Much loved and drunk by over a billion people all over the world, coffee is an increasingly popular beverage. Companies are making efforts to raise the quality of the preparation, but also to make it more widely and more readily available.

The main trends identified for 2022 by Gemma Kiernan, head of marketing at Marco Beverage Systems include coffee concentrates, used to create an ever wider range of beverages ranging from cold brew to mocaccino and the familiar espresso, and coffee as an ingredient in cocktails and mocktails, coffee tonics, and coffee with syrups.

Her Irish company is launching a system whereby “cold coffee can be straight from a bag-in-box, an urn or a container. It can be served straight as a ready-to-drink liquid or, if using a concentrate or syrup, the system can automate the dilution with either mains or chilled water. This gives operators the choice of dispensing up to three different beverages straight from one sleek, countertop tap. It can even be used to mix fruit syrup with cold water for healthy fruit-based drinks.”

So the ways in which coffee can be enjoyed are becoming more diverse, as are the ways in which the process is experienced, which has always been an important aspect of consumption of the beverage. “There are signs of that much hoped-for return to normality, and the belief is that 2022 really will be a year for relaunching the sector. Many of the companies concerned, including our own, have spared no effort over the past two years making investments and challenging energies into bringing new ideas and products onto the market, so let’s hope that this is the year in which all this work finally bears fruit,” says Carlo Barbi, Ceo & CDO of ClubHouse, which has developed a new concept of cup, presented at HostMilano, characterised by a double porcelain wall with an air chamber that helps maintain the correct high temperature in the cup when it is filled, leaving the outer wall at a pleasantly cooler temperature. “The end result is a unique handle-less design that fits into the palm of the hand to create a whole new drinking experience. Colour has been a feature of our products for years and because that is a major trend right now, we have produced this new vessel in 14 different colours and finishes.”

“Being able to meet friends, customers, colleagues and suppliers at HostMilano after such a long time was a unique sensation that I will always remember,” says Barbi finally.