Quality must not become just a word. An empty word, with no real meaning.
Quality must be a word soaked with effort, a prize to be earned every day and every hour, through commitment and quest: in search of each product’s optimal expression. No coffee can boast of authentic quality unless it includes respect for the ecosystem and for workers… as well as fulfilling the daily promise of creating true espresso taste.
This is what “quality” means for Coind. Every cup of coffee contains months and years of experience and expertise, work and effort, just to be able to say with certainty that we have created something to be proud of. As producers of coffee pods and compatible capsules, and as a key player in the world of coffee, we cannot ignore the fact that our creations Impact the lives of many thousands of people. Our challenge is to make sure that this impact is a positive one, i.e. actively contributing to create more fairness and sustainability through our industrial activities.
Even though the sensorial gastronomic dimension is evident and paramount – after all, in Italy people start enjoying the taste of premium coffee from an early age – this is not the only dimension that counts in deciding whether we can say that a product is a good product. There’s much more to it than that. For example, the awareness that, even more important than pleasing the palate, our products must be healthy.
No industrial process can operate without this primary constraint. We cannot compromise on this, nor treat it as though it were something to be taken for granted on our production line. In this sense, stringent controls must always be carried out and attention must be focused on the smallest detail: a detail can be enough to compromise a whole batch of products. What makes this operation so difficult is that every single operational phase must be carefully scrutinised, from the moment the raw coffee beans are harvested until the coffee is packaged or encapsulated. These checks are indispensable to ensure that we are always offering a product which lives up to our reputation. A product which those who work in Coind know they can serve without the slightest worry about the integrity and healthiness of the coffee they offer their guests or family members.
The protection of clients and consumers is a fundamental value in our company’s work, an element that is verified and attested to by the numerous certifications which Coind has earned over time, notably:
- UNI EN ISO 9001
- UNI EN ISO 22000
- BRC
- IFS
- UTZ Certification
All of these focus strongly on the implementation of extremely high safety standards.
As we have already emphasised, however, we obviously never forget that the taste and aroma of a good coffee play a decisive role in the perception of the product’s quality. This means that, in addition to monitoring product safety, research and in-depth analysis must also be focussed on the precise taste characterising each individual variety and species of Arabica or Robusta. The work of expert tasters and specialised biologists is therefore enormously valuable at this stage. A well-trained palate with considerable experience can investigate the contents of a cup of coffee with expertise and professionalism, and these are the qualities that allow them to fathom and throw light into the dark body of the drink, to identify its strengths and weaknesses.
Each blend is studied and composed while continually considering the private label commissioner or the final consumer, and even when we are sure we’ve done a great job, it’s only the opinion of an expert taster that can give the green light to the product.
As part of our mission to always offer the sublime taste of a true Italian espresso, Coind has also obtained – thanks to input and requests from various clients – INEI Certification, which assures consumers that they can savour the aroma and body of authentic expresso.
But hand-in-hand with guarantees of safety and delicious taste must go respect for workers and their safety, plus the possibility of drinking an organic, environmentally friendly coffee that is sustainable and recyclable. Guaranteeing its more than 230 employees the opportunity to work in complete safety is not an optional or a luxury, it is an essential requirement in a company as structured and attentive to quality as Coind. Checks and controls have been activated to ensure the best possible conditions for those who are actively employed in the manufacturing process, and this is why the procedures for obtaining OHSAS 18001: 2007 certification have been activated: because it illustrates and defines the standards to be applied to workplace safety and health.
However, Coind is well aware that without also guaranteeing decent living conditions for workers in developing countries, it can’t fully call itself a producer of coffee pods, capsules and quality blends. Without the fundamental help of these people, after all, it would be impossible to serve our coffee in Italy and Europe: so, leading the way to improving living conditions in coffee-growing regions is a duty as well as a pleasure… a duty that is part of our DNA.
If, to the development of projects in Third World regions, we add the battle for environmental protection and sustainable production, then we can definitely talk about quality coffee… a product we are glad to have also certified with other standards, listed below, in addition to those mentioned above:
- UNI EN ISO 14000
- CCPB
- Fairtrade / Transfair
How many times have we been shocked by images that show companies making no effort to reduce or recycle their waste materials? We find it sickening, and so do countless ordinary people. Reducing and treating waste can be expensive in the short term, but it’s a duty which we are determined to carry out… aware that saving a few euros today will mean having to spend three times as much tomorrow to protect the environment. For this reason we also focus on the technical and technological innovation of our plants: innovations that allow our client companies to save time and money, while also relieving the strain on people who are in close contact with the production lines. Every little change can actually bring about big changes to the final result. So even a small change, if applied on a large scale, can make an important contribution and lower the final count of total industrial emissions.
Laser granulometers, new generation roller mills, roasting machines and packing machines with increasingly high performance levels enable us to reach and exceed not only the quality standards set by our private label production clients, but also allow us to constantly reduce the number of manufacturing errors and production waste… elements that, as every entrepreneur knows, are a waste of time and money, and force companies to increase production more than expected, thus impacting more on the environment and on the lives of their employees.
For all these reasons, we believe that a cup of coffee is brewed by a whole world of research and commitment, which we translate into an espresso of the very best quality. Without respect for the people who work and live thanks to coffee beans, and without respect for nature, which produces these beans, it would be unforgivable to speak of honesty towards the palate and the good faith of consumers.