A SHIPLEY coffee company has proved a great taste with judges after winning a national award.

Casa Espresso, based in Otley Road, has won a One-Star Great Taste award for its Charlestown Espresso Blend.

It beat off competition from a total of 12,366 entries to the awards, with 165 being handed a three-star prize, 1,011 received a two-star and 3,171 given a one-star accolade.

Charlestown, and the firm’s other coffees, are served in a number of venues across the Bradford district including Bradford Bakery and Santoni in Keighley.

It is the latest award for Casa Espresso after it won the Retail/Leisure or Hospitality Business of the Year prize at last month’s Telegraph & Argus Bradford Means Business Awards.

They supply coffee machines and wholesale coffee with a facility to purchase specialist beans online which have been sourced from all corners of the globe.

Nino Di Rienzo, owner of Casa Espresso, said: “We have never entered Great Taste before, and decided to enter our Charlestown espresso coffee as we were gaining more and more positive feedback from wholesale and retail customers.

“We are so happy with the result, together with the T&A’s award, this is a massive achievement for all the hard work my team puts in every day.”

Casa Espresso, the independent family business, was started in 2000 by restaurateur Tony Di Rienzo and his son Nino, and is firmly established as a leading provider of machines for preparing genuine Italian coffee.

The Di Rienzo family has been associated with the restaurant business for more than 30 years, with Tony, who died in 2006, established the city’s first pizzeria, The Pizza House, in 1974.

Tony went on to open Da Tonino restaurant in Shipley in 1978 and, after spending ten years in Italy, he established Zio Tonino on Manchester Road in 1992.

Tony and Nino then saw a gap in the market for coffee and became the first UK importer and authorised supplier of SanRemo coffee machines in West Yorkshire.

Great Taste is the largest accreditation scheme for fine food and drink and more than 122,300 products have been assessed since 1994.

The judging panel, which included more than 500 members, included food writers, chefs, bakers and food buyers from Fortnum & Mason and Harvey Nichols.