Italian espresso coffee on Thursday began a bid to claim a place on UNESCO's list of protected intangible world heritage products. The Consortium Protecting Traditional Italian Espresso Coffee celebrated the first World Coffee Day. In so doing, it announced the birth of the Community for the Rite of Espresso Coffee.

The initiative asks people to sign a petition on www.ritodelcaffe.it and to contribute to the creation of an e-book recounting personal experiences linked to the every day ritual of drinking espresso. According to the Italian Espresso Institute, the Italian espresso industry generates turnover of around five billion euros and employs almost 10,000 people in Italy.