Trieste has made a difference in the world of coffee
Published 20 August 2024The aroma of coffee wafts through the air in Trieste.
In the early 18th century, the port welcomed the first ships loaded with coffee, mainly from Ethiopia and Yemen.
Twenty years later, thanks to the creation of the free port, the city became the main port of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and one of the most important for unloading coffee beans.
It was during these years that the first shops opened where one could taste and buy freshly roasted coffee.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Trieste’s master roasters introduced a revolutionary innovation: blended coffee.
This is why Trieste is considered the coffee capital: every day, boats would dock in its harbour carrying huge quantities of green coffee to be sold all over Italy.
But did you know that this phenomenon was also due to the expansionist policy of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa more than three centuries ago?
Thanks to the reduction of customs duties and to imitate the royal house that consumed it, the aristocrats of our region were the first to spread and use coffee.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the first coffee exchange was established and the Trieste Coffee Association was the first association in the sector in Italy and the third in Europe, after Hamburg and Amsterdam.
Its chroniclers include Ernesto Illy, Alberto Hesse, Vincenzo Sandalj, and others.
(Italian interview)