2015 World Coffee Events Year in Review

YEAR IN REVIEW 2015

INTERVIEWS WITH CHAMPIONS & COMPLETE COMPETITION RANKINGS — HIGHLIGHTS FROM SEATTLE & GOTHENBURG — BEST PERFORMING NATION: AUSTRALIA

SPONSORED BY

CONTENTS

FROM THE CHAIR, MIKE YUNG An incredible year —

INCREDIBLE COMPETITORS Pete Licata reflects on the 2016 World Barista Championship

— CALEB’S PRIDE

05 10

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Raising the standard of latte art

— THE UNDERDOG WINS IT ALL

21

Q&A with George Koustompardis

— FIVE YEARS OF WORLD BREWERS CUP

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Hand-brewed coffee made to perfection

— A TROPHY OF INFLUENCE Inspiring great roasting worldwide

— AN INTERVIEW WITH JUAN GABRIEL CESPEDES

29 33

World Cup Tasters Championship Q&A

— BEST PERFORMING NATION Australia

— RE:CO RECAP

37 38

WCE’s new, paradigm-busting event

— READY, SET, RE:VERB Focusing on stories of challenge and success

— A YEAR OF ALLSTARS Featuring the world’s best baristas

— COFFEE FILM FESTIVAL FUN Driven by coffee, community, and creativity

— SEASONED VOLUNTEERS

40 42 44 47

A Q&A with Steven Hall and Talya Strader

— MEET THE WCE Advisory board and staff

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HISTORY OF CHAMPIONS

2015 APRIL SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, USA World Barista Champion Sasa Sestic, Australia 2015 FEBRUARY ATHENS, GREECE World Cezve/Ibrik Champion Davide Berti, Italy

2014 MAY MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA World Latte Art Champion Christian Ullrich, Germany World Coffee in Good Spirits Champion Matthew Perger, Australia World Cup Tasters Champion Pang-Yu Liu, Taiwan World Brewers Cup Champion Stefanos Domatiotis, Greece World Coffee Roasting Champion Yu-Chuan Jacky, Taiwan

2013 MAY MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA World Barista Champion Pete Licata, USA World Brewers Cup Champion Erin McCarthy, USA

2012 JUNE VIENNA, AUSTRIA World Barista Champion Raul Rodas, Guatemala World Brewers Cup Champion Matt Perger, Australia World Cup Tasters Champion Cory Andreen, Germany Ibrik/Cezve Champion Zoltan Kis, Hungary

2011 JUNE BOGOTA, COLOMBIA World Barista Champion Alejandro Mendez, El Salvador

2010 JUNE LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM World Barista Champion Michael Phillips, USA World Latte Art Champion Haruna Murayama, Japan World Coffee in Good Spirits Champion Jeroen de Corte, Belgium World Cup Tasters Champion Hector Gonzalez, Guatemala Ibrik/Cezve Champion Aysin Aydogdu, United Kingdom

2009 APRIL ATLANTA, GEORGIA, USA World Barista Champion Gwilym Davies, United Kingdom

2007 JUNE TOKYO, JAPAN World Barista Champion James Hoffmann, United Kingdom 2006 JUNE BERNE, SWITZERLAND World Barista Champion Klaus Thomsen, Denmark World Latte Art Champion Scott Callaghan, Australia World Coffee in Good Spirits Champion Anna Serova, Russia World Cup Tasters Champion Gloria Pedroza, Switzerland 2005 MARCH ATHENS, GREECE World Latte Art Champion Johann Carlstrom, Sweden World Coffee iaood Spirits Champion Demitri Kostifacos, Greece World Cup Tasters Champion Tim Wendelboe, Norway 2004 FEBRUARY RIMINI, ITALY World Cup Tasters Champion Fabiana Pozar, Italy 2002 JUNE OSLO, NORWAY World Barista Champion Fritz Storm, Denmark 2000 JUNE MONTE CARLO, MONACO World Barista Champion Robert Thoresen, Norway

2015 JUNE GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN World Latte Art Champion Champion Caleb Cha, Australia World Coffee in Good Spirits Champion George Koustoumpardis, Greece World Cup Tasters Champion Juan Gabriel Cespedes, Costa Rica World Coffee Roasting Champion Audun Sørbotten, Norway World Brewers Cup Champion Odd-Steinar Tollefsen, Norway

2014 JUNE RIMINI, ITALY World Barista Champion Hidenori Izaki, Japan World Cezve/Ibrik Champion Stavros Lamprinidis, Greece

2013 JUNE NICE, FRANCE World Latte Art Champion Hisako Yoshikawa, Japan World Coffee in Good Spirits Champion Victor DelPierre, France World Cup Tasters Champion Lajos Horvath, Hungary World Coffee Roasting Champion Naoki Goto, Japan

2012 NOVEMBER SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA World Latte Art Champion Victoria Kashirtseva, Russia World Coffee in Good Spirits Champion Akos Orosz, Hungary

2011 JUNE MAASTRICHT, NETHERLANDS World Latte Art Champion Chris Loukakis, Greece World Coffee in Good Spirits Champion Philip Leytes, Russia World Cup Tasters Champion Kyriakos Ouzounidi, Greece Ibrik/Cezve Champion Bae Jin-Seol, Korea World Brewers Cup Champion Keith O’ Sullivan, Ireland

2009 JUNE COLOGNE, GERMANY World Latte Art Champion Peter Hernou, Belgium World Coffee in Good Spirits Champion Marta Piigli, Estonia World Cup Tasters Champion Valentina Kazachkova, Russia Ibrik/Cezve Champion Christine Koumpouni, Greece

2008 JUNE COPENHAGEN, DENMARK World Barista Champion Stephen Morrissey, Ireland World Latte Art Champion Con Haralambopoulos, Australia World Coffee in Good Spirits Champion Tasos Delichristos, Greece World Cup Tasters Champion Casper Engel Rasmussen, Denmark Ibrik/Cezve Champion Gleb Nevejki & Nadezhda Motylkova, Russia

2007 MAY ANTWERP, BELGIUM World Latte Art Champion Jack Hanna, Australia World Coffee in Good Spirits Champion Helger Aava, Estonia World Cup Tasters Champion Annette Moldvaer, United Kingdom

2005 APRIL SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, USA World Barista Champion Troels Overdal Poulsen, Denmark

2004 JUNE TRIESTE, ITALY World Barista Champion Tim Wendelboe, Norway 2003 APRIL BOSTON, USA World Barista Championship Paul Bassett, Australia 2001 APRIL MIAMI, FLORIDA, USA World Barista Championship Martin Hildebrandt, Denmark

LETTER FROM THE CHAIR: MIKE YUNG — Mike Yung WCE CHAIR

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“THANK YOU FOR MAKING 2015 AN INCREDIBLE YEAR FOR WORLD COFFEE EVENTS.” WORLD. Seattle, Los Angeles, Kortrijk, Taipei, Singapore, Tolentino, Gothenburg, Montréal, Beijing, Santa Ana, Vancouver, Shanghai, Jakarta, Dublin, Saint Petersburg, Milan, Athens, Bogotá, Auckland, Seoul, and Guangzhou all hosted World Coffee Events at some point in 2015. When you add in the sanctioned national body events held in 59 countries, that’s a pretty sizeable imprint on the globe made in just one year.

I would like to offer our deep gratitude and appreciation to all of our hosting partners, national body licensees, and sponsor companies world-wide for continually and selflessly supporting our events, allowing us to continue offering a platform for engaging a truly global coffee community. Without you, we would not be able to spread our reach so far.

COFFEE. On behalf of WCE, I applaud the 172 national coffee champions who walked onto world stages set in Seattle or Gothenburg and represented their coffees with unbridled passion, enthusiasm, innovation, and excellence.

Well-deserved congratulations go to Audun Sørbotten of Norway, George Koustoumpardis of Greece, Odd-steinar Tøllefsen of Norway, Caleb Cha of Australia, Juan Gabriel Cespedes of Costa Rica, and Sasa Sestic of Australia for winning the World Coffee Roasting Championship, the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship, the World Brewers Cup Championship, the World Latte Art Championship, the World Cup Tasters Championship, and the World Barista Championship respectively. We look forward to the impact that you will all continue to make across our industry. Thank you to all our volunteers and judges who travel around the world to our competitions for your continuous and incredible support.

EVENTS. 2015 marked the first year for three very special and unique non-competition events, which are the result of many years of hard work and planning: Re:co, Regarding Coffee – The Specialty Coffee Symposium. Inaugurated at the SCAE World of Coffee in Gothenburg, Sweden, Re:co was met with great success and a follow-up event was held late in the year in Auckland, New Zealand. Re:co shines as a platform that enables coffee innovation and expertise to be shared and celebrated among the top leaders of our industry. This year, 25 speakers shared their experiences with 179 attendees over the course of the two events.

Reverb – held in Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Seoul, South Korea; and Guangzhou, China – made its debut as a very accessible, informal, and educational way to hold a single-day gathering of the coffee community, focusing on speaker stories.

Finally, World Coffee Events also premiered its first one-day Coffee Film Festival in Santa Ana, USA and Vancouver, Canada, showing industry-relevant short and feature films.

Besides these three new features, we have also begun holding our World Competitions Educational Program, which is designed to take anyone who has an interest in our competitions through a range of modules, which demystify what it takes to be successful (either as a competitor or as a judge) at the WBC, WLAC, etc.. This WCEP took us to Tolentino, Italy; Montréal, Canada; Saint Petersburg, Russia; Milan, Italy; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Athens, Greece. World-level judge certifications were also held in Seattle and Los Angeles, USA; Kortrijk, Belgium; Singapore; Taipei, Taiwan; Dublin, Ireland; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Shanghai, China.

“WITH THE HELP OF ALL OF OUR STAKEHOLDERS, WE WERE ABLE TO REACH AND EXCEED OUR TARGETS FOR SUCCESS.” We also held our popular WCE All-Stars programming in Bogotá, Colombia, Seoul, South Korea, and Guangzhou, China, with a very special women-themed event in Colombia in collaboration with the International Women’s Coffee Alliance.

2015 was an audacious and challenging year of investing into new products while innovating and refining existing ones. With the help of all of our stakeholders, we were able to reach and exceed our targets for success. None of these accomplishments could have been possible without the full support of our two parent organizations,

the SCAE and the SCAA, as well as guidance and leadership from the World Coffee Events Advisory Board. But the greatest accolades go to the true workforce, our dedicated volunteer committee members and most importantly our hardworking staff: Cindy, Laura, Jamie, Amy, Irene, Rouki, Shelby, Irene, Irene (again), Nathan, Jenn, Amanda, Sabine, Kyonghee, Matt, Connor, Jillian, and Veronica.

Thank you for an amazing and memorable 2015; we look forward to seeing you soon in 2016.

Very Best Regards, Michael Yung World Coffee Events 2015 Chair

SEATTLE 2015 WORLD BARISTA CHAMPIONSHIP

SCAA EVENT APRIL 9-12, 2015

Seattle Skyline view from Queen Anne Hill.

Photo by Daniel Schwen. 17 February 2010

INCREDIBLE COMPETITORS 2015 WORLD BARISTA CHAMPION SASA SESTIC. PHOTO BY KATE BEARD.

WORLD BARISTA CHAMPIONSHIP

BY PETE LICATA 2013 WORLD BARISTA CHAMPION 2015 WBC TOP SIX. PHOTO BY KATE BEARD.

“THE SEATTLE CONVENTION CENTER IS BUZZING WITH EXCITEMENT. IT IS THE 2015 WORLD BARISTA CHAMPIONSHIP, SIX FINALISTS ARE PUTTING ON QUITE A SHOW, AND I AM ON A LIVE ONLINE FEED WITH THREE OTHER WORLD BARISTA CHAMPIONS DISCUSSING THE COMPETITORS’ PRESENTATIONS.”

conversation. He waxed poetically about customer service and even the competition format itself as way to discuss how we experience flavor and service.

By “breaking the 4th wall” he was able to make a competition that can be sometimes awkward into a comfortable and welcoming presentation for the judges.

This moment became surreal for me when I realized that I was witnessing the exact event that first propelled my career into the depths of the coffee industry, ten years prior. After all of this time the WBC has grown massively, with baristaoperated cafe and brew bars, stadium seating, local media coverage, and a greater focus on specialty coffee excellence than ever. So for me it was poetic to witness this 10th anniversary of my first barista competition in the exact same room.

Chan Kwun Ho, champion of Hong Kong, turned expectations on their ear by using an immersion circulator to sous-vide his coffee beans before grinding and extracting with the intention of increasing extraction. His presentation didn’t focus on fancy table settings, but rather on how to get more from the beans through technique as well as technology.

As the WBC has grown over the years we have seen many groundbreaking, and even controversial, concepts presented, but who would have known just how much the competitors were going to push the boundaries this year?

Charlotte Malaval, champion of France, focused on temperature as an overriding theme while still showing solid farm knowledge. The theme of temperature related to important aspects of cherry development and origin production of her coffee, milk steaming, roasting technique, and for the primary focus of her signature drink. The French champion had never reached the final round before and Charlotte did it on her first trip to the WBC. Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood, champion of the United Kingdom, stayed true to himself with plenty of technical data about his coffee—though with an approach that was akin to having a personal

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Ben Put, champion of Canada, brought more heavy duty chef equipment into the WBC by using a vacuum chamber to remove all air, gas, and bitterness from his espressos. He was focused on every detail about his coffee, starting with the decision to source his coffee specifically for espresso. Every decision Ben made was done to bring the best flavor to the cups.

Charles Babinski, champion of the United States, wowed the room with a presentation addressing systems and scalability, and how they relate to both coffee farms and his own cafes. He toyed with the judges by starting with very general descriptions, and then turned up the details gradually. The result being an incredibly complex, yet clever, presentation. Charles gave more than just coffee and professionalism however, he gave a glimpse of the future of coffee service.

And finally Sasa Sestic, champion of Australia (and now the world), introduced us to the Sudan Rume variety of coffee, as well as a compelling processing

“HIS COMBINATION OF WARM HOSPITALITY AND INCREDIBLY PRECISE PRESENTATION WOWED THE JUDGES.” technique. Carbonic maceration is used in wine production, but seems to have found its use in coffee production as well. His combination of warm hospitality and incredibly precise presentation wowed the judges.

We witnessed six very different presentations in the finals this year, but one thing remained consistent: everyone showcased the coffee they were using in intense detail, reinforcing the importance of farm level knowledge as an indicator of the professional barista.

Sasa Sestic, a former Olympic athlete, has been a long time competitor. After trying at local and national championships for years he suddenly shot to the top of the list in the 2015 Australian Barista Championship, taking the title for the first time. In the process he surpassed two highly experienced and talented former champions, Craig Simon and Matt Perger, as well as the rest of the highly competitive Australian baristas.

If you were to ask me if a first-time national champion would take the WBC crown on their first attempt, I would tell you that it is possible but not expected, as the competitions require a lot of experience to master. In fact, it had only happened there times prior to Sasa’s win. To his benefit, Sasa found the support of none other than my own student and then reigning WBC champion, Hidenori Izaki, to coach him.

So what was it that put Sasa’s coffee and presentation above the other incredible competitors? Of course, flavor is huge. Being on the interviewing panel, we were able to taste all of the competitors’ espresso, and he certainly had great tasting coffee.

But then, so did the other competitors.

On top of great coffee, Sasa had a beautiful presentation that illustrated the pertinent information about his coffee. Combine that with support from his team and coach, and he truly became unstoppable this year, despite nearly being hospitalized from an illness in the middle of the championship.

Sasa worked intensely developing his concepts in utilizing carbonic maceration with the coffee, carefully forming the information into relevant and concise presentation points. He didn’t push the boundaries in the ways that some of his competitors did. He redefined them.

If watching my 10 year anniversary of competitions was poetic, then seeing the evolution of my own training techniques was profound. I saw ideas similar to what Hide and I worked on, such as specific enunciation and purposeful time management.

However, I was witnessing progression in a grand fashion, as I could see the basic ideas I had shown Hide, but matured and transformed far beyond the original concepts. A great student does more than learn the given material. A great student owns and masters that material and makes it into something more. I can see that in Hidenori and I couldn’t be happier to see that growth being given to our new World Barista Champion, Sasa Sestic!

2015 WBC CHAMPION SASA SESTIC. TOP: PHOTO BY JAKE OLSON. BOTTOM: PHOTO BY KATE BEARD.

ABOUT WBC

THE WBC IS THE PREMIER COFFEE COMPETITION PLATFORM ENGAGING A WORLDWIDE AUDIENCE, PROMOTING EXCELLENCE IN COFFEE AND ADVANCING THE BARISTA PROFESSION. THIS EVENT IS A MULTI-DAY COMPETITION THAT INVOLVES COMPETITORS, JUDGES AND VOLUNTEERS FROM COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD. THE ANNUAL CHAMPIONSHIP IS LIVESTREAMED TO A GLOBAL AUDIENCE ONLINE. EVENT STRUCTURE This competition takes place over four days and consists of a preliminary round a semifinals round and a finals round. Competitors come from sanctioned national competitions that produce one winner to represent their country in the World Barista Championship. The competitors have 15 minutes to make a set of espresso, cappuccino, and signature beverages. The beverages are judged by four sensory judges, while two technical judges review the barista’s technical performance, and one head judge presides over the entire presentation.

Each competitor competes in the preliminary round, and then the top 12 scoring baristas proceed into a semi-final round. From the semi-final round, the top 6 will compete again in a finals round to determine the winner with the highest score, who becomes the World Barista Champion.

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WORLD BARISTA CHAMPIONSHIP 2015 WORLD BARISTA CHAMPIONSHIP OFFICIAL RANKINGS

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FINAL ROUND: 1 Sasa Sestic Ona Coffee 2 Charles Babinski Go Get Em Tiger 3 Ben Put Monogram Coffee 4 Chan Kwun Ho The Cupping Room 5 Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood Colonna & Small’s 6 Charlotte Malaval Independent

SEMI FINAL ROUND: 1 Chan Kwun Ho The Cupping Room 2 Sasa Sestic Ona Coffee 3 Charles Babinski Go Get Em Tiger 4 Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood Colonna & Small’s 5 Charlotte Malaval Independent 6 Ben Put Monogram Coffee 7 Yoshikazu Iwase Rec Coffee 8 Giacomo Vanelli Pasticceria Vanelli 9 Kalle Freese Freese Coffee Company 10 Adam Neubauer EMA Espresso Bar 11 Alexander Hansen Collaborative Coffee Source 12 John Ryan Ting A.R.C Coffee

FIRST ROUND: 1 Charles Babinski Go Get Em Tiger 2 Giacomo Vanelli Pasticceria Vanelli 3 Yoshikazu Iwase Rec Coffee 4 Sasa Sestic Ona Coffee 5 Chan Kwun Ho The Cupping Room 6 Ben Put Monogram Coffee 7 Charlotte Malaval Independent 8 Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood Colonna & Small’s 9 Adam Neubauer EMA Espresso Bar 10 John Ryan Ting A.R.C Coffee 11 Kalle Freese Freese Coffee Company 12 Alexander Hansen Collaborative Coffee Source 13 Jose De La Pena Tecnochef 14 Diego Francisco Campos Vive Café 15 Lex Wenneker Headfirst Coffee Roasters 16 Julietta Vasquez Rivera Arendela Barra de Café 17 Ariel Bravo Independent 18 Ishan Natalie TriBeCa Coffee Company 19 Addison Dale Pure Café Co. 20 Julio Cesar Ruiz Gomez Slaverria Pillersdorf Coffee Roaster 21 Stefanos Paterakis Taf 22 Tse Lin Wu Simple Kaffa 23 Soren Stiller Great Coffee 24 Yinzhe Jeremy Zhang M2M Coffee 25 Sonja Zweidick La Cabra 26 Aldrin Lumaban Exquisite Café Corporation 27 Jason Loo Hsien Yuen The Red Beanbag 28 Linnea Vannesjo Drop Coffee Roasters 29 Alexy Kugaenko OMNI Coffee 30 Daniel Rivera Hacienda San Pedro 31 Dmytro Griekhov Café Rider 32 Natalia Piotrowska 3fe 33 Jong Hoon Lee Coffee Grafitti 34 Agnieszka Rojewska Brisman Kawowy Bar 35 Vaiva Maskovaite Caravan Coffee Roasters 36 Emi Fukuhori Independent 37 Luis Blanco Valverde Dromedario 38 Thiago Sabino Octavio Café 39 Mark Okuta Royal Suits 40 Mehran Mohammadnezhad Mirjani Café Yasi 41 Jesica Avalos Contreras OR Coffee Roasters 42 Francisco Alonso Garcia Lubiate Master Coffee Peru 43 Martin Shabaya Artcafe Coffee and Bakery 44 Gregor Dattner Espressone GmbH 45 Cezara Cartes Starbucks 46 Diego Mejia Isveglio 47 Sudarat Changcharoen the First Espresso 48 Ozkan Yetik Coffee Brew Lab

Australia United States Canada Hong Kong United Kingdom France

618 613 593.5 587 568 548

Hong Kong Australia United States United Kingdom France Canada Japan Italy Finland Czech Republic Norway Singapore

611.5 600.5 587.5 585 584.5 577.5 572 551 523 511.5 510.5 496

United States Italy Japan Australia Hong Kong Canada France United Kingdom Czech Republic Singapore Finland Norway Guatemala Colombia The Netherlands Mexico Costa Rica South Africa New Zealand El Salvador Greece Taiwan Denmark China Austria Phillipines Malaysia Sweden Russia Puerto Rico United Arab Emirates Ireland Korea Poland Lithuania Switzerland Spain Brazil Uganda Iran Belgium Peru Kenya Germany Romania Ecuador Thailand Turkey

613.5 606 605.5 599.5 560.5 557 555.5 553 547.5 547 546 545 541.5 541.5 539.5 532.5 528.5 528 527.5 526.5 522 520.5 518 507.5 500 499 499 497.5 495 494 486 486 468 466.5 463 455.5 445.5 444.5 442.5 424.5 418 409.5 397.5 376.5 364 340 316 DQ

GOTHENBURG 2015 WORLD LATTE ART CHAMPIONSHIP

WORLD COFFEE IN GOOD SPIRITS CHAMPIONSHIP

WORLD BREWERS CUP

WORLD COFFEE ROASTING CHAMPIONSHIP

WORLD CUP TASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP

SCAE WORLD OF COFFEE JUNE 16-18, 2015

Panorama of Gothenburg, taken from Ramberget in Keillers Park at Hisingen.

Photo by David Lindecrantz. 11 September 2011

CALEB’S PRIDE CALEB CHA SPEAKS ABOUT BECOMING AUSTRALIA’S SECOND CHAMPION BARISTA FOR THE YEAR, AND RAISING THE STANDARD OF LATTE ART.

2015 WORLD LATTE ART CHAMPION CALEB CHA. PHOTO BY KATE BEARD.

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WORLD LATTE ART CHAMPIONSHIP

BY SARAH BAKER EDITOR, BEANSCENE MAGAZINE 2015 WLAC TOP SIX. PHOTO BY KATE BEARD.

CALEB CHA RECALLS 18 JUNE 2015 IN GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN AS ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE DAYS OF HIS LIFE. “ALL MY DREAMS CAME TRUE THAT DAY FOR TWO REASONS. FIRST I WON THE WORLD LATTE ART CHAMPIONSHIP (WLAC). THEN I GAINED A FIANCÉ,” HE SAYS. As the top six placings were revealed one by one, Caleb says he started to feel nervousness and excitement. But when he was left standing next to China’s Xuechao Wang, the moment became real.

“To be honest it’s a complete blur. When they read my name I just stood there frozen,” Caleb says. “I didn’t realise I had won. I looked to the emcee and said: ‘Me? Really? Are you kidding? Are you sure?’

I looked to see my girlfriend [Alice Jeong] in the audience and she was going crazy with excitement. I spotted Sasa Sestic [2015 World Barista Champion] out of the corner of my eye cheering, and I got goose bumps. Then it hit me. I won.”

And so the hype of winning the WLAC began. Confetti fell, camera lights flashed, and Caleb held the trophy as high as his arms could extend. But there was one more important thing to do. Caleb dug deep into the right pocket of his jacket to reveal a small square box. He dropped to one knee and asked his long-time girlfriend and coach Alice to marry him. “I made a promise with myself that if I won the WLAC I’d also propose. I had to keep my promise,” he says.

Caleb says if he’d been asked what latte art was back in 2000, he wouldn’t have known, nor would he have understood the question. Caleb grew up in South Korea, where he says his life was very structured.

He finished high school and went straight into four years of study at the top-ranked Yonsei University.

He served as a Korean marine, and gained a high-powered job as a financial consultant. “I had achieved everything I set out to achieve career-wise, but it didn’t make me happy,” he says.

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Instead, with his parents’ support, Caleb moved to Australia in February 2008. Living in a foreign city with next to no English, Caleb swapped his business suit for an apron. He started working in a Korean restaurant waiting tables. At just $8 per hour, Caleb was being paid well below minimum wage. That was until he came across an advertisement that asked: ‘Do you want to make good money working in a restaurant or café?’ I sure did,” Caleb says.

That ad was for a barista course at William Angliss Institute of TAFE in Melbourne. That course was the launching pad of Caleb’s career. He went on to work in a Melbourne CBD café called Red Cup, and later joined the Cafenatics team where he’s been ever since.

In 2014 Caleb began to show flair for latte art. He signed up for the 2014 Australian Specialty Coffee Association Victorian Latte Art Championship and placed second. He went on to win runner up in the national final. In his second attempt at the title, Caleb again won second place in the 2015 state latte art championship. In the national finals he was determined to go one better, and he did.

Just three months separated Caleb’s national finals win and his date with Gothenburg for the WLAC. After testing a range of designs, Caleb settled on showing the world judges his smiling butterfly design for the art bar, as well as the Flirting Peacock, Caffeinated Zebra, and Love Triangle in his routine.

The emcee commented that he’d never seen a zebra drinking coffee, but this is exactly the reaction Caleb set out to achieve. “I wanted to create something new because it’s a competition and you want to see something new,” he says.

Caleb finished in first place in the preliminary round, and achieved the highest art bar score in

“AUSTRALIA’S COFFEE INDUSTRY IS ALREADY AT SUCH A HIGH LEVEL...AND NOW THE WORLD KNOWS THAT WE HAVE TOP-CLASS COMPETITION BARISTAS...” the competition’s history. But his performance wasn’t without fault. “I wasn’t 100 percent satisfied with my routine. I made so many little mistakes. I overstretched the milk, I ran out of room in my macchiatos, and my contrast wasn’t great. I even had a final summary to present to the judges, but when I looked at the clock it was 9.58 minutes. With two seconds left, I plonked the cups on the bench and called time,” Caleb says.

Australian Latte Art Judge and WLAC Head Judge Lance Brown says the reason Caleb excelled on the world stage was largely because of the originality of his patterns. “Caleb ticked all the boxes in terms of presentation, professionalism, communication, eye contact, quality of patterns, clarity, and accuracy, but most importantly he excelled in his creativity,” he says.

Lance has worked as an Australian latte art judge since 2003. He was accredited as a WLAC Judge in 2013 in Nice, and took a WLAC Head Judge position in 2015. Within Lance’s 12 years of judging, he says the transition of patterns has been “extraordinary”.

raised the standard for next year’s competition. The next generation of competitors needs to step it up and show creativity.”

The 2016 WLAC will take place in Shanghai, China from 29 March to 1 April. Lance anticipates spectator interest will be at an all time high given the top six finalists of the 2015 competition were from Asian countries.“Their success emulates the Asian mentality of perfection. Each of those countries would be working hard to get to the standard that Caleb did,” Lance says. “I can guarantee there won’t be an empty seat in the stands.”

It’s been a big year for Australia on the world competition stage. In April, Ona Coffee’s Sasa Sestic brought home the World Barista Championship title, and just two months later Caleb helped Australia claim the second world title for the year.

“Australia’s coffee industry is already at such a high level. We have passionate coffee consumers, world class judges and competitions, and now the world knows that we have top-class competition baristas,” Caleb says. “I’m so proud of myself for achieving my dream of becoming a world champion, for making both Australia and South Korea proud.”

2015 WLAC CHAMPION CALEB CHA. PHOTO BY KATE BEARD.

SINCE 1995

“Five years ago WLAC judges were impressed with well-defined, clean rosettas and a simple heart.

Less was more. Now it’s complex. Symmetry, position, level of difficulty and creativity are more important. This is a result of the skills of barista evolving, and judges expecting more in the cup,” Lance says.

Australia has had a great history of WLAC champions. Scottie Callaghan won in 2006, Jack Hannah won in 2007, and Con Haralambopoulos won in 2008.

“Australia’s latte art appeal is so high that it puts the next world baristas in extreme pressure to go beyond what anyone has seen before,” Lance says.

“Latte art is not just something we see on the world stage. At any visit to a local café we expect to see a heart, tulip or swan poured into the cup. That’s the norm now. Because of this, Australia has really

Durham, NC 27713 • Emeryville, CA 94608

WORLD LATTE ART CHAMPIONSHIP ABOUT WLAC THE WORLD LATTE ART CHAMPIONSHIP HIGHLIGHTS ARTISTIC EXPRESSION IN A COMPETITION PLATFORM THAT CHALLENGES THE BARISTA IN AN ON-DEMAND PERFORMANCE. EVENT STRUCTURE For the preliminary round of the championship, baristas produce a single creative latte pattern at the Art Bar, then move to the WLAC stage to create

two identical free-pour lattes and two identical designer lattes. Scores from the Art Bar and Stage are combined, and the top 6 competitors qualify for the final round, where they are asked to create two identical free-pour macchiatos, two identical freepour lattes, and two identical designer patterned lattes. The top-scoring competitor in the final round is declared the World Latte Art Champion.

Baristas are judged based on visual attributes, creativity, identical patterns in the pairs, contrast in patterns, and overall performance.

2015 WORLD LATTE ART CHAMPIONSHIP OFFICIAL RANKINGS

FINAL ROUND: RANK NAME COMPANY 1 CALEB CHA Cafenatics 2 XUECHAO WANG Jiangbeileran Coffee 3 KYEONG-WOO JUNG Corea Coffee Belt 4 MAO NAGURA Fonz 5 ARNON THITIPRASERT Ristr8tto 6 HONG-SHENG LIAO Café Moment FIRST ROUND: RANK NAME 1 CALEB CHA 2 MAO NAGURA 3 KYEONG-WOO JUNG 4 XUECHAO WANG 5 ARNON THITIPRASERT 6 HONG-SHENG LIAO 7 PIETRO VANNELLI 8 NICK VINK 9 DHAN TAMANG 10 SAM LOW 11 DANIEL ACOSTA BUSCH 12 MARKUS BADURA 13 IWAN SETIAWAN 14 ENG BOON HONG 15 NIKOS BELLIS 16 ABNER ROLDAN 17 CLARA PIHLGREN 18 LUCIA ONDRUSKOVA 19 BENJAMIN GRAF 20 ANTHONY CALVEZ 21 FREDERICK BEJO 22 FARCAS SEBASTIAN LOAN 23 AHMAD KAMIL 24 HECTOR HERNANDEZ 25 ALEXEY IVANOV 26 NICHOLAS BOUCHARD 27 SIMEON BRICKER 28 JERVIS TAN 29 MIRIAM ALDANA 30 ELEONORA CERNIAUSKAITE 31 BYRON KEET 32 MARK CHAN 33 OZGUR GENC 34 OLDRICH VAPENIK 35 ANIBAL KOVALEFF CASQUINA 36 DAVE REGAN

COUNTRY Australia China South Korea Japan Thailand Taiwan

COMPANY Cafenatics Fonz Corea Coffee Belt Jiangbeileran coffee Ristr8tto Café Moment Pasticceria Vannelli H32 Caracoli Independent Rause Café e Vinho WeinCafé KostBar Common Grounds Coffee Roastery JWC Global Mind the Cup Hacienda San Pedro da Matteo Glacio La Cultura del Caffé Cafés Richard Specialty Batch LLC One Workshop cafe Grande Café Cafes el Criollo Coffeemania Independent The Roasterie Kinsmen Coffee Barista Store MX UAB “Šviežia kava” Famous Brands Coffee Co Common Man Coffee Roasters Independent Independent Zanesco E.I.R.L Vice Coffee

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SCORE 373.5 365.5 339.5 318.0 267.5 265.0 COUNTRY Australia Japan South Korea China Thailand Taiwan Italy Netherlands UK New Zealand Brazil Germany Indonesia Malaysia Grrece Puerto Rico Sweeden Slovakia Austria France UAE Romania Switzerland Spain Russia Belgium USA Singapore Mexico Lithuania South Africa Philipines Turkey Czech Republic Peru Ireland

SCORE 443.5 440.0 431.0 397.5 392.0 377.0 368.0 360.5 358.5 354.5 340.5 340.5 338.5 336.5 335.0 333.5 332.5 328.5 323.0 321.0 317.5 308.5 306.0 302.5 288.0 287.0 283.0 280.5 272.5 260.5 252.5 251.5 232.5 197.5 197.5 195.0

THE UNDERDOG WINS IT ALL

WORLD COFFEE IN GOOD SPIRITS CHAMPIONSHIP

BY CHRISTINE SEAH PERFECT DAILY GRIND 2015 WORLD COFFEE IN GOOD SPIRITS CHAMPION GEORGE KOUSTOUMPARDIS. PHOTO BY KATE BEARD.

THE WORLD COFFEE IN GOOD SPIRITS CHAMPIONSHIP IS A COMPETITION WHERE BEING A GOOD BARISTA SIMPLY ISN’T ENOUGH. COMPETITORS NEED AN INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS, AND NEED TO BE COMFORTABLE WITH THE COMPLEX TECHNICALITIES OF BARTENDING TECHNIQUES. This year, from a pool of 14 competitors, and 6 eventual finalists, George Koustoumpardis of The Underdog in Athens, Greece conquered the competition, and emerged overwhelmingly victorious.

This being his second run in the competition, Koustoumpardis pulled off a smooth, creative routine, with a heavy focus on filter coffee based cocktails. Koustoumpardis’ trademark style of quirky presentation with a side of zeitgeist played heavily in his routine this year -capturing the spirit of a period in time, and putting it together in the form of liquid time travel. His “Coffee Beer” signature cocktail encapsulated the essence of the 1920’s prohibition era- dodgy bottling and all.

In our interview, George sheds some light on the elements of bartending, his thoughts on next year’s competition, and why espresso machines have no place in cocktail bars.

Q: So George, why WCGIS? A: While I definitely identify with myself more as a barista than a bartender, I find bartending techniques interesting and fun, and it was nice to diversify myself. In the coffee bar, you only have 3 ingredients you can play with- coffee, milk and water. But in the cocktail bar, you have over a thousand ingredients at your fingertips! WCGIS is the only competition where I can combine my knowledge of bartending and coffee-making and utilise it to the fullest.

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Q: How has bartending made an impact on yourself as a barista?

A: I guess the biggest difference was the element of showmanship. When you’re a barista all you really have to focus on is getting as many drinks out as quickly as possible; there really isn’t time for talking, and it’s a very technique-based profession.

When I was practicing making cocktails behind a bar, I realised that I had to sell myself as much as I had to sell the drinks! People come to cocktail bars expecting entertainment, so learning to bartend really boosted my confidence and made me more comfortable talking and presenting to people.

Q: Traditionally, espresso has been the preferred form of coffee when it comes to making cocktails (eg: Espresso Martini). Why do you use filter coffee instead?

A: I’ve strongly believed up till now, that in the context of a cocktail bar, espresso simply doesn’t work. The thing is, when you come to an expensive cocktail bar, you want to be surrounded by beauty. A little espresso machine and grinder tucked away in the corner of the bar just looks miserable. It’s also noisy and clumsy.

But really, the reason why I wanted to showcase filter coffee is because it’s more practical, and also adds on to the showmanship involved in bartending.

You shouldn’t need an expensive espresso machine to be able to make good coffee.

Q: Filter coffee is super delicate to work with though!

How do you account for the extra dilution?

A: That’s true, but there are lots of little tricks you can do to get around this. For example, when I used ice cubes made from filter coffee in the shaking of my signature drink. The brewed coffee I use is also

2015 WORLD COFFEE IN GOOD SPIRITS FINALISTS. PHOTO BY KATE BEARD.

about twice the strength of regular brewed coffee too.

Q: You once said in a showcase in Taiwan, that when it comes to cocktail making “Less is more”. Why do you believe that?

A: I’ve been drinking cocktails for an awfully long time, and I’ve always prefered simple classic cocktails. Most of them, like the Margarita or the Old Fashioned only have 2-3 ingredients. I think this minimalist approach really helps exaggerate the flavours of the ingredients and helps preserve the integrity of them.

Q:You usually like to ask the judges to “imagine a time/place” before they approach your drinks. What’s the thought process behind the liquid time-travel?

A: (Laughs) Well, I guess it’s an added touch of service? What most people don’t really know is that it’s actually a lot more nerve-wrecking being a judge than it is being a competitor! You’re surrounded by cameras, and your every decision has to be perfect and impartial. I try to make the judges “time travel” because I want them to feel more relaxed, and to forget that they are in the hot seat. Breaking this barrier by inducing memories or emotions is what I always try to do in competitions.

Q:Are you looking to defend your title next year?

A: I have no plans to compete next year actually, I’m looking into training up other budding baristas/ bartenders instead. I want to help bring in new blood into the competition and to promote the awareness for it. It’s really super fun, and I want more people to be able to experience it as I have.

Q:The rules and regulations for 2016 have changed quite a bit! Any thoughts on the brand new mysteryspirit preliminary round?

“WHILE I DEFINITELY IDENTIFY WITH MYSELF MORE AS A BARISTA THAN A BARTENDER, I FIND BARTENDING TECHNIQUES INTERESTING AND FUN, AND IT WAS NICE TO DIVERSIFY MYSELF.” A: I’m actually extremely excited about the mystery spirit round! It’s almost like a TV game show (laughs). But I’m very happy as well, because competition always needs change. For example when the rules were changed for the Latte Art Competition in 2011, everyone was shocked by it, but you get to see lots of people really stepping up and showcasing a crazy amount of talent. A bigger challenge always brings out bigger talent, and that’s what makes competitions exciting!

Q: Any competitors in particular you’re looking out for next year?

A: I would love to see more Asian countries compete in WCIGS. It’s going to be held in Shanghai next year, and the Asian scene has always had a long history involving mixology. I’d like to see competitors from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, obviously Japan and Korea too. I think Europe is going to be coming in strong as it always does, but I’m curious to see who’ll be able to fully grasp the new rules and run away with them.

Christine Seah is a Singapore-based correspondent for Perfect Daily Grind www.perfectdailygrind.com

coffee

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WORLD COFFEE IN GOOD SPIRITS CHAMPIONSHIP ABOUT WCIGS THE WORLD COFFEE IN GOOD SPIRITS CHAMPIONSHIP PROMOTES INNOVATIVE BEVERAGE RECIPES THAT SHOWCASE COFFEE AND SPIRITS IN A COMPETITION FORMAT. THIS COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS THE BARISTA/ BARKEEPER’S MIXOLOGY SKILLS IN A SETTING WHERE COFFEE AND ALCOHOL GO PERFECTLY TOGETHER. FROM THE TRADITIONAL IRISH COFFEE (WITH WHISKEY AND COFFEE), TO UNIQUE COCKTAIL COMBINATIONS. EVENT STRUCTURE During the preliminary round, competitors produce four drinks – two identical hot/warm coffee and alcohol-based designer drinks, and two identical cold coffee and alcohol-based designer drinks.

The six competitors with the highest preliminary round scores will compete in the final round. The final round requires competitors to produce two Irish Coffees and two coffee-and-alcohol-based designer drinks. The highest scoring final round competitor will be named the World Coffee in Good Spirits Champion.

2015 WORLD COFFEE IN GOOD SPIRITS CHAMPIONSHIP OFFICIAL RANKINGS FINAL ROUND: 1 GEORGE KOUSTOUMPARDIS 2 ONDREJ HURTIK 3 PAUL UNGUREANU

The Underdog Doubleshot Roastery Paul Ungureanu Consulting

GREECE

351

CZECH 278 REPUBLIC ROMANIA 269

4 EDUARDO AFFONSO Lucca Cafés BRAZIL 267.5 SCORSIN Especiais 5 SANG MOO HYUN Maris Coffee SOUTH 253.5 KOREA 6 SANG HO PARK Square Mile UNITED 243.5 Coffee KINGDOM FIRST ROUND: 1 GEORGE KOUSTOUMPARDIS 2 ONDREJ HURTIK

The Underdog Doubleshot Roastery 3 SANG HO PARK Square Mile Coffee 4 EDUARDO AFFONSO Lucca Cafés SCORSIN Especiais 5 PAUL UNGUREANU Paul Ungureanu Consulting 6 SANG MOO HYUN 7 STEEVEN HERRY 8 SHUICHI OFUCHI 9 LUCAS WOODS 10 DAVIDE BERTI 11 SHARAPOV KIRILL 12 VICTOR BOLEA GOMEZ 13 EDWIN GORRITZ 14 MONICA STRØM

GREECE

402

CZECH 372.5 REPUBLIC UNITED 362 KINGDOM BRAZIL 343 ROMANIA

Maris Coffee SOUTH KOREA Mycafé.fr FRANCE

321.5 302 293

Mixology Bar JAPAN 288.5 Source 2102 Coffee Lab AUSTRALIA 279.5 and Ona Coffee La Chichera ITALY Café North-West RUSSIA Coffee Company

279

Cafes el Criollo Barista Squared Dromedar Kaffebar

SPAIN

254.5

PUERTO RICO NORWAY

250.5

264.5

233

2015 WORLD COFFEE IN GOOD SPIRITS FINALIST ONDREJ HURTIK. PHOTO BY KATE BEARD.

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FIVE YEARS OF WORLD BREWERS CUP 25

WORLD BREWERS CUP

BY ALES POSPISIL EUROPEAN COFFEE TRIP 2015 WORLD BREWERS CUP CHAMPION ODD-STEINER TØLLEFSEN. PHOTO BY YOUNGMIN LEE.

IN 2011, KEITH O’SULLIVAN STEPPED ON THE STAGE HUGELY SURPRISED TO FIND HIMSELF IN THE FINAL NEXT TO JAMES HOFFMANN AND STEFANOS DOMATIOTIS, BOTH COFFEE VETERANS. HE WAS AN ‘AMATEUR,’ AS HE PUT IT IN HIS OWN WORDS, BUT CAN ONE REALLY BE AN AMATEUR AND GET TO THE WORLD FINAL? O’Sullivan confessed it hadn’t taken him that much time to prepare and it was one particular coffee from Bolivia that convinced this PhD candidate to give competition a try. Five years later, Odd-Steiner Tøllefsen, a professional barista and a former stillphotographer from Norway, spent nearly a whole year preparing his routine to win the title. Travelling to the coffee origin, sourcing coffee, sample roasting, selecting the right beans, cupping, and preparing the routine: this is what it takes to win the World Brewers Cup these days, demonstrating how the competition and its level of excellence has developed over the past years.

(unknown to the competitors prior to the competition) and the same standardised brewing device. This round tests their general knowledge about coffee brewing and the ability to quickly dial in coffee, find its “sweet spot” even using the competitionprovided service vessel. In contrast, open service is about hospitality and the knowledge about coffee that baristas share. They have carefully picked their coffee and brewing method, they have a chance to explain and inspire, they takes judges on the journey of discovering the best possible experience they can have with this particular coffee. Tasting notes can go as far as ‘eating grapefruit in the shower,’ as Benjamin Prager, 2015 Brewers Cup Finalist from Switzerland vividly described the fresh mouthfeel of his Kenyan coffee. Moreover, competitors must be very consistent as they individually brew coffee for each of three judges.

Compared to the World Barista Competition, founded in 2000, five years is relatively short amount of time to develop, but year by year more baristas and countries take part in the World Brewers Cup. The competition is simple in its form - “black, manual, hand-brewed coffee made to perfection,” as describes Odd-Steiner, 2015’s World Brewers Cup Champion. It’s about unlocking the potential of coffee, brewed by a baristas in ten minutes in front of judges. It takes a huge amount of time to make the best out of these ten minutes though, and in a way, competitors are preparing every single time they brew coffee in front of their customers. Customers today are the ultimate judges; judges who don’t fill scoresheets, yet provide the instant feedback with a smile or a comment.

Water makes a significant impact on the resulting cup of coffee in Brewers Cup. “In the past, water filtration was used only to protect machines from scaling up,” points out Willem Huisman, sales director at BRITA Professional, World Brewers Cup Qualified Water Filtration Sponsor. “During this process we also discovered the improvements in taste by filtering out several off-tasting minerals,” adds Willem. As international transportation of their own water may be risky and difficult, most competitors share the water specification in advance and BRITA’s support team do the best to fulfil their requests in the field. “We can create the individual water for every single competitor but in most cases they make use of our standard one,” adds Willem. Odd-Steiner was one of risk takers who brought natural mineral water from the West Coast of Norway with him - a water with a low mineral content that fit well his coffee.

In Brewers Cup, there are two stages that every competitor must go through. In the compulsory service, every competitor uses the same coffee

It wasn’t the only risk that the current champion accepted. He used Acaia scales connected via Bluetooth to iPhones that he placed in front of

“I AM ALWAYS VERY ACCURATE WHEN BREWING AND I WANTED THE JUDGES TO SEE IT WITH THEIR OWN EYES.”

People want to explore and discover more than ever.

And I like that.” That’s how Odd-Steinar describes the current state of speciality coffee. So, what coffee won the World Brewers Cup in 2015 then? There is no surprise that it was naturally processed coffee.

Supreme Roastworks, an Oslo-based company that Odd-Steinar joined in 2012, has always been focused on natural processed coffee and they were eager to prove that it can win big in competition too.

judges. “My first thought was, this is going to be cheesy… But after a while I started to like the idea that the judges could monitor my brewing,” explains Odd-Steiner his thought process. “I am always very accurate when brewing and I wanted the judges to see it with their own eyes. There was no room for error. I knew the blooming time would be 35 sec, pouring time 3.00 and total extraction time 3.30 exact. No one had done it before!” laughs OddSteinar, knowing his risk paid off.

Odd-Steinar’s brewed coffee had intense dried apricot, mango, passion fruit, and strawberry taste combined with a sweet, ripe tropical fruit aroma.

It was coffee from Semeon Abay Maker Series, an Ethiopian natural processed coffee from Ninety Plus’s production. Right after the competition, there was only 50 kilos left, 35 kilos with Ninety Plus and 15 kilos in Oslo. Interestingly enough, this coffee was a “part crop.” It was left resting for over year but there was nothing that could come even close to the fresh crop that was tasted in roastery. Once again, a prejudice about “correct” processing was shaken to its core.

This championship represents innovation in brewing and its precision, but Brewers Cup is, this year in particular, also about exceptional coffees. Many people returned from the competition area with a strange excitement in their face, saying: “There is coffee that tastes nothing like coffee. It’s very sweet but …” struggling to describe what this experience was like. It’s something we have many times from those tasting speciality coffee for the very first time, but this coffee excellence takes on new meaning when those so blown away are coffee professionals used to tasting the very best coffee. Sarah Anderson, the 2015 World Brewers Cup finalist from the United States, brought one of these coffees, allowing both judges and audience to try Cafea Eugenoides. “It’s not even Arabica species, this coffee is known as a mother of Arabica,” Sarah surprised the full room of coffee professionals. “About 10 to 15 thousand years ago Eugenoides combined with Robusta to create Arabica which we use in speciality coffee everyday. “

2015 WBRC CHAMPION ODD-STEINER TØLLEFSEN. PHOTO BY YOUNGMIN LEE.

Odd-Steinar and his whole family will remember this year in competition for one more reason: right in the middle of the Norwegian Brewers Cup, between open service and the finals, his son was born. As his girlfriend had suggested a coffee-related name, they made an agreement that if Odd-Steiner were to win the World Championship, they would name their child Sidamo, in honor of the coffee he used.

In Gothenburg, during the media frenzy following the awards ceremony, Love Sidamo Tollefsen was smiling into the cameras with his father. Let’s wish young Love Sidamo and the World Brewers Cup many thriving years ahead.

“The people and judges are more open to ‘new’ coffees. Experimental processing methods, natural processing - it’s not only about the Geishas anymore.

2015 WORLD BREWERS CUP TOP SIX. PHOTO BY YOUNGMIN LEE.

WORLD BREWERS CUP ABOUT WBRC THE WORLD BREWERS CUP COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS THE CRAFT OF FILTER COFFEE BREWING BY HAND, PROMOTING MANUAL COFFEE BREWING AND SERVICE EXCELLENCE. In this Championship, competitors prepare and serve three individual beverages for a panel of judges. The Championship consists of two rounds: a first round and a finals round. During the first round competitors complete two coffee services – a compulsory service and an open service. For the compulsory service, competitors prepare three beverages utilizing whole bean coffee provided to them by the competition. For the open service, competitors may utilize any whole bean coffee of their choosing and must also accompany their beverage preparation with a presentation. The six competitors with the highest score from the first round will go on to compete in the finals round consisting exclusively of an open service. One competitor from the final round will be named the World Brewers Cup Champion.

2015 WORLD BREWERS CUP OFFICIAL RANKINGS FINAL ROUND: RANK

1 2 3 4 5 6

148.49 90.60 239.08

Greece

147.63 89.76 237.39

FINALS SCORE

Switzerland 155.04 79.70 234.74 USA

152.21 80.36 232.57

The 146.95 76.90 223.86 Netherlands Russia 147.23 70.42 217.64

FIRST ROUND:

COMOPEN PULSORY SERVICE TOTAL SCORE SCORE SCORE

RANK

NAME

COUNTRY

1

Benjamin Prager Sarah Jean Anderson Odd-Steinar Tøllefsen Konstantinos Iatridis Ruslan Shulga

Switzerland 73.25 81.79 155.04

2 3 4

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Visit timwendelboe.no

Ruslan Shulga

ROUND ONE

COUNTRY Norway

5

We are now offering international shipping of our coffees.

NAME Odd-Steinar Tollefsen Konstantinos Iatridis Benjamin Prager Sarah Jean Anderson Rob Kerkhoff

24 25 26 27 28

USA

70.67 81.55 152.21

Norway

69.08 79.40 148.49

Greece

68.58 79.05 147.63

Russia

68.42 78.81 147.23

Rob Kerkhoff The 68.08 Netherlands Gordon United 68.00 Howell Kingdom Qiling Wang China 68.83 Petra Czech 67.33 Strelecka Republic Dane Oliver Australia 66.92 Mikaela Finland 68.83 Wallgren Carlos De Mexico 72.92 La Torre Shih-Ru Wang Taiwan 69.17 Nicholas New Zealand 71.08 Rapp Alexander Sweden 66.92 Ruas Nikolaus Austria 70.67 Hartmann Rubens Italy 63.42 Gardelli Andrea Tan Singapore 70.67 Carolina Brazil 69.17 France De Souza Brian O’Caoimh Leszek Jedrasik Yuta Ueda Umut Gokdeniz Lavinia Toma Youn Joo Yu Regine Wai Daniel Muliyanto Thomas Cassignac

78.87 146.95 76.31 144.31 75.36 144.19 76.01 143.35 75.24 142.15 72.56 141.39 68.39 141.31 72.02 141.19 70.00 141.08 73.21 140.13 69.35 140.01 76.50 139.92 68.75 139.42 69.46 138.63

Ireland

70.33 68.04 138.37

Poland

68.75 69.35 138.10

Japan Turkey

68.75 68.75 137.50 72.25 64.94 137.19

Romania South Korea Malaysia Germany

69.83 66.50 67.83 66.83

France

73.67 DQ

66.19 68.45 65.12 64.46

136.02 134.95 132.95 131.30 73.67

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A TROPHY OF INFLUENCE

WORLD COFFEE ROASTING CHAMPIONSHIP

2015 WORLD COFFEE ROASTING CHAMPION AUDUN SØRBOTTEN, NORWAY. PHOTO BY YOUNGMIN LEE.

THE YOUNGEST CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE WORLD COFFEE EVENTS PORTFOLIO MET ITS THIRD VICTOR IN JUNE IN GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN. AUDUN SØRBOTTEN, OF AUDUN COFFEE, EARNED THE TITLE OF 2015 WORLD COFFEE ROASTING CHAMPION WITH HOPES TO INSPIRE A GREATER STANDARD OF ROASTING WORLDWIDE.

roasters to know everything possible about coffee.”

With this entry into what he compared to a “coffee university”, Sørbotten started off his roasting expedition strong. His new career led him to new discoveries in roasting technique, new terrains on origin trips and a new confidence to compete as a specialty coffee roaster.

Audun Sørbotten had not had his first cup of notable coffee until his late twenties. He describes the experience as “just a coincidence, but it was amazing.” Living a life dedicated to research and things of the scientific realm, he stumbled upon a small café near his university in Norway. That first sip changed his life trajectory.

In 2011 and 2012 Sørbotten competed in and won the Nordic Roasters Competition. He says it is a “very prestigious competition between Nordic roasteries.”

“I stopped wanting to talk chemistry with chemists,” Sørbotten says.

“FOCUS ON YOUR OWN THING, THIS IS BETWEEN YOURSELF AND THE COFFEE, NOT THE COMPETITORS.” When he found himself thinking more about his coffee than his research, he figured it was time for a career change. “I had a good job, but the passion for coffee was far greater.”

Fervently seeking the truth behind great coffee, Sørbotten went straight to the source and began roasting for Solberg & Hansen, a high quality roaster in Oslo, Norway.

“I came at just the right time,” Sørbotten says, “the company had a new quality manager who wanted

29

BY TAYLOR MAY

Sørbotten competed against the best of the best, roasting alongside “Tim Wendleboe and the really good roasters of the Nordic countries.” Taking home the Nordic championship pushed him further, as he competed in and won the 2015 world championship.

In June, Sørbotten enjoyed the company of outstanding roasters around the world. As opposed to focusing on the competitors, he saw the competition as a personal opportunity to grow as a roaster. During the event he thought to himself, “Focus on your own thing, this is between yourself and the coffee, not the competitors.”

Every roaster was given a single origin coffee from Kenya, and a customized blend of Ethiopian, Chinese, and Costa Rican coffees to roast. The competitors were judged on three stages of quality: how well they evaluated the grade of the coffee, development of a roast profile that best characterized each coffee and the final cup prior to roasting.

While Sørbotten faced familiar challenges like new equipment and nerves, he found competing similar to his every day job, he was simply roasting coffee the way he knew best. “If I could do it again I would do it exactly the same,” Sørbotten says.

“SØRBOTTEN’S SIMPLE GOAL FOR HIS BUSINESS IS ‘TO CONSTANTLY ACHIEVE BETTER AND BETTER TASTING COFFEE.’” “A roaster who can do well in such a competition, or even a national champion, is a big resource, because he proves he can follow good SCAE/SCAA standards of how coffee should taste,” Sørbotten says.

2015 WORLD COFFEE ROASTING CHAMPION AUDUN SØRBOTTEN, NORWAY. PHOTO BY YOUNGMIN LEE.

This was only the third World Coffee Roasting Championship since its 2013 debut in Nice, France.

With many components adding to the competition, it proves a compelling spectacle. As it grows, Sørbotten hopes to see a larger variety of countries enter the competition, in order to spread great roasting standards around the world.

Sørbotten also has high hopes for his own new business. He started Audun Coffee in December 2014, and is now roasting and sending coffee to 10 different countries. Sørbotten’s simple goal for his business is “to constantly achieve better and better tasting coffee.” With a world championship title on his side, his coffee is thriving and he is making a strong impact in the ever evolving world of coffee.

Taylor May is an enthusiastic barista, freelance writer and blogger in Southern California.

WORLD COFFEE ROASTING CHAMPIONSHIP ABOUT WCRC

2015 WORLD COFFEE ROASTING CHAMPIONSHIP OFFICIAL RANKINGS

The World Coffee Roasting Championship debuted this year in Nice, France. In this three-stage event, competitors are evaluated on their performance evaluating the quality of green coffee (coffee grading), developing a roasting profile that best accentuates the desirable characteristics of that coffee, and on the ultimate cup quality of coffees roasted.

1 Audun Sørbotten

Audun Coffee

NORWAY 193.35

2 Joanna Alm

Drop Coffee

SWEDEN 186.4

3 Min Keun ChoI

Coffee HOW’S Company

KOREA

185.45

4 Çağatay Gülabioğlu

Probador Colectiva

TURKEY

183.25

5 Shih-Hsien Lo

Alton Coffee

TAIWAN

182.85

6 Rubens Gardelli

Gardelli Specialty Coffees

ITALY

182.55

7 Aleksandr Shevkunov Travelers Coffee

RUSSIA

182.4

8 Alexandru Niculaie

Hotspot Coffee Roastery

ROMANIA 180.25

9 Takaomi Eguchi

Tokado Coffee

JAPAN

10 Nicolas Martinez Demetrio

Café MEXICO Solemnus

2015 WORLD COFFEE ROASTING CHAMPION AUDUN SØRBOTTEN, NORWAY. PHOTO BY YOUNGMIN LEE.

173.93 172.7

AN INTERVIEW WITH JUAN GABRIEL CESPEDES

WORLD CUP TASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP

BY SØREN STILLER

TRANSLATION BY TOMÁS QUESADA-ALPÍZAR 2015 WORLD CUP TASTERS CHAMPION JUAN GABRIEL CESPEDES. PHOTO BY ANNA BRONES, SPRUDGE.COM .

AS A BARISTA AND COFFEE ROASTER, MY BIGGEST HONOR TO DATE HAS BEEN BEING ASKED TO ROAST THE COFFEES FOR THE 2015 WORLD CUP TASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP. KNOWING THAT 36 HIGHLY-SKILLED COFFEE PEOPLE WOULD BE SHOWING THEIR VERY BEST ON THE WORLD STAGE—WELL, YOU DON’T WANT TO MAKE A MISTAKE, BECAUSE FROM MY PAST COMPETITION EXPERIENCE I UNDERSTOOD EXACTLY HOW MUCH IS AT STAKE. KEEPING THIS IN MIND HELPED THE FANTASTIC BACKSTAGE CREW TO DO THEIR BEST IN SETTING UP ALL THE TRIANGULATIONS.

Based on my experience in the three world championships that I have participated in, the first round has always been the most difficult for me.

This is not only because of the coffees in each triangulation but also because the pressure on all competitors to make it to the second round, and not staying behind in the first one.

In preparation for the event, 20 different coffees were roasted at GreatCoffee in Aarhus, Denmark and then transported by car to Gothenburg. With only 5 kilos of each coffee, there was no room for mistakes. After a day dedicated to roasting for each coffee we then spent a full day of cupping, putting the right cups together from easiest to most difficult for competition rounds one through four. The coffees were fantastic and tasted really good! With 20 Technivorm brewers and a host of volunteers backstage, the competition ran smoothly and we were all in ecstasy when each time a barista selected a cup, whether right or wrong.

The third round is as difficult as the previous ones, but in this one the capacity to deal with nerves and pressure is crucial, since you know that you are just one step closer to the big final that every competitor has dreamt about.

I spoke with 2015 WCTC champion, Juan Gabriel Cespedes of Costa Rica, to catch up after the competition and get his take on how it ran.

Søren: I am very keen to know what you think of the difficulties of the level from 1 round to the final round?

Juan: Once the competition starts and as you move through the upper rounds, the coffees become very similar which makes triangulating difficult. You have to be extremely focused in order to identify any kind of difference between them.

33

In the second round the coffees start tasting very similar, so staying focused becomes extremely important given that the public starts cheering for you, and it can become a little distracting if one does not know how to handle it.

“THE TASTE OF SOME OF THE COFFEES WAS UNIQUE, SPECIAL, AND EXOTIC...

IT WAS VERY SURPRISING TO COME ACROSS SOME OF THESE EXOTIC COFFEE FLAVORS.” At the big final, I always thought that if I had made to the last stage it was because I had overcome the most difficult part of the competition, and that me and the other three competitors were similarly capable of winning the cup.

I also want to mention that last September I won for a fourth time in a row the National Cup Tasters Championship, therefore I will be defending my title in Shanghai, China, next year.

ABOUT WCTC THE WORLD CUP TASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS THE PROFESSIONAL COFFEE CUPPER WHO DEMONSTRATES SPEED, SKILL, AND ACCURACY IN DISTINGUISHING THE TASTE DIFFERENCES IN SPECIALTY COFFEES.

Søren: Considering the coffees together, how did you find the coffees and the taste?

EVENT STRUCTURE Coffees of the world have many distinct taste characteristics and in this competition format the objective is for the cupper to discriminate between the different coffees. Three cups are placed in a triangle, with two cups being identical coffees and one cup being a different coffee. Using skills of smell, taste, attention and experience, the cupper will identify the odd cup in the triangle as quickly as they can. A total of eight triangles are placed in each round. The top eight competitors with the most correct answers and the fastest time proceed to the next Semi-Finals round. Then the top four will compete again in the Finals round to determine the next World Cup Tasters Champion.

Juan: For me the coffees were extraordinary, and the origin of the coffee were well represented in each triangulation. In a few words, these were coffees suited to the world level of the Cup Tasters Championship.

The taste of some of the coffees was unique, special, and exotic. Even for me, coming from Costa Rica, it was very surprising to come across some of these exotic coffee flavors.

Congratulations again to Juan on his 2015 World Coffee Tasting Championship win, and we look forward to seeing him again on the world stage in Shanghai!

2015 WORLD CUP TASTERS FINALISTS. PHOTO BY ANNA BRONES, SPRUDGE.COM.

2015 WORLD CUP TASTERS CHAMPION JUAN GABRIEL CESPEDES. PHOTO BY ANNA BRONES, SPRUDGE.COM .

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Tanzania is an eme uction star of African prod

NUMBERS GAME s can

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YOUR COFFEE NEWS – WORLD WIDE www.gcrmag.com/subscribe

WORLD CUP TASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP 2015 WORLD CUP TASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP OFFICIAL RESULTS FINAL ROUND: RANK NAME COMPANY

COUNTRY

#

TIME

1 JUAN GABRIEL CESPEDES ECOMTRADING COSTA RICA 2 MATEUSZ PETLINSKI WOYTON ROAST INC. 3 YOERI JOOSTEN BOOT KOFFIE 4 KRISSE MCGREGOR COFFEE LAB

SEMIFINAL ROUND:

COSTA RICA GERMANY THE NETHERLANDS NEW ZEALAND

8 7 6 6

7:14 4:32 4:10 4:54

RANK NAME COMPANY 1 JUAN GABRIEL CESPEDES ECOMTRADING COSTA RICA 2 MATEUSZ PETLINSKI WOYTON ROAST INC. 3 KRISSE MCGREGOR COFFEE LAB 4 YOERI JOOSTEN BOOT KOFFIE 5 PIOTR SOWA RELAKS 6 TERUKIYO TAHARA COFFEE RANKAN 7 JAN RICHTER LORENTZEN KAFFEMISJONEN AS 8 JORGE DE LEON CASTELLCAFE/AXIOM COFFEE VENTURES

QUARTERFINAL ROUND:

COUNTRY COSTA RICA GERMANY NEW ZEALAND THE NETHERLANDS POLAND JAPAN NORWAY GUATEMALA

#

TIME 7:37 3:59 4:26 6:14 3:11 4:58 3:25 6:48

RANK

NAME

COUNTRY

#

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

JUAN GABRIEL CESPEDES JAN RICHTER LORENTZEN MATEUSZ PETLINSKI TERUKIYO TAHARA PIOTR SOWA JORGE DE LEON KRISSE MCGREGOR YOERI JOOSTEN ANGELICA ARROYAVE JOHAN MONTEZA ZHANG ZHEBIN PEI-SHAO CHANG VLADIMIR NENASHEV MARIUS NICA ZUZANA ČERNÁ SEIVIJUS MATIEJUNAS TERRY TSE

COSTA RICA NORWAY GERMANY JAPAN POLAND GUATEMALA NEW ZEALAND THE NETHERLANDS COLOMBIA PERU CHINA TAIWAN RUSSIA ROMANIA CZECH REPUBLIC IRELAND HONG KONG

8 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 4 4 3 3

RANK

NAME

COUNTRY

#

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 16 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

ZHANG ZHEBIN YOERI JOOSTEN ZUZANA ČERNÁ JORGE DE LEON PIOTR SOWA SEIVIJUS MATIEJUNAS KRISSE MCGREGOR MARIUS NICA ANGELICA ARROYAVE JUAN GABRIEL CESPEDES PEI-SHAO CHANG TERRY TSE VLADIMIR NENASHEV JAN RICHTER LORENTZEN TERUKIYO TAHARA MATEUSZ PETLINSKI JOHAN MONTEZA MARKUS VESTERGAARD MATHIAS BÜHLER ZAFIRIS MAVROS PETER CSERKÓ ANDREW TOLLEY ALESSANDRO GHIZZARDI DONOVAN MCLAGAN YEONJUNG LEE EDIMILSON GENEROSO OTNIEL CHRISTOFER CHRISTOPHE RUBINO ARNAS URBANAVIČIUS BRENDA KEMIGISHA JAMES TOOILL MARISA BAQUE DELAS HYUNSUK KO BART VAN SANDEN PANU REINIKAINEN TOBIAS RADINGER

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8 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 3

FIRST ROUND:

CORRECT TIME

7:35 2:38 3:00 6:04 6:06 6:48 5:35 7:09 7:36 2:18 5:05 5:56 6:11 6:35 7:57 4:45 6:15

CORRECT TIME

2:44 4:26 6:32 7:26 3:46 3:59 4:16 5:21 6:18 6:23 6:44 7:13 7:21 3:02 3:11 3:50 3:50 4:44 5:39 6:41 7:19 7:38 7:47 3:12 3:24 3:52 5:54 7:17 7:36 3:25 4:33 5:27 6:59 4:17 4:21 7:27

CORRECT

CORRECT

8 7 7 7 6 5 4 3

BEST PERFORMING NATION: AUSTRALIA

PHOTO BY LACHLAN FEARNLEY.

EACH YEAR, WCE REVIEWS ALL THE COMPETITION RANKINGS TO DETERMINE THE YEAR’S BEST PERFORMING NATION, WITH THE AWARD GOING TO THE LICENSED NATIONAL BODY THAT ACCUMULATES THE MOST POINTS IN THE WCE CHAMPIONSHIPS. All licensed national bodies are awarded points on a descending scale from first place (six points) through sixth place (one point) for every finalists that places in one of the 2015 world championships.

This year was a heated race, with two countries with equal points in first place. As a tiebreaker to determine first place, competitions with more competitors were weighed more heavily and a clear winner emerged…

WORLD COFFEE EVENTS IS PLEASED TO PRESENT THE BEST PERFORMING NATION OF 2015: AUSTRALIA! Demonstrating exceptional participation and performance with a total of 12 points, this is

WCE STAFF

Australia’s first time to claim the title of WCE Best Performing Nation!

• World Barista Championship: Sasa Sestic – 1st Place (6 points) • World Latte Art Championship: Caleb Cha – 1st Place (6 points) Fighting off stiff competition, Australia claimed the top spot in both the World Barista Championship and World Latte Art Championship in 2015. At WBC in Seattle, Sasa Sestic wowed the audience with his chosen coffee containing the Sudan Rune varietal as well as demonstrating the carbonic maceration process. In Gothenburg, Caleb Cha kept the audience on their toes with pours entitled ‘Flirting Peacock’, ‘Love Triangle’ and ‘Caffeinated Zebra’.

Congratulations to the Australian National Body, this year’s talented competitors, and to the entire Australian coffee community!

Final Best Perfoming Nation Rankings • 1st – Australia (12 points) [weighted - 84] • 2nd – Norway (12 points) [weighted - 38] • 3rd – Greece (11 points)

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL BODY, AUSTRALIAN SPECIALTY COFFEE ASSOCIATION SEE WWW. AASCA.COM

2015 WLAC CHAMPION CALEB CHA. PHOTO BY KATE BEARD.

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2015 WORLD BARISTA CHAMPION SASA SESTIC. PHOTO BY KATE BEARD.

RE:CO RECAP

PHOTO BY EILEEN KENNY.

SPEAKER PANEL WITH MICHAEL SHERIDAN, CHARLES SPENCE, ISABELLE LEGERON AND CHAHAN YERETZIAN, LED BY STEPHEN MORRISSEY .

PHOTO BY EILEEN KENNY.

BY PETER GIULIANO

PREPARING FOR SENSORY EXPERIENCE . PHOTO BY EILEEN KENNY.

SR. DIRECTOR OF SCAA SYMPOSIUM RE:CO SESSION HOST, THOMAS KOZIOROWSKI. PHOTO BY EILEEN KENNY.

THE IDEAL OF SPECIALTY COFFEE IS THAT WE CAN BUILD A COMMERCE ON A SIMPLE CONCEPT - THAT COFFEE CAN BE, AND SHOULD BE, DELICIOUS, COMPELLING, AND SPECIAL. IN THE 45 YEARS SINCE THE CONCEPT OF ‘SPECIALTY COFFEE’ FIRST EMERGED, THE INDUSTRY HAS GROWN INTO AN INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENTTRANSFORMING HOW COFFEE IS CONSUMED EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD. WE’VE EXPERIENCED UNPARALLELED SUCCESS- BUT WE ALSO FACE UNIQUE CHALLENGES: IS THE SUPPLY OF SPECIALTY COFFEE SECURE? HOW ARE COFFEE DRINKING PATTERNS CHANGING? WHAT IS THE STATE OF THE ART IN COFFEE SCIENCE, AND FLAVOR PERCEPTION? HOW CAN WE WORK TOGETHER TO CHANGE THE FUTURE OF SPECIALTY COFFEE FOR THE BETTER?

The Specialty Coffee Associations of the world have long been dedicated to addressing these challenges within their own communities, by engaging their leaderships, connecting their members, and driving research and development in coffee. In 2013, WCE began a project with a lofty aim: to build a network of events with the intention of engaging thought leaders in coffee at the global level, distributing critical research and insights in an environment of connection and collaboration.

Building on the success of such projects as the SCAA Symposium, SCAE’s World of Coffee event, and the Specialty Coffee Association of New Zealand’s annual symposium, we assembled a group of coffee leaders under the banner of WCE to design this new, paradigm-busting event.

The result was the Re:co Symposium. An abbreviation of “Regarding Coffee”, Re:co is committed to high-level discussion, leading innovation and strategy development for those passionate and influential in the world of specialty coffee. To achieve this, we’ve designed an event based on compelling talks, unparalleled researchsharing, and sensory experience that is absolutely unique in the specialty coffee industry. We knew

38

it was critical to settle for nothing less than to be the highest-quality coffee leadership event in the world, and so we aimed high, seeking to achieve nothing less than the transformation of the specialty coffee industry.

SPEAKER MICHAEL SHERIDAN .PHOTO BY EILEEN KENNY.

The world’s first Re:co Symposium took place in Gothenburg, Sweden, in the days just before the SCAE’s World of Coffee show. 133 coffee thought leaders from Europe, the United States, Latin America, Asia, and Africa gathered together to listen to talks from fourteen experts, discuss the future of coffee, build networks, and plan. Topics ranged from emerging markets for coffee, to the state of the market, to new scientific research, to our relationship with wine. The result was compelling, and though many people came for the speakers, they reported that the actual best part of the experience was the opportunity to interact with their fellow thought leaders in coffee. As one attendee remarked: “The opportunities throughout the two days to network and talk to both new and experienced people in the coffee industry was remarkable.”

Following the success of the Gothenburg Re:co Symposium, our second Re:co happened in

Join us for our upcoming 2016 events!

13-14 April

ATLANTA, GEORGIA, USA Hosted by SCAA

21-22 June

DUBLIN, IRELAND Held immediately prior to the SCAA World of Coffee

Auckland, New Zealand. Created in concert with the New Zealand Specialty Coffee Association, the event gathered 58 Kiwi coffee leaders together to contemplate the future of coffee from the unique perspective of New Zealand. Experimenting with different formats like the first-ever Re:co Symposium debate, the Auckland event took Re:co in a new, compelling direction.

In 2016, we will debut Re:co Symposium in the United States, at the Specialty Coffee Association of America show in Atlanta. We expect more than 400 delegates, a full roster of compelling speakers and conversations, and even more connections and research. In June, Re:co Symposium will return to Europe - again in concert with the World of Coffee event in Dublin, Ireland.

But Re:co’s mission to transform the future of coffee does not stop at our events. WCE hosts a Re:co Symposium YouTube channel, where talks from Re:co events are posted for the benefit of attendees and the coffee community at large.

In this way, we seek to continue to broaden the influence of the leaders who engage in Re:co, and help them make the future of Specialty Coffee ever-brighter.

READY, SET, RE:VERB

REVERB SPEAKERS ASLI YAMAN & MICHAEL SALVATORE, & WCE STAFF MEMBER AMY BALL ON A BRAZILIAN COFFEE FARM.

BY AMY BALL WCE STAFF EMCEE JEFF FENG TALKS TO SPEAKER DARRIN DANIEL ONSTAGE AT RE:VERB GUANGZHOU. PHOTO BY KYONGHEE SHIN.

WORLD COFFEE EVENTS’ NEWEST INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM, RE:VERB, WAS LAUNCHED IN SEPTEMBER, 2015 IN BELO HORIZONTE, BRAZIL. RE:VERB IS A PROGRAM THAT BLENDS SPEAKERS, MEDIA, AND OTHER CONTENT SPECIFICALLY DEVELOPED FOR EACH LOCATION INTO A ONE-DAY EVENT, CREATED TO INSPIRE THE SPECIALTY COFFEE COMMUNITY. “It was an honor for us to have hosted the first Re:Verb in the world during the International Coffee Week in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. We received very positive feedback from attendees about the content, especially the relationship between coffee and design…Re:Verb Belo Horizonte was an unique opportunity to know more about the international coffee market and to exchange new ideas with high level speakers!” remarked Caio Alonso Fontes, Director of International Coffee Week, Brazil By focusing on individual stories of challenge and success, and incorporating media and films produced by WCE, Re:verb offers a unique way to explore current trends and themes with the specialty coffee industry.

An offshoot of the longer, two-day program that Re:co offers, Re:verb is designed to keep its focus on issues pertinent to the country in which it is located, and with a spotlight on individuals who help define and shape our community, directly or

indirectly.

Below is the list of the content which debuted at Re:verb programs in 2015. The locations of the events were Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Seoul, Korea; and Guangzhou, China.

• A Coffee Buyer’s Journey: Sustainability and Its Discontents—Darrin Daniels • The Art of Wholesale in Speciality Coffee—Damon Chen • Barista 2.0 & The Third Wave Coffee Shop— Francesco Sanapo • Branding and the Moment of Hospitality—Alex Bernson • Building a Coffee Community—Cory Andreen • Building a Specialty Coffee Community: A BoundaryBreaker’s Story—Asli Yaman • Climate Change and the Coffee Plant—Emma Sage • Connecting with Your Customers in an Effortless Way (Is Really Hard Work)—Klye Glanville • Cutting Through the Coffee Noise: How to Create a Relevant and Unique Brand that Lasts—Stephen Morrissey • Dependency Issues: Why Direct- and Fair-Trade Models Rely on Each Other—Colleen Anunu • The Future of Café Design—Ben Kaminsky • Recent Snapshots from Origin—Stephen Vick • The Right Space for Coffee Isn’t Always a Coffee Shop—Michael Salvatore • Ten Coffee Myths, Busted!—Matt Perger • Why We Should Not Try to Please the Consumer— Isabela Raposeiras

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“RE:VERB OFFERS A UNIQUE WAY TO EXPLORE CURRENT TRENDS AND THEMES WITH THE SPECIALTY COFFEE INDUSTRY.” SPEAKER STEPHEN MORRISSEY AT RE:VERB BELO HORIZONTE. PHOTO BY KYONGHEE SHIN.

JEFF FENG & DAMON CHEN AT RE:VERB GUANGZHOU. PHOTO BY KYONGHEE SHIN.

SPEAKER FRANCESCO SANAPO AT RE:VERB GUANGZHOU. PHOTO BY KYONGHEE SHIN.

SPEAKER ASLI YAMAN, CUPPING BRAZILIAN COFFEE. RE:VERB BELO HORIZONTE. PHOTO BY AMY BALL.

Re:verb was also the platform to launch WCE’s first independently produced film, WCE’s Film About Design, which was well-received and lauded for its excellent production values and beautiful footage wherever it was screened. The film explores the concept that current design trends in specialty cafes are fundamentally Scandinavian, and dives into this concept by taking a closer look at some notable cafes in Copenhagen, including Atelier September and the Coffee Collective.

Media Specialist Nathan Slabaugh has been leading the charge to develop new concepts for WCE-produced films in 2016, and is excited for “an amazing year of new content, developed and produced from the creative minds of WCE.”

A YEAR OF ALL-STARS WCE STAFF

ALL-STARS BEIJING - PETER LICATA, GIACOMO VANNELLI, JONG HOON LEE, BERG WU, CHRISTOS LOUKAKIS, JEREMY ZHANG. PHOTO

BY IRENE BERETTA.

“I LOVED THE ENGAGEMENT AROUND THE CUPPING DEMOS WE DID… I HAD A BLAST PARTICIPATING!”

AMANDA JURIS ALL STARS KOREA

WORLD COFFEE EVENTS FEATURE ACTIVITES “WBC ALL-STARS” AND “WCE ALL-STARS” WERE ESTABLISHED IN 2013. SINCE THEN, THE EVENT HAS CIRCLED THE GLOBE FOR 10 SEPARATE EDITIONS. At each All-Stars event, some of the world’s best baristas were featured in activities including mystery drink challenges, pop quizzes, on-demand performances, meet-and-greets, and more, while special guest hosts guided us behind the judging table.

Enjoy this selection of photos from our 2015 AllStars events, along with quotes from some of our baristas!

CALEB CHA DURING A MYSTERY CAPPUCCINO CHALLENGE, ALL-STARS GUANGZHOU.PHOTO BY VERONICA CHOU.

“THE DYNAMISM AND ENTHUSIASM OF THE PEOPLE IN SEOUL WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISING...AS A BARISTA, CONNECTING DIRECTLY WITH THE FARMERS IN BOGOTA WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE AND LEARN” BERG WU AND JONG HOON LEE AT THE ALL-STARS BEIJING BREW BAR. PHOTO BY IRENE BERETTA.

CHARLOTTE MALAVAL ALL STARS BOGOTA & KOREA

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AN ALL-STAR AUDIENCE! PHOTO BY IRENE BERETTA.

BUTTONS FROM ALL STARS BEIJING. PHOTO BY IRENE BERETTA.

“I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS TYPE OF EVENT. IT WAS AN HONOR TO BE ABLE TO REPRESENT BARISTAS AND THE GLOBAL COFFEE COMMUNITY!” CALEB CHA PHOTOBOMBING VICTOR DELPIERRE AND EDIT JUHASZ. PHOTO BY IRENE BERETTA.

BEN PUT ALL STARS KOREA

MAXWELL COLONNA-DASHWOOD AND AMANDA JURIS AT ALL-STARS HOST MILANO. PHOTO BY IRENE BERETTA.

SONJA GRANT AND MAXWELL COLONNA-DASHWOOD AT ALL-STARS HOST MILANO. PHOTO BY AMY BALL.

AMANDA JURIS AND HIDENORI IZAKI AT ALL-STARS HOST MILANO. PHOTO

BY AMY BALL.

COFFEE FILM FESTIVAL FUN WCE STAFF

PHOTO BY JESSICA RODRIQUEZ.

“IT TAKES COURAGE TO SUPPORT A NEW CONCEPT LIKE A COFFEE FILM FESTIVAL” PETER GIULIANO WCE ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER

WORLD COFFEE EVENTS EXCITEDLY PRESENTED OUR FIRST SERIES OF COFFEE FILM FESTIVALS IN 2015. DRIVEN BY COFFEE, COMMUNITY, AND CREATIVITY, THE EVENTS FEATURED ESTABLISHED COFFEE FILMS AND COMMUNITYCREATED SHORTS. The two inaugural dates were open to the public but curated for the specialty coffee lover. Guests also found hand-brewed coffees and local treats on site.

PHOTO BY JESSICA RODRIQUEZ.

“IT WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVEAL A LARGER PURPOSE FOR OUR WORK. ONE THAT IS SOMETIMES HARD TO DEFINE WORKING DAY IN AND DAY OUT AT A CAFÉ.”

PHOTO BY JESSICA RODRIQUEZ.

CHRISTOPHER RODGERS ELYSIAN COFFEE ROASTERS

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“‘IT ILLUSTRATED IN A SIMPLE WAY THE PASSION THAT IS BEHIND SOME OF THE FACETS OF THE COFFEE INDUSTRY; THE WORK, THE CRAFTSMANSHIP AND THE MOTION OF THE COFFEE FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.”

SØREN STILLER FILMMAKER

“IT PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET AND BOND WITH OTHER WHO SHARE AN INTEREST IN THE COFFEE INDUSTRY… OUTSIDE OF THE CAFÉ ENVIRONMENT.”

JESSICA RODRIQUEZ CFF VOLUNTEER LEAD

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SEASONED VOLUNTEERS: A Q&A WCE STAFF

Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, and Kenya in the past four months.

Q. What brought you to volunteering?

A: Firstly, because I enjoy it! Some of my most memorable coffee experiences are from coaching Nick Clark for WBC in Melbourne. It was an incredible experience, and it felt like we’d been welcomed with open arms by the coffee community worldwide. The following year I volunteered in Rimini and I also managed the bars in Gothenburg this summer. It’s a great opportunity to be at face level with the leaders of our industry.

STEVEN HALL Q. Can you tell us about your coffee journey so far?

A. I truly fell in love with coffee when I first started making it in a small, but extremely busy café in Wellington, New Zealand. From there I joined my friends in their new roasting venture, Flight Coffee, where I worked for three years. I’ve been living in London for the past two years, working in a quality focused position at Caravan Coffee Roasters. My role as green buyer has sent me to

Q. What’s they key to working at these events?

A. Go into these situations with a plan and you stay motivated. Communication, scheduling, and bar flow are major factors that come into play when preparing for TED, and as long as all of those components are set, things tend to work out smoothly. However, staying flexible, keeping sharp, and having a calm & positive attitude like Amy Ball around definitely ensures the aforementioned.

TALYA STRADER Q. Can you tell us your origin story?

A. Since age 12, I have wanted to own a coffee shop, and have been pursuing that dream ever since. At this point, I have been managing coffee bars across the US since 2001. There is something about the physical counter at a coffee bar that enables me to be the best version of myself and allows me to initiate relationships in a genuine and confident manner.

47

Q. What’s the key to volunteering at these events?

A. The key is to be patient and understanding of different skill levels. You’ve got to be enthusiastic and helpful with someone who’s a first time volunteer while also engaging the more skilled baristas. It’s so important to make sure that all volunteers feel important and welcome!

The best advice for a volunteer is to be confident and trust your abilities! Engage with your customer on their experience and perfect your craft… You never know, you might be talking to a past champion!

Q. You’ve been consistently volunteering at events like TED for a number of years. What keeps bringing you back?

A. I love TED and the energy that surrounds it. It’s not only a privilege to provide some of those most forward thinking minds with beautiful coffees, but it’s also a huge honor to serve shoulder to shoulder with the finest baristas in the USA.

Q. …and the biggest reward of volunteering?

A. Meeting the very talented and smart people that gather around this event. The baristas that volunteer are always true professionals that have a desire to serve other industry top professionals.

Q. Do you have any celebrity moments (coffee or other) from volunteering at TED? A. My first TED was the most shocking, and I was the most awestruck I have ever been when encountering celebrities. Meg Ryan told me that my cappuccino looked lovely, my team let me take point on talking with Andrew Bird, I stumbled over my words pretty embarrassingly with Natalie Merchant, got pretty giddy when watching Paul Simon walk about, and I was shocked by how many soy cappuccinos John Cusack could put away.

Two years later, I found great delight in directing Jim Carey to the best tea service I’ve seen at TED (shout out to Rishi), and then this past year I was truly delighted to see Jimmy Carter speak about women in a beautiful and inspiring way.

MEET THE WCE!

ADVISORY BOARD

Directors Drewry Pearson (Treasurer) David Veal (SCAE Executive Director) Ric Rhinehart (SCAA Executive Director) Peter Giuliano (Sr. Director of SCAA Symposium) Advisory Members Mike Yung (Chair) Marcus Boni (Vice Chair) James Shepherd (Past Chair) Bart Deprez Carl Sara Dan Streetman Lina Chiodo Stephen Morrissey Yoshihito Kato

STAFF

2015 was a huge year for WCE! Not only did we expand our portfolio of events, we also had many new faces join our team!

Cindy Ludviksen Managing Director Durham, NC, USA

Laura Lee Director of Business Development Riverside, CA, USA

Connor Clarke Sales Administrator Dublin, Ireland

Veronica Chou Sales Associate Taipei, Taiwan

Amy Ball Events Creative Director Los Angeles, CA, USA

Kyonghee Shin Events Administrator San Francisco, CA, USA

Irene Beretta Events Coordinator London, UK

Nathan Slabaugh Media Specialist Spokane, WA, USA

Shelby Paul Re:co Event Manager Camarillo, CA, USA

Matt Slater International Re:co Symposium Director Leeds, UK

Roukiat Delrue National Bodies Manager Guatemala City, Guatemala

Irene Dennehy Financial Manager Dublin, Ireland

Amanda Constantinides Design Coordinator Garner, NC, USA

Jamie Jessup Partnership Manager London, UK

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