise. We now have trainers in every subsidiary country. By the way, we use Indian coffee (from the south) in Italy for one particular blend. The thick, dark and elegant blend is popular in central and southern Italy.
What are you looking to popularise with these new blends? Is the coffee culture declining?
No, not at all. While expresso has been the top seller for long, cappuccino has been the clear favourite. We are now looking more at flavouring, viewing coffee as a dessert and not just as a morning beverage. We are aiming at younger people as well.
Tea is available in so many exotic flavours today. How does coffee score over the versatility of tea?
Coffee has a more pronounced personality so it becomes difficult to flavour it well. The taste of coffee overpowers other flavours. As trainers, we have been trying to use each other’s techniques to bring out different products.