Italy’s Brewers Champion: How Croissants Led Andrea Batacchi to Victory

In Italy, coffee is not just a drink; it’s a ritual, a tradition woven into everyday life. For Andrea Batacchi, the 2025 Italian Brewers Cup Champion, coffee was always present in his childhood. 

MINDFUL BREW - Andrea Batacchi photo doc.

Coffee is everywhere in Italy, and Andrea pretty sure every Italian’s childhood memory involves coffee in some way or another. 

Andrea Batacchi, 2025 Italy's Brewers Champion
photo by Andrea doc.

The Moka pot is the most common method for brewing coffee at home, and when you invite someone over, it’s customary to offer them coffee prepared this way. It was no different when he was a kid. Andrea memories are filled with the rumbling of the Moka pot and the aroma of coffee filling the air.

"I wasn’t really fond of coffee until later in life, but I absolutely loved croissants. So, whenever my parents and I went to coffee shops, I would always have a croissant while they enjoyed their espressos," Andrea says.

It wasn’t until his teenage years, when he needed a caffeine boost for studying, that he brewed his first cup of filter coffee. He found a French press at home and made coffee with whatever he had. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad either. That was the moment his search for better coffee began.

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Florence, Andrea’s hometown, has one of Italy’s most vibrant specialty coffee scenes. Winning the Italian Brewers Cup was a defining moment, but what struck him most was the outpouring of support.

The specialty coffee community in Florence—and all over Italy—embraced him in a way he never expected. "That kind of support is something I’m really grateful for," he said.

For Andrea, coffee goes beyond just a beverage; it’s about emotions and memories. In one of his Brewers Cup speeches, he said: Why do I like coffee? Is it the gesture, the craft, the science behind extraction? I love all of that, but in the end, it all comes down to two things: memories and emotions."

He likens coffee to food, something meant to be savored. Andrea love sitting down with a cup, analyzing flavors and textures. During the pandemic, when he was stuck at home, receiving freshly roasted coffee from a local roaster was one of his happiest moments. 

Coffee is also the reason he met his girlfriend, Caterina, who turned out to be the best trainer he could have ever hoped for.

The Struggles 

Competitions, while exhilarating, come with their own set of challenges. For Andrea and Caterina, balancing work, competition, and life has been the toughest hurdle.

"I’m naturally quite lazy," he admits. "Finding the motivation to push through exhaustion has been my biggest struggle. When your passion becomes your job, it can lose its magic. Competitions amplify that feeling."

Despite this, Andrea thrives on the challenge. "Days before the competition, Caterina and I realized that everything leading up to that moment—my knowledge, my passion—came from my entire coffee experience. The places I worked, the people I met, every cup I tasted—all of it shaped me."

His approach to training is simple yet effective: taste as much coffee as possible and log the details. "Always taste your coffee like it’s your competition cup. Set a goal—maybe a sweeter cup or better mouthfeel—and work towards it. General coffee rules are just that—general. Coffee is a living product; you must adapt to it, not the other way around."

Unlike competitors backed by large teams, Andrea and Caterina have largely prepared for competitions on their own, with a small circle of friends. This independence has been both a strength and a challenge.

"Being alone forces you to confront insecurities: Are we good enough? Do we really know how to brew coffee? Without a big team, it’s easy to spiral into doubt."

This year, their journey almost ended in the semifinals. "We barely made it to the finals by a small margin. Our mistake? We tried to adapt the coffee to our method rather than adapting to the coffee. We didn’t taste it with enough people, and it showed. But we learned, adjusted, and it worked."

While Andrea acknowledges that their "homemade" approach was necessary due to circumstances, he advises aspiring competitors to build a strong team. "It’s better in every way—technically and mentally."

In Italy, no matter who you are or where you come from, you can always invite someone for an espresso. Italy’s coffee culture definitely influenced his journey. But it also made things challenging. While espresso remains the undisputed king, specialty coffee has struggled to find its place. 

With the standard price of a single espresso hovering around 1.2 euros, many consumers hesitate to pay more, creating financial strain for coffee shops and baristas. The result? Lower quality coffee and wages that make it difficult for the industry to evolve.

Change, however, is brewing. Andrea has noticed a shift—slow, but steady. “People are becoming more aware of coffee quality, and as a result, café owners are starting to adapt,” he explains. Yet, filter coffee remains a novelty in Italy, and convincing people to step outside their espresso comfort zone is no easy task.

“It’s a challenge, but also an opportunity,” he says. They have to find creative ways to intrigue someone into trying filter coffee for the first time. Sometimes it works, sometimes they’re too used to espresso and don’t like it. But that’s part of the fun.

As someone who has competed at the highest level, Andrea has a unique perspective on the evolution of coffee competitions like the World Brewers Cup (WBrC). It’s tough to create a judging system that’s both fair and accurate. One change he’d like to see? A greater emphasis on the Compulsory Round.

“It’s a pure test of skill,” he says. “The results can be circumstantial, but overall, it’s one of the fairest ways to evaluate a brewer.” Another challenge he sees in the competition is the emphasis on descriptor accuracy. It pushes competitors toward choosing coffees that are easier to describe rather than those that are truly exceptional. Some incredible coffees get left out just because they’re too complex to articulate in a high-pressure setting.

Despite the challenges, Andrea believes the key to growth—both in competition and in coffee itself—boils down to one thing: tasting.

“The best thing you can do is taste as much coffee as possible,” he advises. Try different beans, different methods, different roasters. Figure out what you like and, just as importantly, what you don’t like. And share that journey with someone else—because when you learn together, the possibilities grow exponentially.

Beyond coffee, Andrea’s love for flavors extends into food and cooking, a passion he shares with his partner, Caterina. Cooking and tasting different foods teach so much about coffee. It expands your sensory vocabulary in ways you don’t even realize.

His fascination with coffee also has roots in another passion: chemistry. “When I started brewing, it probably felt more like a science experiment than anything else,” he laughs. “Maybe that’s why I loved it so much.”

Just like the croissants he enjoyed as a child, every cup of coffee he brews today is a reminder of where it all began—simple joys that turned into something much bigger. (hudes)