The Cologne Trade Fair hosted the Specialist Coffee Association of Europe’s ‘Wonderful Coffee Cologne’ in late June this year. Over 3,500 visitors enjoyed three days of coffee-related activity including championships, conferences, workshops and social events. Championships include such things as the ‘World Latte Art Championship’ where baristas create patterns with the milk they pour onto the espresso base, the ‘World Cup Taster’s Championship’ and the ‘Best Nation Prize’.
In the workshop sessions, experts on all manner of coffee artistry gave practical, cutting-edge courses on different aspects of the coffee world from choosing a coffee maker to running a coffeehouse. There was a full conference with presentations from industry experts who discussed the main concerns facing the specialist coffee industry at the moment.
Then there was a vast array of coffee makers, coffee equipment and services to muse over at the Coffeena exhibition.
This year there was a Cezve/Ibrik competition. Cezve/Ibrik is a method of brewing that’s been used for several centuries in Southeast Europe, the eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and North Africa. The name comes from the hammer-shaped, long-handled pots used to do the brewing, Cezve is the Turkish name while Ibrik is the Arabic.
Contestants had to prepare both traditional and signature coffees using this method. Traditionally a mix of extra-fine ground coffee, water and sugar is brought to the boil in the pot.
The ‘Best Nation Prize’ gives points to nations according to their position in all of the various championships. These include the World Barista Championship that was held in Atlanta U.S. in April. And this year the UK came out on top.
The World Barista Championships is the number one global coffee competition and contestants from all over the world flock to the championship’s venue to take part. They have to serve a combination of espressos and cappuccinos as well as their own original ‘signature’ drink to a panel of judges. The preliminary round saw each competitor take 15 minutes to prepare 4 espressos, 4 cappuccinos and 4 signature drinks. Each performance was set to music. Judges evaluated on different criteria including taste, cleanliness, creativity and technical skill. The top six competitors advanced to the final round that was won by Briton, Gwilym Davies.
At Wonderful Coffee Cologne, United Kingdom’s barista Gwilym Davies, the current WBC champion, came second in the ‘World Coffee In Good Spirits Championship’ and third in the ‘World Cezve/Ibrik Championship’. He ended up with a total score of 32 across all of the championships – where the lowest score is best – winning the United Kingdom the top prize
Second place went to South Korea, ending up with 39 points. It placed fifth in both the WBC and Cup Tasters championships and third in the Cezve/Ibrik competition.
In third place was Belgium, scoring 42 points.
Belgium won the World Latte Arts Championship, came second in the Cup Tasters contest and fourth in the Cezve/Ibrik contest.
Other awards were given for Lifetime Achievement in the Industry, Outstanding Producer, Young Entrepreneur and Passionate Communicator. There was also a coffee photography competition, won by Austrian Johanna Wechselberger with her image of a Brazilian cafЋ.