International Coffee Tasting, the international coffee competition organized by IIAC (International Institute of Coffee Tasters), returns again this year. It's the only competition that uses a strictly scientific method to recognize the best coffees. International Coffee Tasting 2025, the international coffee competition, is now accepting registrations for its seventeenth edition and is back with the new ICT Benchmarks, a tool designed to help companies position their products against the highest standards available on the market. The three-day sensory evaluation event will take place in Milan from November 18 to 20, 2025. The best coffees will be awarded at the end of the three-day event.

“Our goal,” explains Carlo Odello , IIAC president, “has always been to award the Gold Medal to the best products to support them on the market. This year we are also introducing ICT Benchmarks, a tool designed for company marketing that gives them the opportunity to compare the sensory characteristics of their products with those of our Gold Medals, naturally in full compliance with the required confidentiality.”

"This is a tool available to all participating companies," adds Odello . "The winner will naturally receive our Gold Medal, a third-party award based on a scientific method whose validity can be easily demonstrated, increasingly sought after by companies as a key factor in their market credibility."

From November 18 to 20, 2025, the IIAC sensory judges will be engaged in three days of sensory evaluations on various product types (including espresso blends and single-origins, capsules and pods, and ready-to-drink products). While the market approach accelerates thanks to the new ICT Benchmarks, the scientific core of the competition remains unchanged: the sensory judges will continue to operate completely blind, applying strict sensory analysis rules. The data they provide will be statistically validated, and only products that exceed the threshold established by the regulations will be awarded a medal.

As always, transparency in the competition is crucial: the formula for calculating the scores awarded to competing products is public and available on the International Coffee Tasting website, along with an explanation of the weight given to individual sensory characteristics.