mondomulia

Last week I received the fantastic news that the judges at Lavazza UK loved my Coffee Cake Pops recipe and voted me the winner of the Lavazza Coffee Set Match Bloggers’ Competition! As a prize, I will fly to Lavazza’s hometown Turin to visit the company’s headquarter, meet the local team and learn more about the brand and products! I’m beyond excited about discovering this city, which I've heard is not only beautiful, but also the perfect foodie destination!

I also had the opportunity to attend Lavazza’s press day at Wimbledon last Wednesday and it was an incredible day full of tennis, food and great coffee!

As I arrived at the Lavazza marquee in the Wimbledon press centre, I headed straight to the bar where three beautiful Wimbledon Favola Plus Limited Edition machines were displayed. I started the day with a macchiato, the first of many coffees to follow during the day!

There I met the judges of the competition, Head Trainer Dave Cormack and Managing Director of Lavazza UK Luca Piccini, and also the lovely representatives of Lavazza who were visiting from Turin.

As members of the press filled the marquee, a press conference started with an introduction by Giuseppe Lavazza, vice president of the company. Established in 1895, Lavazza has been owned by the Lavazza family for four generations and is now one of the world’s top coffee roasters and leader in the Italian coffee retail market.

They were the first to introduce espresso coffee to Wimbledon last year, with a partnership that is set to continue through 2013. This means that players and spectators have had and will have the chance to enjoy the real espresso that is the emblem of the Italian lifestyle, represented by Lavazza around the world. The Lavazza brand is known worldwide as the symbol of Italian espresso and the Italian identity. [quote from Lavazza's official website]

There are about 80 coffee outlets inside Wimbledon, 200 coffee machines and a whopping 600 staff trained by Lavazza on how to make hot and cold coffee drinks. I stopped by the Baseline Café to take some photos of the baristas and the beautiful espresso machine!

The presentation by Giuseppe Lavazza was followed by a Q&A with former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanišević and Italian tennis legend Adriano Panatta and afterwards I also had the chance to meet them and have our photos taken by the official photographer!

At the end of the press conference, we sat down for lunch at the Lavazza marquee, with a fantastic buffet prepared by the Wimbledon catering. Dessert was a selection of cakes and of course a Wimbledon classic: strawberries and cream!

A few hours later there was also an afternoon tea served at the Press Centre, complete with sandwiches, cakes and scones with jam & clotted cream! Just look at these macarons, in the official Wimbledon colours of dark green and purple, aren’t they cute?

The day wasn’t just about food and coffee, of course! As part of my prize, I received an entry ticket to the Centre Court, where I watched Roger Federer win against Fabio Fognini (while Prince Charles and Camilla were watching from the royal booth) and Tamira Paszek against Caroline Wozniacki.

It was a fantastic experience, being at the oldest tennis tournament in the world, sitting in its famous centre court, cheering on the world’s best players. It was such an honour to be there!

After winning the competition thanks to my coffee recipes, it seemed unfair that the judges didn’t get to try any of them! So as a "thank you" to the Lavazza judges and PR team, I prepared one last coffee-based recipe: Cocoa Coffee Cookies. I wrapped the biscuits in purple tissue paper, tied the parcel with a piece of twine and added my Moo business card for touch of colour! Scroll down to see this simple and delicious recipe!

A huge thanks, once again, to Lavazza and Focus PR for giving me the chance to be part of the Coffee Set Match Bloggers’ Competition!

Ingredients

* 1/3 cup unsalted butter, soften * 1 cup light brown sugar * 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder * 1 espresso * 1 teaspoon baking soda * 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon * 2 egg whites * 1/3 cup plain yogurt * 1 teaspoon vanilla * 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour * 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 180 °C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Sift in cocoa powder, coffee, baking soda and cinnamon. Beat until combined.

Beat in egg whites, yogurt and vanilla until incorporated. Slowly fold in the flour and mix until well blended with the mixture.

Hand roll golf-size balls from the dough, place on baking trays about 2cm apart. Bake for 5 minutes, then take the tray out and sprinkle white sugar generously all over the cookies. Bake further for 10 minutes.

Transfer to wire rack and cool completely.

To view all my Coffee Set Match recipes, click here.