Recapping Day 1 of the 2012 World Barista Championship, reporting live from Vienna, Austria. Our coverage is powered all week by direct and gracious support from Nuova Simonelli. Follow Sprudge on Twitter for up-to-the-second updates as they happen at #wbc2012. All times CEST.
1. Aymon McQuade, Bell Tea & Coffee, New Zealand @coffee_loco [Full Performance Video]
8:23 mr. mcquade uses two coffees from el salvador, one a traditional washed, one a natural pacamara from finca shekinah
8:26 mr. mcquade’s signature drink is a take on summer berry pudding – “something my mum used to make for me as a kid”
8:29 strawberries, blueberries, limes, buttery shortbread, water and sugar – espresso – “very superstitious” on the stereo
2. 유연주 (Youn Joo Yu), Coffee LEC, Korea @CoffeeLEC @BaristaRyu [Full Performance Video]
8:41 youn joo yu’s shop Coffee LEC (Limited Edition Coffee) is located in the Garosugil strip in Sinsadong, Seoul
8:47 @baristaryu dressed sharp – long black gloves, dark blue vest, light blue collared shirt, copper tie, jeans, bright red sneakers
8:53 espresso course from @baristaryu involves sensory deprivation goggles – judges asked to give up sense of sight on stage
3. Wissanupong Liwprakon, Black Canyon (Thailand) Co., Ltd, Thailand @blackcanyonthai [Full Performance Video]
9:13 mr. liwprakon’s signature drink incorporates several thai ingredients, including coconut and local sugar
9:17 mr. liwprakon calls time at 14:45 – and now @flyingthud asks post-routine questions via translator. you gotta love the wbc.
4. Olga Melik-Karakozova, Koffein, Russia @koffein_ru [Full Performance Video]
9:25 olga’s routine is based on expressing, and reproducing, the experience of smelling a coffee flower at the farm
9:29 olga’s coffee is from a technoserv cooperative washing station in western ethiopia – “shegole” – previously offered by @intelligentsia
9:34 so much disco in this routine. thank god.
9:37 Olga’s sig drink – grape peel & grape juice infused cascara, meant to taste like a fresh cherry. cascara made from colombia caturra
5. Coman Cristian, Barista School – Cafepedia, Romania @cafenea
9:45 mr. cristian’s coffee is nicaragua limoncillo pacamara – “i blind cupped so many coffees, but this was my favorite”
9:48 there’s a loud romanian contingent here forcoman cristian’s routine- sponsored by tullamore dew whiskey, among others
6. Merlin Jeba Raj, Café Coffee Day, India @cafecoffeeday [Full Performance Video]
10:02 up next, our favorite name at the #wbc2012 – barista champion of India, Merlin Raj! also @noahcafeimports is bringing us lunch
10:16 mr. raj cites sunalini menon, the matriarch of indian specialty coffee, as a major influence – learn more
7. Rhoda Kamau, Nairobi Serena Hotel, Kenya [Full Performance Video]
10:28 up now, barista champion of kenya, rhoda kamau, working out of the nairobi serena hotel
10:30 ms. kamau’s hotel looks really nice – check it out and learn more
10:35 QOTD at #wbc2012, courtesy of Rhoda Kamau – “judges, i’m going to make your espresso. please enjoy the music of the black eyed peas.”
8. Hong Jie, Jess (Shanghai) Trading Co., Ltd, China [Full Performance Video]
10:56 40% of mr. jie’s coffee was sourced in china – “dried plum, lemon, balance”
10:57 the other 60% is kenyan – a subtly excellent routine from the reigning chinese champ
9. Andrey Veitsman, Aroma Espresso Bar, Israel [Full Performance Video]
11:01 Aroma Espresso Bar is a pretty darn large Israeli coffee company – more than 100 locations – learn more
11:03 mr. veitsman is actually roasting coffee on stage! or attempting to, at least!
11:06 “round body, acidity and sweetness” in his capps
10. Mindaugas Ryškus, King Coffee Service, Lithuania @KaraliskaKafija [Full Performance Video]
11:27 king coffee service is located in vilnius, lithuania – learn more via facebook
11:28 mr. ryškus competes using a washed ethiopian coffee, roasted by him personally – “just before second crack”
11:32 lemon freshness & acidity, sweetness, and bitter grapefruit on the tip of your tongue” mr. ryškus on his espresso
11:39 there’s a bubblin’ brew on stage for mr. ryškus sig drink – first dry ice sighting at #wbc2012
11. Elisa Molle, Independent, Italy @elisathetiger [Full Performance Video]
11:54 pretty much a whole side of the gallery is filled up with loud, excitable italians
11:58 the vibe of @elisethetiger is very grown-up and professional, even-keeled, no nonsense – she’s got a woodneck on stage for her sig
12:01 beautiful tiled brandy snifters for these drinks -sweet herbal infusion, brewed via woodneck, paried with “light and dark” espresso
12. 11:44AM Per Nordell, Åre Kafferoster, Sweden [Full Performance Video]
12:06 Mr. Nordell owns a small roastery in the ski mountains of Sweden – opens his routine to Talking Heads “Naive Melody”
12:08 per’s coffee comes from antigua in guatemala – bourbon and typica grown at 1800 meters
12:10 a spicy, sweet malt mixture – “licorice” – paired with espresso for his signature drink
13. Schedule Change
14. Finnbogi Fannar Kjeld, Kaffitár, Iceland @Kaffitar @finnbogifannar [Full Performance Video]
1:01 he’s the picture of focus on stage, that @finnbogifannar – capp notes of “blackberry juiciness, melted chocolate milk”
1:02 mr. kjeld competes using kenyan coffee sl-28 and sl-34 – hands out cards as a visual aid – grown 1800-1900 meters, washed and sun dried
1:05 “i realized that being a barista is so much more than a job, and this is the coffee that helped me along that way”
1:10 sig drink: “as much vinegar as i could get away with”, lemon peel, beet root, espresso- “it reminds me of campari”
15. Matija Hrkac, Good Food, Croatia @kavica_org [Full Performance Video]
1:14 “i will share with you 2 coffees and 3 stories” – @kavica_org #wbc2012 – as per his soundtrack’s use of the “Drive” soundtrack, he’s a real hero, and a real human being
1:25 sig drink meant to bring out “the beautiful red fruit i love in my espresso” – “like cold grape juice, refreshing!”
1:27 there’s an infectious enthusiasm to mr. hrkac’s performance – all hand gestures & exclamations – genuine fun to watch
16. Torfi Þór Torfason, The Coffee Collective, Denmark @coffeecollectif [Full Performance Video]
1:31 up next, we’re seated in the heart of the danish cheering section for Torfi Þór Torfason, representing @coffeecollectif
1:34 mr. torfason competes kenya nyeri kieni – hand-picked, dried on raising beds – “refreshing, berry-like acidity”
1:37 torfi’s a barista, chef, and roaster. one of many baristas competing in #wbc2012 w/ coffee they roasted personally
1:44 torfi’s sig drink: black currant gelee, milk gelee, honey milk caramel, currant and blackberry powder, milk foam
1:45 a kind of reconstructed deconstructed molecular spectacular from torfi and @coffeecollectif – sig drink of the day so far at #wbc2012
17. Ludovic Loizon, Barista Bartender Solutions, France [Full Performance Video]
1:56 learn more about mr. luoizon’s company, Barista Bartender Solutions – http://www.bb-solutions.fr/ website is in french, looks very slick
2:07 “thank you for being part of the best coffee experience of my life” – ludovic loizon, the très classy barista champ of france
18. Monika Palova, 3FE (Third Floor Espresso), Solvakia @coffeequirk [Full Performance Video]
2:11 ms. palova @coffeequirk granted us our all-time favorite sprudge interview last fall in moscow #expletives
2:15 monika talks the judges through expectations for her crema coloration – smart and competitive and points-oriented
2:18 first fleetwood mac audio sighting at #wbc2012 for @coffeequirk capp course – “a beautiful balance between espresso and milk”
19. Adam Neubuauer, Café Lounge, Czech Republic [Full Performance Video]
2:45 there’s a lot of gelee being made today at #wbc2012 – czech champ adam neubuauer’s sig drink calls for gelee of grapefruit and apricot
2:48 sleek and stylish in all black, czech champ adam neubuauer turns in a solid 15 minute routine at #wbc2012
20. Rafael Godoy, Suplicy Cafés Especiais, Brazil @suplicycafes [Full Performance Video]
2:57 hunter green tablecloth, grape shasta purple napkins, lavender info cards – striking table set for mr. godoy of @suplicycafes
3:10 baristas from producing countries often choose to exemplify coffees from their homeland – rafael godoy just did Brazil proud
21. Daniel Rivera, Hacienda San Pedro Coffee Shop, Puerto Rico [Full Performance Video]
3:15 mr. rivera’s shop has a nice website http://www.cafehsp.com “Puerto Rican coffee grown, cultivated and blessed by Puerto Rican hands”
3:26 ginger tea, ginger chocolate & espresso for daniel rivera’s signature drink #wbc2012 using single origin puerto rican coffee
22. Attila Molnar, Doggee, Hungary – @doggeebarista [Full Performance Video]
3:40 Attila Molnar is a 4-time reigning Hungarian barista champion!
3:48 mr. molnar’s sig dirnk served in what looks like snifters floating in ashtrays
23. Ever Bernal Echavarria, Amor Perfecto Café, Colombia [Full Performance Video]
3:51 Amor Perfecto in Bogota looks super cool – check out their website & this nice feature from dcily
4:02 some #wbc2012 competitors memorize their scripts in english, some use translators. mr. bernal is the first translated performance of the day
24. Fabrizio Sención Ramírez, Sublime, Mexico [Full Performance Video]
4:11 fabrizio’s roaster, Cafe Sublime was featured at our International Delight event in LA at @handsomeroaster
4:15 fabrizio competes using coffee from producer enique lopez – a pulp natural margogype grown in the chiapas region of mexico
4:16 fabrizio has, without a doubt, the very best mustache of #wbc2012 (at least so far…)
4:25 fabrizio’s sig drink includes coffee leaf & chafe infusions – a complex range of flavors, from sweet melon to tobacco to oolong tea
25. Katie Carguilo, Counter Culture Coffee, United States – @counter_culture @katiecarguilo [Full Performance Video]
4:36 no shaky hands, no stutters, @katiecarguilo is calm & cool – her coffee from finca los alpes grown by @aidabattle roasted by @counter_culture #wbc2012
4:41 keeps a line from usbc – “if espresso is my best friend, cappuccinos are like hanging out with her and her boyfriend”
4:45 @katiecarguilo espresso shots are “plum-like” developing into citric acid sweetness, “sort of like strawberries”
4:46 she cuts open a plum on stage, pulls out seed & shows the mucilage to illustrate why coffee is washed in the first place
4:50 katie calls time at 14:55 – super-tight routine, almost completely different from usbc routine. lots of fun to watch
26. Rasmus Helgebostad, Stockfleths, Norway @recaf [Full Performance Video]
4:55 mr. helgebostad is a 10-time national competitor, but first-time world competitor – representing http://www.stockfleths.as/ in oslo
4:57 mr. helgebostad competes using a coffee from the huehuetenango region western guatemala #wbc2012 – same lot he used to compete with in 2009
5:09 mr. helgebostad’s sig drink used a @mypressi – first one of #wbc2012 and we didn’t see it used at all in the USA competition cycle
27. Katarzyna Zyzalo, Coffee Proficiency, Poland [Full Performance Video]
5:16 Poland’s champ represents a company called Coffee Proficiency, a green seller and roaster specializing in Guatemalan coffees
5:18 ms. zyzalo of Poland is serving a Guatemalan Margogype – starts the judges with specially selected polish mineral water
5:33 Katarzyna Zyzalo of Poland – “call me Kesha” – calls time 15 flat, after a lovely, playful routine – a great advocate for polish specialty coffee!
28. 4:29PM Joshua Hockin, Transcend Coffee, Canada @joshhockin @transcendcoffee [Full Performance Video]
5:36 “today, i want to talk about sugar – not the kind you find on the shelf, the kind that develops in the coffee cherry”
5:40 espresso have bright acidity – “pineapple” – with lower tone notes in the finish – “malt, molasses”
5:41 @joshhockin is one of those “economy of movement” types you’ve heard us rant about before on twitter – physically very deliberate with each movement
5:43 capps “kind of remind me of a chocolate malted milkshake” omg that sounds so good right now
