Costanzo Cafaro Gives Specialty Coffee the Recognition it Deserves

Costanzo Cafaro, co-owner of Piattini Caffè e Vini in Turin, Italy, emphasizes that upholding high hygiene standards is as essential to a barista’s work as understanding and sharing the story behind the coffee served.

Costanzo Cafaro became passionate about specialty coffees while studying at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, located in Bra, Italy. Following his years in Bra, he earned a Master’s degree in Food and Beverage Management from the Rome Business School.

His coffee training also included studies at the Youth Academy of Simonelli Group, an Italian company that produces coffee machines and offers a broad education program for aspiring coffee professionals.

Cafaro’s professional background includes experiences with big companies in the coffee industry in Italy, where he focused on topics such as the workflow of the modern barista, consulting on product development, and coffee knowledge.

Finding Balance Between High Quality and Accessibility 

Cafaro founded Piattini Caffè e Vini two years ago, a bistro in Turin specializing in artisanal wines and specialty coffee. He sees a parallel between specialty coffee and artisanal wine, even though coffee´s supply chain is more complex. 

“The value given to coffee is smaller, although the processes to roast and prepare it for extraction are much longer. Traceability is generally questionable. Raw coffee can be spoiled at more stages than wine. You have picking, storing, processing, drying, dehulling, shipping, storing again, roasting”, explains Cafaro.

Cafaro and his Piattini Caffè e Vini colleagues are well known for serving high-quality coffee. Cafaro sees that as an industry, everyone should strive toward higher quality at all levels, regardless of company size. However, the coffee served must still be accessible to many in terms of taste and price.

“At Piattini Caffè e Vini, we have tried to find a balance between what we want in terms of taste and what the customers can accept easily. We could still be less extreme, having something more likable that creates fewer issues”, says Cafaro.

Why Hygiene Matters In Coffee Extraction  

A priority within the barista trade for Cafaro is respecting the equipment and keeping the coffee machine clean. 

“My experience working in a large company helped me understand the importance of cleanliness. This is an issue often overlooked in basic Italian coffee shops. Many coffee shops opened in the 1970s just because you could buy cheap coffee, and it provided a guaranteed income. That thing killed the coffee industry in Italy. But I would say that from 2015, it started to change”, states Cafaro. 

Another priority for Cafaro is continuous education in the trade.  

“Not everyone working as a barista has to be highly trained, but even just for personal knowledge, a barista doing this for a living has to know how to do the basics, which is not always a given,” says Cafaro. 

“Some very basic actions—like cleaning the portafilter between extractions—would help raise the quality of Italian coffee bars,” he says, adding that cleaning the milk steamer is also essential so it doesn’t get encrusted and dirty, which in the end can ruin the coffee machine.

“Not cleaning the portafilter is basically like using a dirty pan when cooking. The flow between one espresso and the next is fundamental in Italian cafes, but it is not always known or frequently taught.”

There is Always More to Learn for a Coffee Professional

Besides maintaining high standards of hygiene, Cafaro also emphasizes the importance of a barista’s ability to discuss and explain the product served and give specialty coffee the respect and recognition it deserves.

“Sometimes, in the third-wave coffee community, there is an expectation for baristas to always have time to stop and talk to customers, but unfortunately, it is not always realistic, at least not for everyone,” says Cafaro, reminding us that extracting a good product is the main priority.    

Cafaro also mentions balancing one’s beliefs with compromise, remembering that the general public may not always be ready for extreme specialty coffees. 

“The modern barista’s key is understanding your audience and finding a balance. From what coffee to serve to how much info people are ready to receive”, Cafaro explains. 

“To those who want to be baristas: educate yourselves, enjoy, and taste. You work better and faster when you understand the craft. The more you get into it, the more your passion grows. I’m still taking classes even today”, says Cafaro. 

For the customers enjoying specialty coffee and wanting to learn more, Cafaro also adds some tips: 

“Be curious and ask questions. But most importantly, try to understand the situation in which the barista might be.”