Lavazza History
To summarize the story of Luigi Lavazza SpA, one would have to retrace many steps in the history of a family which, from generation to generation over nearly a century, has devoted all of its energy and commercial talent to coffee.
Lavazza's origins go back to 1895, when Luigi Lavazza purchased a little grocery store, Paissa Olivero, in the old commercial section of Torino. The purchase was made for 26,000 Italian lire or about $20.
In those times such stores operated as both retail and production outlets. The coffee, sold among thousands of other products, was bought raw, in small quantities, and then toasted and blended according to very personal recipes depending on the customers' requests. This activity soon attracted the interest of Luigi Lavazza, who had already demonstrated considerable knowledge and skill in the processing of blends, including both the quantities of the ingredients, and the degrees of roasting.
The firm's expansion from retailing sales to wholesale trade (1910), the joining in of Luigi's three sons: Mario, Beppe and Pericle (during the First World War), and the progressive narrowing of the production range, marked the first steps of an irresistible commercial growth, which enabled the firm to acquire a notable position at a regional level. The little grocery store became in 1927 the modern Luigi Lavazza SpA and -after the forced stop caused by the League of Nations' economic sanctions, by the prohibition on the importation of coffee, and by the outbreak of the second World War- finally came to specialize in the production of coffee. The first Lavazza logo was then created and the annual production reached 1,000 tons.
In 1956 Mario left Lavazza to his two brothers (their father, Luigi, had retired in 1935). Meanwhile, as the coffee market grew throughout Northern Italy, the building of a new plant (at Corso Novara, today the seat of the Firm's Headquarters) became necessary.
In the early sixties, Lavazza introduced, with the processing cycle now completely mechanical, the first vacuum-packed coffee and ground coffee suitable for long conservation. These enormously successful years led Lavazza to increase production and open a new plant (at Settimo Torinese).
With distribution covering the entire nation, the product range was completely redone with new packaging techniques using the vacuum preservation of aluminum and plastic packing (notably cheaper than tins).
In the early eighties, having invested in marketing and advertising, Lavazza began its conquest of the European and world markets. In 1982, the first Lavazza subsidiary was opened in France followed by others in Germany, Great Britain, Austria and the United States.
At present, Lavazza's yearly production is about 70,000 tons of roasted coffee, and the firms employees have grown to 1,300. Lavazza's tradition of devoting special attention to the development of new techniques and products make the Firm both uniquely dynamic and sensitive to the customers' requests.
Buying the Raw Lavazza Beans
Using tradition, skill and advanced technologies, Lavazza transforms green coffee into the optimum product that is a cup of espresso. Careful and systematic control over the entire processing cycle, from the harvest to the moment that the coffee reaches the consumer, assures the high standard of quality for which Lavazza is known all over the world.
The consistent high quality of every cup of Lavazza espresso is insured by the Departments of: Quality Control, Research & Development and Scientific Research which are in constant touch with suppliers and outside organizations. In addition, the entire transportation and production process, from storage silos to roasting and packaging, is computer-controlled to insure that all the pre-established parameters are met.
Lavazza manages 1.5 million sacks of raw coffee annually. The supply is regulated by a group of experts in each of the main coffee-producing areas (South and Central America, Africa and Indonesia).
Coffee, like all agricultural products, is subject to variations due to crop and harvest conditions. In an attempt to eliminate such variances, Lavazza selects raw coffees at their sources and sets very particular and firm requirements for purchasing each lot of coffee. Before buying any lot, Lavazza's Quality Control Department examines and evaluates samples. Blend standards are regularly revised and updated to counterbalance any possible variations. Checks are also carried out in the port of origin to prevent deterioration during the voyage. Lavazza once again examines the coffee when it arrives in Italy before allowing it to be used.
Lavazza Coffee Processing
When the coffee finally arrives at the Lavazza plant in Turin, it is cleaned (to remove foreign bodies) and is color-selected (to eliminate inferior beans). This step is vitally important, since only 50 - 70 beans are used to make one small cup of espresso. Therefore, each bean must be perfect, as one bad bean could spoil the whole cup. Unripe beans, called "green beans" have a biter and astringent taste. Overripe and fermented beans, called "waxy beans" may taste of alcohol or sulfur. Black beans, which come from dead seed that were attacked by plant disease, leave heavy flavors. The only way to completely eliminate these defective beans is to select the raw coffee using an electronic scanner.
As far as the roasting process, Lavazza uses particularly sophisticated roasting equipment that favors the maximum development of the properties of the brewed coffee. These roasting machines operate so that the coffee beans do not come into direct contact with the heat source, but are heated by a powerful temperature¬controlled hot air blower. Each bean literally "floats" in the superheated airstream and roasts perfectly evenly without touching the scorching metal walls of the rotating drum.
Packaging and Testing
The most sensitive phase of the production process is packaging. Roasted coffee is perishable and should be kept from coming into contact with moisture, light and above all, oxygen that exists in the atmosphere. The substances which give the beans their flavor an aroma are volatile and any deterioration in these properties of the coffee can be traced to prolonged contact between the essential oils of the coffee and either light or oxygen. When this happens, oxidation occurs, releasing unpleasant, rancid odors that overpower the coffee's natural pleasant aroma.
Therefore, coffee beans are packed into vacuum-sealed packages immediately after roasting. Carbon dioxide produced in the roasting process (representing 90% of the gasses formed this way) diffuses into the empty spaces inside the pack and builds up pressure that could result in the bag bursting. To prevent an explosion in the bag, a valve is bonded into the bag which lets carbon dioxide escape, but prevents air from entering.
The roasted and packed blends, both beans and ground coffee, are checked periodically by consumer panels. The panels, aided by laboratory staff and market research experts, meet regularly. The aim of these tests is to verify that the sensory characteristics of Lavazza products remain consistent.