Twenty-eight national barista champions kicked off Round One Day One of the 2014 World Barista Championship today in Rimini, Italy. Tomorrow, a whole second set of baristas will compete to complete Round One. 18 will advance to the semi-finals on Wednesday, and six will be chosen for finals on Thursday. This is the World Cup of Coffee. We have a team on hand in Rimini to provide wall-to-wall coverage—nonstop Twitter commentary from the editors of Sprudge via @SprudgeLive, with regular photo dumps on Facebook and Instagram from Eileen P. Kenny.
Here, in all its glory, is the best of the best of Day One Round One Hash Tag WBC 2014.
Sprudge.com’s coverage of the 2014 World Barista Championship is made possible by direct support from Nuova Simonelli, whose Aurelia T3 espresso machine anchors the action at WBC.
1. 8:35 Soren Stiller Markussen, Great Coffee, Denmark @sorenstiller
Mr. Stiller is a 3-time Danish Barista Champion—he owns his own roastery and school called “Great Coffee”
Mr. Stiller starts the judges off with multiple infusions, using a variety of Honduran coffees and coffee cherry skins.
Natural processed coffee from Honduras here in @sorenstiller‘s #wbc2014 routine—”sweet chocolate, marzipan, and a citric note”.
“Strawberry flavors coming forward” in @sorenstiller‘s #WBC2014 cappuccinos. Instructs judges to give his capps a whiff before tasting.
Multiple infusions for @sorenstiller‘s sig drink—three different halogen syphons on stage, filled with multiple processes of coffee skin. Layers of infusions, distributed by plastic plunger syringe, guiding his judges through a complex sig drink. It’s a pure coffee signature drink—no additional ingredients, just cascara and different processing methods.
2. 8:55 Kapo Chiu, The Cupping Room, Hong Kong @TheCuppingRoom
Kapo Chiu is a returning champion–he represented Hong Kong in the 2013 WBC . We’ve featured @thecuppingroom multiple times on Sprudge—as a build-out and in our HK guide
“Fines have become one of the biggest challenges we face in extraction”—”raisin and jasmine tea” in Kapo Chiu’s #wbc2014 espressos—he’s pulling shots via the @MAHLKOENIG EK43 belle of the ball grinder.
Kapo Chiu competes with a gesha variety Cerro Azul coffee from the Cauca department of SW Colombia. Kapo Chiu’s #WBC2014 coffee was roasted by Andy Sprenger of @SwtBlmcoffee near Denver, Colorado. Denver -> HK -> Rimini!
Kapo Chiu is the first (of surely many) competitors at #wbc2014 with carefully weighed shots. his scales are by @AcaiaCoffee. Kapo Chiu is dosing 21 grams, extracting 48 grams for his #wbc2014 espresso—flavors of “grape and earl grey tea”.
Sig drink for Kapo Chiu: chilled shots, sparkling water, 3 grams of tonic syrup, pineapple and mandarin juice spray.
3. 9:15 Dmitry Koryukin, Omni Coffee, Russia @dmkoryukin
Dmitry Koryukin competes using coffee from Finca San Jose in Guatemala—it’s a red bourbon variety.
“The best part of espresso is not on the surface.” Mr. Koryukin serves conventional shots, lets judges evaluate crema—then uses a syringe to pull out the liquor below. “Sweet lemon, brown sugar, and cherry sweetness” in Dmitry Koryukin’s #WBC2014 espressos.
Mr. Doryukin’s sig drink: strawberry & brown sugar, espresso, AeroPressed together and served in a brandy snifter. Calls time at 14:29.
4. 9:35 Sonja Zweidick, La Cabra, Austria @Lacabracoffee
“For the next 15 minutes I will try and give you a taste of my everyday life with coffee.”—Sonja Zweidick “I have three rules for the barista: keep it simple, do it for a reason, and make it well.”
“Rum aftertaste, light body…notes of lemon, black currant, red grape” in Sonja Zweidick’s espressos.
5. 9:55 Yoshua Tanu, Common Grounds Coffee Roastery, Indonesia @ystanu
Mr. Tanu competes using an Indonesian coffee—”I’m very proud to bring you coffee from my home country.” “Lime juice, passionfruit acidity, brown sugar sweetness, dark cocoa aftertaste.”
Espresso, passion fruit reduction (chilled with honey), and frozen cascara in @ystanu‘s #wbc2014 signature drink.
Yoshua Tanu calls time at 14:37 to much cheering from the Indonesian contingent here at #wbc2014—impressive stuff.
6. 10:15 Charlene De Buysere, OR Coffee Roasters, Belgium @DeBuysereC
Ms. De Buysere competes here at #WBC2014 with an Ethiopian washed Sidamo coffee, comprised of just 2 varieties of heirloom.
“Fresh, cold milk” brought straight from Belgium by @DeBuysereC—“delicate acidity, very sweet aftertaste” in her capps. subtle and focused routine here from @DeBuysereC —playing a bunch of famous sample sources for music. Fun to watch.
Sig drink is themed around “smokiness”, similar to what you might find in scotch whisky or mezcal. To achieve that smokiness, @debuysereC is using pu-erh tea—an uncommon and chancy sig drink ingredient. Sweet washed coffee, smoky tea. Pu-erh tea, espresso, and sage—an absolutely fascinating signature drink from @debuysereC and deceptively simple to boot.
7. 10:35 Krisztian Nagy, Expresso Cafe Hungary, Hungary
Krisztian starts off by having judges smell the fresh sage going into his sig drink, along with fresh raspberries & coconut sugar. Big cheering section for the high-energy routine from Krisztian Nagy of Hungary here at #WBC2014 as he serves his “butterscotch” cappuccinos. The sage infusion for Mr. Nagy’s sig drink has been chilling in an ice bath all routine, w/the Tanzanian espresso setting with raspberries.
8. 10:55 Tse-Lin (Berg) Wu, Simple Kaffa, Taiwan @simplekaffa
#Taiwan is fresh off its first international competition win—Pang-Yu Liu at the World Cup Tasters.
“Grapefruit, apricot, and toffee” notes in Tse-Lin Wu’s #wbc2014 espressos—he’s serving Panama Elida Estate natural process coffee.
This routine from Tse-Lin Wu is about choices made by producers, the roaster, & the barista. “I am just a bridge…”
“Delicious coffee does not just happen. So many people devote themselves to this industry, and I thank them” Tse-Lin Wu.
9. 11:15 Dailess Nalwamba, Blue Moon Cafe, Zambia
“I’m introducing to you a juicy Zambian peaberry coffee, Bourbon variety SL-28, roasted medium.”—Dailess Nalwamba, Zambia.
Read more about Blue Moon Cafe in Zambia (home of Dailess Nalwamba) here, courtesy of @thebestofzambia
Ms. Nalwamba’s sig drink: chilled espresso (via Chemex in an ice bath), Zambian brown sugar (from where the coffee is grown). Ms. Nalwamba’s serving her judges some delicious looking macadamia nut milk out of a Chemex—adds it to espressos for sig bev.
10. 11:35 Tobias Palm, Johan & Nystrom, Sweden @JN_Oy
I have been told by Scandinavians in the audience that Mr. Palm’s nickname is “The Hunky Viking”. Mr. Palm was the 2013 Cup Tasters Champion of Sweden, and quoth, “Sweden has two things I’m really proud of: Zlatan Ibrahimović, and our milk.”—Tobias Palm.
“Raisin acidity, smooth round body and hints of stone fruit” in Tobias Palm’s #wbc2014 espressos. Mr. Palm competes here at #WBC2014 with an Ethiopian coffee, from the Welena plantation Learn more about Tobias Palm’s Ethiopia Welena coffee, sourced & roasted by @jn_oy @johanochnystrom .
11. 11:55 Giacomo Vannelli, Pasticceria Vannelli, Italy @GiacomoVannelli
Next up here at #WBC2014, with a predictably huge cheering section, it’s Giacomo Vannelli of Italy. Two distinct coffees in @giacomovannelli‘s #WBC2014 routine—he can’t get through a step of script here without the crowd going bonkers.
Long a leader in espresso technology, Italy is experiencing a renaissance of sorts in progressive coffee roasting and cafes.
Mr. Vannelli competes here with coffees from Rwanda & Honduras— his routine is about the interplay between them. “Toffee and apricot” occur in @giacomovannelli‘s #wbc2014 cappuccinos. Truly, this is cappuccino. @truecappuccino
Pretty unusual grinder being used here at #wbc2014 by @giacomovannelli—it’s a Quamar. Two hoppers, one portafilter. Then, @giacomovannelli is playing a xylophone? The Italians are going molto bonkers. Lord help us all if this guy advances.
12. 12:15 Marian Plajdicko, Slovakia @plajdo @THEBARNBERLIN
Up now, it’s Marian Plajdicko, representing Slovakia as @plajdo and making coffee in Berlin with @THEBARNBERLIN. Mr. Plajdicko competes using an Ethiopia Suke Kuto, comprised of just two heirloom varieties.
Welp @plajdo has made the judges put on nose clips. first taste of espresso with the clip on, next sip with the clip off. Espresso, cold brew jasmine tea spray in @plajdo‘s #wbc2014 sig drinks—”a refreshing, fruity coffee sensation.”
13. 12:35 Erna Tosberg, Roestbar, Germany @kommisar_ern
Dark chocolate followed by ripe, sweet bananas” in @kommissar_ern‘s cappuccinos. Coffee of choice for @kommissar_ern is an Ethiopia Suke Quoto. She has the judges swirl & sip espresso from wine glasses for aroma.
There is a beautiful old-school seltzer bottle, woven sleeve and all, sitting on @kommissar_ern‘s station. We can’t wait to see what it’s for. (See video to see what it’s for.)
To close her #WBC2014 routine, @kommissar_ern gies each of the judges a small bag of her green coffee in pergamino (parchment) to take home.
14. 12:55 Kevin Israel Fortu, EDSA Beverage Design Group, Philippines
Kevin Israel Fortu competes for the Philippines at #WBC2014, using a Typica variety coffee from Hawaii.
“First sip: ripe mango, second sip: sweetness of chocolate, third sip: vanilla aftertaste” for Mr. Fortu’s espresso’s at #WBC2014
Espresso gets strained through an AeroPress with paper filter, added to mango syrup & vanilla, carbonated for Mr. Fortu’s #WBC2014 sig drink.
Beautiful foamy head on the “Espresso Soda” drink. Mr. Fortu calls time at 14:59.
15. 1:15 Godfrey Batte, Africa Coffee Academy, Uganda @AfricaCoffeeACA
Next it’s Godfrey Batte, representing Africa Coffee Academy and the nation of Uganda!
Malic acidity and lots of sweetness in Godfrey Batte’s #wbc2014 espressos. Then, “vanilla, white chocolate” cappuccinos with “mild sweetness.”
“Sharp bitterness, mild cocoa aftertaste” for Batte’s second set of capps—two distinct profiles here at #wbc2014.
A beautiful foam with notes of coriander tops Godfery Batte’s #wbc2014 signature drink @AfricaCoffeeACA.
Godfrey Batte calls time at 14:45.
16. 1:35 Pete Williams, 3fe, Ireland @3fe
Hey, it’s Pete “Petesy” Williams, the barista champion of Ireland representing!
Mr. Williams instructs the judges to write down tasting notes for his Nicaraguan coffee—the first is “toasted almond”.
Petesy’s (we’re just gonna call him Petesy) coffee grown at just 800m—”we don’t expect this kind of quality at that elevation”.
Some uh, some serious house fantasy jams here on Petesy’s soundtrack. Let’s go to the coffee discotheque.
“Tangerine acidity that ends with a zest of bitterness” in Petesy’s espressos.
Two 24-hour infusions for Petesy’s sig drink: thyme infusion (10ml) for sweetness and sumac (5ml) for acidity. Petesy’s sig drink “has more clarity, more definition than the espresso” while playing up the Nicaraguan coffee’s inherent notes.
You best believe #petesy‘s using the new @nuovasimonelli Mythos grinder at #wbc2014 developed by @dublinbarista battle tested on bar at @3fe!
#Petesy calls time at 15 flat—competing with a Nicaraguan coffee from the famed Fincas Mierisch.
17. 1:55 Nicolas Rico, Amor Perfecto, Colombia @nicolaswbc27 @amorperfectocaf
Up now at #wbc2014 it’s Nicolas Rico, Amor Perfecto, Colombia @nicolaswbc27 @amorperfectocaf.
Mr. Rico is competing in Spanish; he’s the first competitor here at #WBC2014 to compete with a translator.
It’s firmly our bad that we don’t speak Spanish well enough to translate this #wbc2014 performance from @nicolaswbc27 ourselves! Judges are instructed to evaluate their espresso crema, then stir.
In Spanish, the word “cappuccino” is pronounced “cappuccino”.
18. 2:15 Nina Rimpl, Henauer Kaffee, Switzerland @HenauerKaffee
Up next it’s Nina Rimpl, representing Henauer Kaffee and the nation of Switzerland @HenauerKaffee!
Lots of non-espresso brewing happening here at #WBC2014—Nina Rimpl is using an AeroPress for her sig drink, and a 2014 fresh crop natural processed Ethiopian coffee.
“Elderflower smell, fresh pineapple acidity, rich chocolate, sweet aftertaste” in Nina Rimpl’s Ethiopian espressos.
19. 2:35 Vinicio Bastidas, Cafe Logia, Ecuador
Next up, it’s the first-ever barista champion of Ecuador—Vinicio Bastidas, Cafe Logia, Ecuador!
Mr. Bastidas is competing with an Ecuadorian coffee, grown at a very high elevation near Quito, Ecuador’s capitol city.
“This coffee is light roasted for sweetness, and to highlight the delicate citrus flavors”—hell yeah, Vinicio Bastidas!
Mr. Bastidas’ sig drink utilizes a C02 charge, with espresso and foam placed into individual bottles
“I love coffee—I love the flavor, and I like to share it.”
20. 2:55 Luca Casadei, Independent, France @lucacasadei7
The next #WBC2014 competitor is Luca Casade from France @lucacasadei7.
The Costa Rica Finca Bellavista coffee @lucacasadei7 is using at #WBC2014 is a honey-processed Caturra grown at 1900m.
Clappers and other noisemakers out in full force for theMr. Casadei!
Mr. Casadei talks about the importance of the super “clean, organized” mill that processed the coffee he is using today.
Sweet and fruity focused #WBC2014 sig drink from @lucacasadei7, featuring honey, peach, dried apricot, lemon.
21. 3:15 GeunHa Park, Fritz Coffee Corp., Korea @geunha
And now to an enormous roar from the #WBC2014 crowd, it’s GeunHa Park, representing Fritz Coffee Corp. and Korea @geunha!
Significant amount of script up front from GeunHa Park – a solid 3 minutes of scripting before any coffee served.
An all-U2 soundtrack so far from @geunha—reaching back to less popular nineties U2 stuff like “Numb” and “Discotheque”.
Mr. Park’s #WBC2014 coffee is a caturra and maragogype variety combo “orange acidity, sweet brown sugar, lemony aftertaste.”
As always, big huge energy in the room for the competitor from Korea! We’re getting a lot of confidence out of this routine— dude is up there slanging, basically
Whoa, beautiful built-into-the-table-top signature drink instructions—ultra sonic wave energy, conduction, convection.
Mr. Park just took this to the next level with an elaborate table-top trap door illustration set.
He’s used some kind of rapid wine chiller (or something?) to immediately cool down the mixture in his sig drink!
All theatrics here from @geunha in the sig drink phase. Semi-difficult to hear details but enormously impressive to watch.
22. 3:35 Agustina Roman, Coffee Town, Argentina @baristazen
Can’t stop won’t stop—next it’s Agustina Roman, representing Coffee Town and the nation of Argentina @baristazen #wbc2014
“As you know, Argentina is not a coffee-growing country. You might not know it is very difficult for us to get it.”
“Notes of chocolate and almond” in @baristazen‘s #wbc2014 cappuccinos.
“Nuts—especially almond—butter, maple syrup, and chocolate…with a little bit of honey” in @baristazen‘s #wbc2014 espressos.
So many syringes today—infusions getting plunged, dilutions getting pushed.
Sig drink for @baristazen adds argentinian grape juice to her espresso, to amplify sweetness.
Agustina Roman calls time at 15 sharp!
23. 3:55 Christos Loukakis, TAF, Greece @chrisbarista @tafcoffee
Now competing for Greece, it’s Christos Loukakis, @chrisbarista, from @tafcoffee #WBC2014!
Gorgeous crystal stemware stands at the ready for @chrisbarista‘s sig drink, plus an extra hopper for a mid-routine bean switch. #WBC2014
@chrisbarista‘s sig drink features a Panamanian coffee, a natural processed geisha #30 from @ninetyplus.
For his sig drink, @chrisbarista uses a series of chemexes to filter a mixture of blackberries, Vahlrona cocoa and 180 ppm water #WBC2014.
24. 4:15 Leo Moco, Café do Moço, Brazil
Mr Moco talks about the need for ingenuity and collaboration between Brazilian baristas and producers to create new flavor styles in the country.
Two coffees w/different fermentation styles: one 72 hr low temp ferment, one 24 hr anaerobic ferment to highlight lactic acid.
Leo Moco has a microbiology degree, and discusses the different organisms in his fermentations with ease.
For his sig drink, Mr Moco has been chilling a combo of a 14 hr cold brew, a temp controlled french press, and espresso on stage—“banana, cashew fruit” in the nose of Mr Moco’s natural processed Red Bourbon espressos.
25. 4:35 William Hernandez, Viva Espresso, El Salvador @williamhve @VivaEspresso1
Now up at #WBC2014 is William Hernandez, @williamhve, of @VivaEspresso1 in El Salvador. Viva Espresso is home of 2011 WBC champ @AleMendezVE!
Starting off fancy, @williamhve serves his espresso in a brandy snifter, using an ultrasonic vaporizer to add aromatic vapor on top.
Natural processed Yellow Bourbon, semi-washed Orange Bourbon and washed Red Bourbon, roasted separately in @WilliamHve‘s #WBC2014 blend.
Smooth routine packed full of routine from @williamhve. Now we’re raising extraction % for the espresso course #WBC2014
@WilliamHve just painted a coffee tree on a chemex filter, used paint made from blackberry & kiwi, used the filter to make an infusion #wut.
Wow that routine from @WilliamHve was the kind that sneaks up on you. Tons of things happened so smoothly and casually, it all just flows.
26. 4:40 Ben Put, Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters, Canada @philandseb @putankhamun
Getting down to the end of day #1, it’s Ben Put representing Canada at the #WBC2014 @philandseb @Putankhamun!
Complex multi-portafilter shenanigans from @Putankhamun to prep his sig drink. He has a technique trick he’ll reveal later.
To accompany his espresso course, @Putankhamun serves a warm distilled water followed by a cool sparkling, to be consumed at diff sips.
Warm, distilled water to highlight high notes, cold sparkling to highlight low notes.
2 different sig drinks for @Putankhamun, one focused on high notes, one focused on low notes. He has let his shots sit & separate for 8 mins.
He uses a syringe to separate the bottom, low note part of the shots from the top part. Both drinks have peach, strawberry, Assam tea, sugar.
Attention to detail is the name of the game w/@Putankhamun, down to the heavy iron cups for low-note focused drink, delicate china for high.
27. 5:15 Harrysson Neira, El Café de Harry, Peru @harryneira
Next up at #WBC2014 is Peruvian Barista Champ Harrysson Neira, represeting El Café de Harry @harryneira!
“In Peru, we have all washed coffees, but I’m interested in Naturals..for one, Cusco has very little water” —@harryneira #WBC2014
Mr. Neira has an upbeat, high-energy presentation going on here, which is very appreciated as the long first day winds into evening in Rimini.
This natural-processed Peru has a very high sweetness according to @harryneira, just what his customers are looking for.
Syringe & soda syphon being used in prep for @harryneira‘s Cocoa Lemonade signature drink.
28. 8:15 Craig Simon, Think Tank Coffee, Australia @craig_simon @ThinkTankCoffee
And now we’re into the re-schedule portion of #WBC2014, with Craig Simon representing Australia & @ThinkTankCoffee @craig_simon.
The coffee @craig_simon is using is “his own drying method” developed in collaboration with @ninetyplus at their Gesha Estates in Panama.
The beans stay in cherry for 16 hours, are washed and fermented for 12 hours, and then go out on raised drying beds at @ninetyplus.
“Cheesecake, subtle apricot and carmel in @craig_simon‘s cappuccinos.
Developing the processing approach was a trial & error process, with careful attention to pH & moisture, according to @craig_simon.
For his sig drink, @craig_simon uses grapefruit juice, honey syrup, cold brewed Earl Grey tea, mineral water.
An impressively polished routine from @craig_simon, with time called at 13:47
See you tomorrow!
Live Twitter commentary by Jordan Michelman and Alex Bernson. Photography by Eileen P. Kenny.
