In Italy's main cities it will be possible to discover how Lavazza's ¡Tierra! is produced and to taste it. And for every coffee served, the company will protect one square metre of forest with LifeGate.
The eco-sustainable tour of ¡Tierra!, the coffee with a full-bodied aroma that is gentle on the planet, is back. At the many stops of the journey through Italy's main cities, for every ¡Tierra! espresso tasted, Lavazza, through its participation in the "One coffee, one forest" initiative of LifeGate's Foreste in Piedi project, will protect one square metre of forest in Brazil.
The first three stops of the 2019 tour took place in three shopping centres: Grand'Emilia (Modena) from 31 May to 2 June; Carosello (Carugate), from 7 to 9 June; Orio Center (Bergamo), from 21 to 23 June.
From the beginning of autumn, ¡Tierra! stands could be found at two major national trade fairs, including Sana in Bologna, from 6 to 8 September, and Flormart (Padua) from 26 to 28 September. The tour concluded with a presence at L'Artigiano in fiera (Milan), from 30 November to 8 December. Once again, for every coffee tasted, one square metre of forest was protected, bringing the total area protected during the year to 76,219 sq m.
But why does this initiative continue? Because today, more than ever, doing the shopping does not simply mean filling the trolley, but being informed about the consequences our choices have on our health and on that of the environment. A growing number of consumers are developing this need for awareness, pushing companies in a new direction: many brands are indeed carrying out transparency initiatives to help us understand their products, and are committing to ethics and sustainability projects in which they themselves genuinely believe.
It is within this vision that in 2002 ¡Tierra! was born — a collection of blends from fine origins selected and blended by Lavazza, and above all a coffee that supports a social responsibility project aimed at improving the living conditions and cultivation techniques of certain producers. Certified by the NGO Rainforest Alliance, it is based on three core principles of sustainability according to Lavazza: product excellence, support for and care of small communities, and respect for the planet. There are three varieties of ¡Tierra!: one, Bio Organic, is the 100 per cent Arabica coffee that is certified bio organic and produced through organic farming using an approach that benefits both people and nature; the longer roasting time is more uniform and achieves a great balance between taste, body and aroma, lending a floral aromatic profile with fruity notes. Then there are the varieties Single Origin Peru – Andes and Single Origin Brazil – Cerrado, both 100 per cent Arabica coffees certified by Rainforest Alliance: the first is produced in central Peru, on the slopes of the Andes mountain range, where extremely low night-time temperatures alternating with sunny afternoons create the ideal microclimate for cultivating this variety of coffee; furthermore, the growth of coffee plants in the shade of the forest, alongside fruit trees, lends this blend a floral aromatic profile with fruity notes. The second grows in a small region of the Cerrado area, on a sandy plateau with a climate characterised by rainy summers and dry winters: the ideal conditions for producing superior-quality coffee. The hallmark of this origin is the late harvesting of the cherries, which are left to dry on the plant, lending the coffee a particular sweetness with notes of honey and chocolate.
¡Tierra! is available in an organic variety that has a great deal to tell. Thanks to the ¡Tierra! educational programmes, farmers have increased their crop yields by 25 per cent by learning soil conservation techniques that will ensure they maintain high productivity and income in the years ahead; in addition to the education provided by the organic approach, producer communities can also count on healthcare infrastructure and working conditions that enable their development. And lastly, it should not be overlooked that organic farming helps to combat global warming and to protect biodiversity.
The journey began last June in Milan, in Piazza XXV Aprile, where 6 oversized ¡Tierra! cups were placed, housing tropical plants from the coffee-growing regions (arabica, yucca, strelitzia and chamaerops), and where 7,075 coffees were tasted, prepared with ¡Tierra! in its various blends: Bio-organic, Single origin Brazil-Cerrado, Single origin Peru-Andes.
In autumn, the ¡Tierra! tour also stopped at Sana in Bologna and at Flormart in Padua, was hosted at Orticolario in Cernobbio (Co), and subsequently appeared at various Slow Food Mercati della Terra and Coldiretti Mercati di Campagna Amica. The tour concluded at the L'Artigiano in Fiera event. The coffees served throughout the entire tour totalled 80,535, for a total of 80,535 sq m of forest protected.