Thank You!!

Sponsors, Delegates, Speakers, Exhibitors, Participants...
For making IICF 2009 a resounding success.

India’s premiere bi-annual coffee festival - India International Coffee Festival 2009 (IICF 2009) concluded successfully at Bangalore on 9th October 2009. The 3-day event was inaugurated at the hands of Shri. S.V. Ranganath, Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka in the presence of dignitaries including Dr. Nestor Osorio, Executive Director, International Coffee Organisation (ICO), Shri V.G. Siddhartha, Chairman, Café Coffee Day, Shri M.H. Ashraff, Managing Director, Tata Coffee Ltd, Shri G.V. Krishna Rau, Chairman, Coffee Board of India and Shri Anil Kumar Bhandari, Convener and Coordinator, IICF 2009.

The Conference witnessed the participation of about 500 delegates from over 16 countries which include Australia, Brazil, Columbia, Germany, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, Nicaragua, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland UK, Uganda, USA, UAE, Vietnam. Experts from across the world addressed the gathering on topics of interest like Coffee Vision 2020, Coffee Market in India , Sustainability in Coffee Production, Coffe & Heath etc. Dr. Nestor Osorio, Executive Director, International Coffee Organisation (ICO), Mr. Carlos Brando, Director, P & A International Marketing , Mr. G. V. Krishna Rau, Chairman, Coffee Board of India, Mr. Neil Rosser, Managing Director, Neumann Kaffee Gruppe Statistical Unit, Mr. Luca Maulini, Business Intelligence & Planning Manager, Lavazza, Prof. P. C. Kesavan, Distinguished Fellow, M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation addressed the gathering at the conference amongst other important speakers.

The Coffee Expo comprised participants from across the coffee sector including coffee growers, roasters, exporters, coffee traders, equipment manufacturers etc. This showcase of the best of the coffees & services and cutting- edge coffee technology was visited by over 2000 visitors and the expo indeed proved to be an excellent platform for business.

The pre-event Skill Building Workshops were interactive and participatory in the real sense as the participants enthusiastically gathered around resource persons to actually make Cappuccino, Espresso, Indian filter coffee and a variety of dishes which could be cooked using coffee. Mr. Arno Schwenk from German roasting equipment manufacturer PROBAT, Mr. Flavio Urizzi from C.M.A. SPA “ASTORIA”, Italy, Ms. Bela Patil, Chef- Regional Cuisine from the Oterra and Dr. K. Basavaraj from Coffee Board of India conducted the workshops giving the participants profound knowledge of the roasting and brewing process and cooking with coffee which also helped the participants comprehend possibilities concerning taste, aroma and quality of coffee.

IICF 2009 also served as an ideal platform to identify and discover unparalleled talents in the coffee industry. IICF introduced new categories of awards to recognise excellence in cafés, roaster, curer, International Buyer of Indian coffees, and Latte Art which was announced during the Awards Function. Along with the IICF awards, the Export Awards and Flavours of India Awards by the Coffee Board of India and the Indian Barista Championship Awards conducted by Specialty Coffee Association of India (SCAI) were given at the hands of Dr. Nestor Osorio, Executive Director, International Coffee Organisation (ICO), Mr. G. V. Krishna Rau, Chairman, Coffee Board of India and Mr. Nils Erichsen, President, Specialty Coffee Association of India.

A 3 day 2 Night Coffee  Tour  was organized as part of IICF 2009 to  experience  the  plantations  of  the  Coffees  of  India in Coorg.  The tour included a visit to both large and small coffee plantations, R & G  Plant  and  Curing  Center. It also included visit to Mysore Palace, Nagarhole  Game  Sanctuary, and Bylakuppe,  the  second  largest  Tibetan  settlement.

A Unique Outreach Programme ‘IICF Connect’ was organized on 10th October, 2009 in Chickmagalur, the heartland of Coffee in association with Café Coffee Day. IICF Connect Programme aimed at bringing international experts face to face with large number of small and medium coffee growers. Over 1600 growers enthusiastically participated in the programme. IICF Connect focused on the theme ‘Coffee Productivity & Quality: Global Perspective’

Top names in the coffee sector came forward to sponsor and support IICF 2009. While Café Coffee Day was the Event Lead Sponsor, Tata Coffee with Eight o’clock Coffee was the Co-Sponsor of the event. Lavazza, Hindustan Unilever Limited (BRU) and Nestle came forward to be the Platinum Sponsors of the event. They also played a significant role in making all highlight activities of the event a great success. The event was also supported by Allanasons as the Special Sponsor