The 2015 New York Coffee Festival is coming, and with it, the North American debut of the Coffee Masters tournament. Fresh off its successful launch in London last spring, the Coffee Masters is a multi-disciplinary coffee competition with a hefty cash prize, remarkable feats of barista derring-do, and a top flight pool of judges. With just a few weeks left to enter nto the event [entry is due August 14th], today we’re excited to announce the qualified pool of judges for the 2015 Coffee Masters tournament. They are: [wc_box color=”primary” text_align=”left”]
Stephen Vick, Green Coffee Buyer for Blue Bottle Coffee [Worldwide]
Anne Lunell, founder of Koppi Roasters [Sweden]
Gwilym Davies, 2009 World Barista Champion [London + Czech Republic]
Sam Penix, owner of Everyman Espresso [Manhattan]
John Letoto, roaster / barista at Greenway Coffee and Blacksmith [Houston] [/wc_box]
Lunnell and Davies return for their second round of judging, following their participation in the Coffee Masters launch in London. Each of the selected judges has experience at the top level of coffee competitions, either as a competitor, judge, or in some cases, both. This is a diverse pool of judges reflecting a variety of ages, geographic locations, industry and cultural backgrounds and identities. Coffee at the 2015 Coffee Masters Tournament at New York Coffee Festival will be provided by Counter Culture Coffee of Durham, North Carolina.
Coffee Masters happens Friday, September 25th to Sunday, September 27th 2015 at the 69th Regiment Armory in Manhattan, at the corner of Lexington Avenue and 26th Street. It’ll be in conjunction with the wider NY Coffee Festival experience, a true consumer focused event expected to gather upwards of 10,000 attendees, as per Allegra. Confirmed brands at the 2015 New York Coffee Festival include regional leaders such a Joe NYC, Toby’s Estate, Irving Farm, Counter Culture and La Colombe, along with national and international brands such as Square, La Marzocco, Nuova Simonelli, Starbucks Reserve, Espresso Parts, Keep Cup, Mahlkonig, Acme & Co., BKON and many more.
Of particular interest to attendees should be the wide variety of European brands exhibiting at the festival, several of whom will be presenting their first-ever coffee service in North America. These include Square Mile Coffee, Workshop Coffee, Caravan Coffee, and The Barn. A full list of participating brands can be found here.
50% of ticket proceeds will be donated to charity via the Allegra Foundation’s Project Waterfall initiative, which funds clean water efforts in coffee growing countries such as Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Rwanda. Tickets for the festival are now on sale at the New York Coffee Festival website. Sprudge.com is proudly partnered with the 2015 New York Coffee Festival, and recommends you attend because it’s going to be awesome.
