Dubai – Ali Alzakary
In the world of specialty coffee, very few have achieved the rank of Evolved Q Grader Instructor until now. We are sure that in a few weeks there will be many more, but Davide Cobelli, Coffee Expert and Consultant, Italian Roasting Champion 2020, is the first European to obtain it. From competition stages to origin farms, and from leading SCA Italy to winning the Italian Roasting Championship, his story is one of relentless passion, resilience, and a constant drive to raise the bar in coffee education and evaluation. Join us as we dive into his remarkable journey, lessons learned, and vision for the future of coffee.
You recently announced that you became one of the very few people worldwide to complete the Evolved Q Grader Instructor program — and with a perfect 100% score. How challenging was this process for you, and what does this achievement mean personally and professionally?
He is one of the very first instructors to pass the Evolved Q Grader exam. At the time he did, there were probably only 3–4 in the whole world. Today, quite a few more have passed. Achieving this milestone has been incredibly rewarding, especially considering the significant investment of time and energy it required. The standards for instructors are exceptionally high. To put it into perspective, there is zero margin for error, and candidates must achieve a perfect 100% score on a 50-question exam covering the entire Evolved Q Grader course. This is what makes earning the license so challenging, but also entirely appropriate. Through this rigorous process, the SCA makes it clear that the new Q Grader course is in no way inferior to the previous CQI program, particularly regarding the quality of its trainers.
You started in the food service industry before dedicating yourself fully to coffee. What was the turning point that made you choose this path, and how did those early experiences shape the professional you are today?
I started in the hospitality industry over 30 years ago, but for nearly 15 years, I have been completely devoted to the world of coffee. In the first part of my career, my devotion was to the beverage itself. Then, for more than seven years, I also embraced the entire supply chain, which has become increasingly important in my professional journey, leading me to open a roastery and travel to origin countries to provide sensory training. I don’t know exactly how the switch to coffee happened—passions are often born and grow without a specific reason. But every day, I wake up happy and fulfilled doing the best job in the world: the one I love.
You’ve trained hundreds of professionals across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, while also building a reputation as a consultant. How do you manage to keep both hats on—educator and business advisor—without compromising the quality of either?
In my 15 years as a trainer in the coffee world, I believe I’ve trained well over a thousand professionals. Every time, this has been my motivation to keep going. My goal has always been to share my expertise with students, learn from them in return, and create a genuine exchange—an objective I still pursue today. It’s not one-way training, but a true exchange of professional skills. When you’re driven by true passion, you can do anything. For me, coffee is pure passion and sincere dedication.
Few people cover as many areas as you do—Barista, Brewing, Green Coffee, Sensory, and Roasting. How did you build that range of expertise, and what advantages does it give your students?
There’s a saying, “a jack of all trades is a master of none,” and I tend to agree with that idea. In my case, I began my coffee journey by dedicating the first half of my career to the world of the barista and the beverage—first by competing, and later serving as an international judge for barista championships. From there, I expanded to embrace sensory analysis, roasting, and the supply chain. It’s not impossible to do everything well, but I don’t see myself as a superhero who has somehow managed it. I simply believe that when you are driven by true passion (and not primarily by business), it is possible to succeed. As I’ve said before, I am devoted to coffee. It’s an all-consuming passion in my life; aside from travel, I have no others. I believe the advantage for my students is that my broad experience allows us to explore a wide range of topics holistically, both in and out of the classroom. After all, in a supply chain like coffee, every element intersects with and influences the others. Furthermore, I’m not one of those trainers who sticks strictly to the course material without leaving room for discussion. I encourage questions—in fact, I love them.
Winning the Italian Roasting Championship in 2020 was a milestone, and you later ranked among the best in the world. What did those competitions teach you about coffee—and about yourself?
In 2020, just two years after I started roasting, I won the Italian Roasting Championship. What an incredible feeling that was! I was the first to not believe it, especially since I only went hoping not to finish last and just to get a bit more experience. But after placing seventh at the World Championship in 2022 and second at the nationals in 2023, I started to think that maybe, just maybe, I’m not completely terrible at this whole roasting thing. Above all, it silenced my detractors and haters, which are always in plentiful supply in the coffee world. That made the satisfaction twofold.
As a national and international judge, you’ve seen the best baristas and roasters on stage. What do you look for in a champion, and what separates a good competitor from a great one?
Being a judge is a responsibility—or at least, that’s how I’ve always seen it. It’s incredibly satisfying to be able to support the industry’s framework and, often, the next generation of professionals. But that’s not all. In recent years, I’ve been called upon more and more to participate as a sensory judge on tasting panels for coffee farmers, right at the source of the production chain. This has really become my focus since the COVID pandemic. That is a true responsibility of another kind, because you feel that your judgment can influence the future of farming families. This responsibility weighs heavily on me, compelling me to be exceptionally professional and accurate in my assessments.
When you were elected National Coordinator of SCA Italy, you spoke about bringing specialty coffee out of its niche. What steps have you taken toward that goal, and what challenges remain in making specialty coffee more accessible to everyday Italians?
In my role as National Coordinator from 2022 to 2024, I worked to expand the specialty coffee market beyond the narrow niche it has occupied in Italy in recent years. Growth in this sector had become nearly stagnant, largely because specialty coffee was increasingly perceived as just an expensive and acidic product, rather than one of value for the entire supply chain. Together with the coordinating team for that two-year term, we implemented communication strategies to take the product beyond the small circle of “coffee geeks.” Our goal was to make specialty coffee accessible to a broader audience by using simpler language and by highlighting the importance of a sustainable supply chain.
The Specialty Coffee Association recently introduced the Coffee Value Assessment (CVA), joined also by the Coffee Quality Institute. Some see this as a groundbreaking step forward, while others worry about confusion or competition with existing protocols such as CQI certifications. How do you see this new system shaping the future of coffee evaluation, and what impact will it have on farmers, producers, and the industry as a whole?
When the CVA was introduced in 2022, many wouldn’t have bet on its success. There was significant skepticism (a small amount of which still lingers), especially from professionals who grew up with and were tied to the 2004 SCA Cupping Form (later used by CQI). This also included those who had invested a great deal of money and energy over the years to become Q Graders or Q Instructors. (I don’t blame them, but it’s clear that the new CVA is the modern approach to sensory science, while the previous system is not). Today, there is no competition between the SCA and CQI, because CQI focuses on origin countries and field work, while the SCA focuses on Sensory Analysis, which includes the new Evolved Q Grader course. (Then again, perhaps there was never any real competition; it’s impossible to compare an outdated system that hasn’t been updated in over 20 years with one that takes a modern, scientific approach). The real and immediate revolution is that today, a coffee’s value throughout the chain is no longer left to a single, subjective score. Instead, value is redistributed across multiple attributes, each of which is important in determining the final worth. The impact is direct: farmers are no longer forced to submit to a sterile, unexplained score. Instead, they can discuss value by leveraging multiple attributes to justify it.
Specialty coffee has changed dramatically in the past decade. Where do you see the next big opportunities for growth and innovation in Europe’s coffee sector?
The coffee world has undergone a radical transformation. Specialty coffee consumption has evolved and continues to grow consistently year after year across all markets, with consumers paying closer attention to the products they purchase and consume. The key to the future is undoubtedly product information, specifically the combination of extrinsic value and the sensory profile. Looking ahead, I foresee a future for specialty coffee defined by greater transparency, with a focus on metrics like the Farm Gate Price for the final product, rather than just a cupping score. I believe the opportunities will only continue to grow for professionals who specialize and carve out their own niche in the market.
Looking back at your journey—from trainer to champion, consultant, and SCA leader—what achievement gives you the greatest satisfaction? And what keeps you motivated to push forward?
Life is constant evolution. To me, that is the very definition of living. Sometimes you adapt, but often you must evolve—that is my guiding principle. This isn’t about the pursuit of a happiness that is never reached. Instead, it’s about the constant effort to improve, accumulating more and more experience in everything you do. My father taught me to always give my all, so that I could fully enjoy the journey, whether it leads to the summit or not. Success is just the tip of an iceberg built on defeats, frustration, disappointment, struggles, laughter, excitement, and a host of other emotions. From the outside, people only see the destination, never what happens during the journey. For me, every milestone—positive or negative—has been an experience that has helped me mature and grow as a human being. That is true success. For this reason, I don’t have a single achievement that stands out as the most satisfying; rather, it is the sum of them all that makes me a better person.
For young coffee professionals who dream of following in your footsteps, what advice would you give them about standing out in such a competitive global industry?
Never give up on something you believe in, but above all, believe in yourself. Superheroes and super-gurus don’t exist; there are only people who give their absolute all to reach their goals. Set an objective and then, step by step, work to achieve it. If you create intermediate milestones along the way, it will seem far less impossible.
