Lavazza

Lavazza is a brand of coffee produced by the Italian company Luigi Lavazza S.p.A.. The company was founded by coffee roasting leader Luigi Lavazza.

In 1895, Luigi Lavazza opened an artisan coffee roasting plant in the historic centre of Turin and started roasting coffee, which became the most revolutionary feat in coffee history: he created the first coffee blends intended for consumption.

At that time, blends for home consumption did not yet exist. The taste of coffee was therefore unpredictable and varied depending on its place of origin and year. Thanks to his studies in chemistry and his passion for the product, Luigi created blends with a more balanced taste that were able to satisfy the different needs of the market: the result was a drink that was an instant success. In 1922, Luigi acquired a Eureka machine that was able to brew 12 kg of coffee in one cycle. This marked another significant step forward in the gradual transformation of the small coffee shop into a family-run company, which was to be officially established in 1927.

From the start, an innovative approach became the company's hallmark. Following his inspiration in creating blends, Luigi began to use new packaging materials. He was the first to use Parchment for coffee: an oil-resistant paper that preserved the aroma of the product for longer, to which he applied the Lavazza name, making the product more recognisable.

In 1934, Luigi Lavazza travelled abroad to Brazil with a delegation of large importers of Brazilian coffee. The aim of the trip was to visit the coffee plantations in person.

On this occasion he witnessed the destruction of a huge quantity of surplus coffee, which affected him deeply. "A world that destroys natural wealth is a world to which I do not belong," he declared on his return, a sentiment that foreshadowed the approach that the company has since adopted, characterised by sensitivity to environmental, social and cultural issues.