DEBORAH AFTERGLOW Panama Geisha

Simone Guidi, born in Florence in 1987, founded La Sosta Specialty Coffee on 30 September 2016 after spending a transformative year in Melbourne collaborating with Australian coffee pioneer Genovese & Sons. Guidi is an SCA Authorized Trainer across all five modules, Barista, Brewing, Sensory, Green, and Roasting, and competed in Italian coffee championships from 2013 to 2019 across Cup Tasting, Latte Art, Roasting, and Brewers Cup categories. The roastery, located just seven to eight kilometres from Florence's center in Impruneta, works exclusively with specialty grade Arabica scoring 85 points and above, roasting with an air technique that preserves natural flavors while every batch is laboratory analyzed to confirm the absence of chemical residues. From 2016 to 2020 Simone rented space at other Florentine roasters before opening his own dedicated facility and specialty coffee laboratory in June 2020, supported by a 2019 partnership with the Genovese family who set up G100 to back the La Sosta project. The roastery opens to the public on Saturdays for tastings, tours, and classes, making La Sosta one of the few Italian specialty operations that actively invites coffee lovers behind the scenes.