Italy is home for the best brewed coffee in the world with its history in coffee making dating back to 1600 when coffee beans first entered Europe through the port of Venice from the Arabian Peninsula where the first coffee trees were cultivated in circa 1100.

From then on, in the evolution of coffee making, the Italian coffee became a cultural phenomenon. The Italian espresso-style coffee has spread across the world and has spurred a specialty coffee revolution, which accounts for a significant portion of the more than $ 80 billion that is spent annually on coffee of all forms.

According to the latest monthly report by the International Coffee Organization, world production of coffee in crop year 2012-2013 is estimated at 144.6 million bags in March, a 6.4 percent increase over the previous year, making coffee the second most important legal global commodity behind oil.

Espresso-style coffee is one of numerous methods for brewing the roasted and ground seed of the coffee tree, but espresso is unique for its dependence on modern technological advances. The sophisticated machinery of today can be seen as a culmination of one strand of coffee’s diverse history, rooted in the drive for intensely concentrated, full-bodied, but filtered coffee (a major distinction of espresso from Turkish-style coffee).

It is at this juncture that an Italian company De’Longhi carved a niche to become a global household name in making coffee.

The fascinating De’Longhi story tells of the rise of an Italian company which, in just a few decades, has climbed to the top of the international market, now asserting itself as a global player and is a major multinational group.

The growth of the De’Longhi group stepped up yet another gear in the 2000s in terms of both production capacity and acquisitions. These two elements were the basis of the strength and stability that allowed the group to be listed on the Milan stock exchange in 2001.

That same year, De’Longhi acquired the Kenwood Group, a brand renowned internationally as a highly specialized producer of food processing appliances. De’Longhi also acquired Ariete, with its range of kitchen, household cleaning and ironing products.

In Saudi Arabia, a survey conducted by De’Longhi experts revealed that coffee in one form or another is drank by 75 percent of the Saudis, and the number is increasing.

Today, De’Longhi is the undisputed leader in the coffee maker market. True to its Italian identity, De’Longhi will unveil next month in Saudi Arabia its new models of coffee makers that cater to all segments of the society as part of its unrelenting quest for innovation and distinctive design amid continuous growth.