The new project Beyond the Cup makes its debut, while the prestigious World Barista Championship chooses Host 2025 for its long-awaited return to Milan, and SIC confirms its role as the global benchmark for the entire coffee industry.

From rare single origins to specialty coffees served with mixology-inspired techniques, from fast-growing global chains to artisan micro-roasteries of excellence, and right through to research on new cultivars capable of withstanding climate change. The coffee world is undergoing an unprecedented transformation. Driving this evolution are increasingly aware consumers, ever more hybrid business models, and a supply chain that has made innovation its engine of growth.

In this landscape, there has never been a greater need for a reference point that can anticipate, interpret, and transform emerging trends into real business opportunities. A place where coffee becomes vision, dialogue, and future. Host 2025 promises exactly this: the world’s leading trade fair for professional hospitality, organised by Fiera Milano, where the out-of-home sector joins forces with foodservice and food retail to celebrate and explore coffee not just as a product, but as an idea that reaches beyond the cup.

From 17 to 21 October 2025, the global coffee community will gather at Fiera Milano for Host 2025: the one event capable of bringing together every player across the supply chain under one roof, within the historic SIC – International Coffee Exhibition. From roasters to machine manufacturers, from coffee professionals to global distributors, with hundreds of exhibitors from all over the world, and an unparalleled calendar of events offering a comprehensive overview of a sector in constant evolution.

Host Talks – Beyond the Cup: a stage for the future

Among the highlights will be Host Talks – Beyond the Cup, a brand-new initiative curated by M25 Consulting in collaboration with Host Milano. More than just a series of talks, it is a permanent observatory on the future of coffee.

“We wanted to create a place where the entire supply chain could engage in open and constructive dialogue,” explains Luigi Morello, founder of M25 Consulting, “and shift the focus from the product itself to a broader perspective, where coffee becomes a strategic driver for the entire hospitality industry.” That vision is clear from the very title: going “beyond the cup” to explore coffee as an integrated system that connects agriculture, technology, design, education, and sustainability.

Sustainability here also means climate and cultural adaptation: coffee is one of the crops most vulnerable to climate change, with enormous scope for innovation and experimentation in new cultivation practices.

“There are already many coffee-focused events around the world,” Morello adds, “but we felt there was a real gap for something like Host Talks. The idea is to provide a platform enabling professionals across the whole chain to share and discuss the most interesting emerging issues, backed by careful international research”.

Education will also be a central theme: Beyond the Cup will give space to schools, technical institutes, and universities, both to support the training of future professionals and to raise awareness among consumers, who are increasingly attentive to quality, traceability, and storytelling.

“With Host Talks – Beyond the Cup we want to give voice to a community that shares values and visions,” says Francesca Cavallo, Head of Hospitality Exhibitions at Fiera Milano. “Coffee is not just a product but a universal language that brings together innovation, culture, and experience – themes that have always been at the heart of Host Milano’s mission, making it a global hub for the entire hospitality industry, and a vital reference point for the coffee sector in particular.”

The long-awaited return of the World Barista Championship to Milan

Another major highlight in the coffee-focused programme will be the return to Italy of one of the most prestigious competitions in the sector: the World Barista Championship, organised by World Coffee Events, which will hold its finals at Host 2025. The competition brings together the best baristas from more than 50 countries, offering a unique opportunity to witness the most innovative techniques in extraction, preparation, and service.

This is a powerful signal that reaffirms the role of SIC and Host Milano as a global hub for coffee culture. Espresso, filter, cold brew, specialty, vending, capsules: no other international event offers such a comprehensive and integrated overview as SIC, spanning raw materials, extraction technologies, business formats, and new consumer trends, with the participation of all the leading Italian and international players.