A family with a passion for coffee, this is Caffè Martella. It all began in the early 1940s when Azeglio Martella decided to open a grocery store near Rome. Right from the start he offered his customers coffee for sale and his idea turned out to be promising.
Azeglio deepened and studied the art of coffee with increasing passion while his customer base grew and became loyal. In 1950 he took an important step and decided to open his first bar. It was no coincidence that the location chosen was Ciampino, a town on the outskirts of Rome that had become multi-ethnic since it hosted Rome's only international airport at the time. Here, in a small adjacent room, the first machine was installed to experiment with new blends and to roast coffee. Success was immediate and Azeglio's coffee bar became the centre of Ciampino.
Azeglio's imprinting spread to the whole family. His son Giancarlo and grandchildren David and Cristian followed his footsteps and transformed the original small roastery into a company that produces and distributes to famous bars in Italy as well as consumers all over the world. However, growth has not changed the vocation of the Martella family, that has preserved its enthusiasm for innovation and quality. Furthermore, the production of Caffè Martella has been particularly focused on sustainability for years.
Over a hundred roasters competed for the title of best imported coffee in Germany in 2008. The prize, offered by the coffee association SCAE, headed by Dr. Stefen Schwarz, was awarded to our Maximum Class blend, the flagship of Caffè Martella. That was the icing on the cake of a journey that had begun 70 years earlier.
Out of respect to producers, so that fair trade does not remain just an empty word, as well as out of respect for the environment, which lives from actions and not from words, our BIO coffee blend was created. A project that has been developed for over a year, with the particular aim of making the entire supply chain transparent, traceable fair and above all sustainable. The blend was created to emphasize the concept that "BIO" means 100% sustainability on the one hand and 100% quality Italian espresso on the other.
The entire production finally relies on 100% renewable energy sources certified by the GO Guarantee of Origin. This certifies the environmental sustainability of the production facilities in compliance with Directive 2009/28/EC and the decision of the Authority for Electricity and Gas-ARG/elt 104/115 in accordance with the Carbon Sink Protocol, based on the international Gold Standard certification. Green is not only on labels, but also in every daily gesture.
Thanks to an exclusive patented method, we use a decaffeination process that is free of conventional synthetic chemicals. This innovative process involves only a series of washing operations of green coffee beans with slightly heated water. This process provides no health concerns from contaminant residues compared to conventional decaffeination processes, while reducing the caffeine content to under 0.1% without compromising taste and quality.
Our products are as authentic and traditional as they have always been, even if the company is always focused on future and innovation. Thanks to the investments made in recent years, Caffè Martella is now a certified sustainable and 100% green company, since we obtain our electricity exclusively from renewable energy sources and we produce our coffee only with absolute respect for the environment and all participants in our supply chain. In addition, all plastic accessories have been removed from our product line and have been replaced with wood, glass and any biodegradable materials. So our passion for making hand-roasted coffee has not changed over the years. Together with traditional quality and uncompromising transparency, these are our strengths that have accompanied our family business for years.
Over 450 years ago, Marc Antonio, from the Roman noble family of Colonna, was a direct descendant of Isabella Colonna, who, with the help of Clement X and her brother Onofrio, initiated the construction of the monastery in Marino. Today, part of the convent houses the offices and showroom of Caffè Martella. Here we welcome our guests and customers to enjoy our coffee on the terrace with a beautiful view over the city of Rome.
We have chosen intentionally to give new life to an ancient building from the 16th century, because the high and bright spaces of its historical architecture inspire us every day to produce our coffee. It also allowed us to avoid unnecessary soil sealing for the construction of a new headquarter, in line with our sustainable philosophy.