The SCAE has begun the search for a new Executive Director after Mick Wheeler announced his intention to step down from the position towards the end of 2010.

More details of the search process for the position are available here.

You can get further details by contacting SCAE Vice President Steve Penk, who is Chair of the Search Committee for the new Executive Director. He can be reached on +44 (0)1246 454400; email s.penk@scae.com.

SCAE will once again be holding its very successful BREWMASTER course as follows:

• Tuesday 10th November 2009 at the premises of MARCO BEVERAGE SYSTEMS in Dublin, Ireland
• Tuesday 17th November 2009 at the premises of BRAVILOR BONAMAT in The Netherlands

An intensive one day course where attendees will learn the six essentials of good coffee, learn how to scientifically measure brews and through written and hands-on examination be certified as a Level One SCAE Gold Cup Brewmaster.

For more information, please contact National Coordinator Petra Morbin at nc @ scae.fi.

Nice show Bert in The San Marco village in Aartselaar. You did a fantastic job at the SCAE Belgium championships! (image by Anneleen Van Giel)

Am vergangenen Wochenende, während der neu installierten Kaffeemesse coffeena, trafen sich zu den SCAE Coffee World Championships in Köln Baristi aus aller Herren Ländern. Auch die Schweiz entsandte ihre jeweiligen Schweizermeister, Florence Letroux (Cup Tasting), Sandra Stucki (Coffee in Good Spirits)  und Martin Egger (Latte Art) in die Halle 8 der Koelnmesse.

Auf der Wettbewerbsbühne trat ein hochprofessionelles Baristi- und Cupperfeld gegeneinander an, welches von grossem Publikumszuspruch begleitet wurde. Vor allem die Supporter-Gruppen aus Russland, Süd-Korea und Gross-Britannien sorgten für ordentliche Stimmung auf den Zuschauertribünen.

Matthias Lübke, Delegationsleiter der Swiss SCAE, fasst seine diesbezüglichen  Eindrücke so zusammen: “Es macht Freude, die grosse Publikumsbeteiligung zu sehen und ermuntert Teilnehmer, Organisatoren und Zuschauer zu neuen Taten in der Welt des Kaffees, was der Branche und damit dem Konsumenten zugute kommt. Ich bin der Überzeugung, dass durch jedes dieser Events die Ansprüche des Verbrauchers an die Kaffeequalität in der Tasse ein klein wenig steigt.”

Das Schweizer Team an der coffena (v.l.): Barbara Held (Trainer), Sandra Stucki, Giovanni Meola (Trainer), Sylvain Ernst (Trainer) und Martin Egger

Im hochwertigen Starterfeld fiel das Ergebnis der Schweizer Teilnehmer eher durchwachsen aus. Lediglich Sandra Stucki (Berchtold Group Burgdorf) konnte ihren Final erreichen und sich dort den fünften Platz sichern. Matthias Lübke, hauptberuflich Verkaufsleiter bei Blaser Café in Bern, sagt dazu: “Unsere drei Schweizer Meister haben sich gewissenhaft und mit sehr viel Aufwand auf die Weltmeisterschaften in Köln vorbereitet. Leider wurden sie nicht alle dafür belohnt, wenigstens, wenn man allein den belegten Rang als Messwert anlegt. Was aber an einer solchen WM besonders zählt, ist der “olympische Gedanke”: durch die Teilnahme lernt man als Barista und Cupper [so werden die Teilnehmer im Cup Tasting genannt, KS] unglaublich viel dazu. Und nicht zuletzt knüpft man neue Kontakte zur internationalen Kaffeewelt, aus denen nicht selten sogar Freundschaften entstehen.”

Doch woran lag es, dass sich insbesondere Florence Letroux und Martin Egger am Ende im letzten Drittel des Starterfeldes wiederfanden? Der aufmerksame Beobachter, der auch ein wenig hinter die Kulissen zu schauen vermochte, konnte vor allem zwei Dinge identifizieren: individuelle Fehler und Unerfahrenheit.

Martin Eggers Konzentration auf seinen Auftritt bei den Latte Art Wettbewerben wurde allein dadurch schon gestört, dass er erst am Wettbewerbstag erfuhr, dass er nicht die Tassen verwenden dürfe, mit denen er die Schweizermeisterschaft gewonnen hatte. Äusserlich blieb Tinu, wie er von seinen Freunden genannt wird, cool, doch schon seine beiden Espressi Macchiato übergoss er, d.h. ein wenig Kaffee lief aus den Tassen. Barbara Held, Leiterin des Coffee Competence Centres der Fa. Schaerer in Moosseedorf und Tinus Trainerin, erklärt dazu: “Schade für Tinu war die Geschichte mit der Neuerung, dass die Tasse vom Verband gestellt wird. Wir haben uns die Regeln im Februar aus dem Internet gezogen, da stand noch nichts von den Tassen. Auf bei den Schweizermeisterschaften in Januar vor einer internationalen Jury was diese Tassen in keiner Weise ein Thema. Auch wenn es nicht als Ausrede klingen soll, doch jeder, der Latte Art giesst, weiss, dass die Tassen neben der verwendeten Milch und dem Kaffee elementar für das Ergebnis sind. Etwa so, wie wenn in Wimbledon plötzlich auf Sand gespielt werden würde.”

Sandra Stucki, Sylvain Ernst (Trainer von Sandra) und Martin Egger

Auch im Bereich Latte Art werden Punkte für die Sensorik des Getränks vergeben. Und hier kommt die erwähnte Unerfahrenheit der Beteiligten im internationalen Wettbewerb ins Spiel. Nochmal Barbara Held dazu: “Die Erfahrung der Wettbewerbe zeigt, dass wir in der Schweiz einen anderen Espresso- und Cappuccinogeschmack haben als die nordischen Länder, aus denen z.T. die Jurymitglieder stammten. Nun gilt es herauszufinden, wie in den Augen der Jury der perfekte Cappuccino schmecken sollte.”

Ähnliche Erfahrungen mit der Unerfahrenheit im internationalen Wettbewerb musste Florence Letroux im Wettbewerb der Cup Taster machen. Das letzte Triangel der zu verkostenden Kaffees war so heiss, dass sich Florence den Mund verbrannte und den fremden Kaffee unter zwei gleichen nicht mehr herausschmecken konnte. Zwar hatte sie alle 8 Triangel in eigener Rekordzeit von 3:43 min verkostet (immerhin 24 Tassen), doch hat sich die spätere Weltmeisterin, die Russin Valentina Kazachkova, für ihre Verkostung in allen drei Runden, an den sie teilnehmen müsste, jeweils über 7 Minuten Zeit gelassen, um die “falschen” 8 Tassen herauszuschmecken. Wenn man Wert auf das perfekte Ergebnis (8 von 8), und weniger auf die Geschwindigkeit, legt, scheint das offenbar das bessere Rezept zu sein: Eile mit Weile.

Summa sumarum bleibt für die Schweizer Teilnehmer vor allem eines: ein bleibendes Erlebnis und eine Menge neuer Erfahrungen und Eindrücke, die sie für kommende Wettbewerbe nutzen werden. Martin Egger, Chef de Bar im Hotel Berchtold in Burgdorf, kommt mit seiner ersten Enttäuschung deshalb auch gut zurecht: “Mit etwas Distanz sehe ich die Ereignisse sehr positiv. Ich habe meine Ziele leider nicht erreicht, konnte aber sehr viele Ideen aus Köln mitnehmen. Der Event war ein Riesenerlebnis und natürlich werde ich alles daran setzen, 2010 in London bei den nächsten Weltmeisterschaften erneut dabei zu sein. ” Kaum wieder nach Burgdorf zurückgekehrt, machte sich Tinu sogleich daran, seine Eindrücke und Ideen aus Köln an der eigenen Kaffeemaschine zu wiederholen und zu festigen.

Sandra Stucki bei Ihrer Präsentation an der WM

Der Lichtblick aus Schweizer Sicht ist natürlich Sandra Stucki, die mit ihrer unbekümmerten Art das Final in ihrer Disziplin erreichte. Vor allem, dass sie sich bei Ihrer Präsentation steigern konnte, freut Sandra: “Meine Zielsetzung wurde mit dem Erreichen des Finals erreicht. Auch meine Auftritte vor Publikum sind mir deutlich besser gelungen als noch an den Schweizermeisterschaften.” Sandra plant an den nächsten Schweizermeisterschaften zwei verschiedene Kaffeezubereitungen zu verwenden (in Köln waren beide Kaffees in der French Press gebrüht worden), um sich dann, nach hoffentlich erneutem Gewinn des Meistertitels, wieder für die Weltmeisterschaften in London zu qualifizieren.

Mit dieser Lust auf das erneute Sich-Messen mit den nationalen Meistern der anderen Ländern, gibt Sandra das Motto für das gesamte Schweizer Team vor: Analyse der eigenen Präsentation im Vergleich zu den jeweiligen Finalisten, Definition der Ziele einer modifizierten Vorbereitungsarbeit und ein gutes Stück Selbstbewusstsein, auf dem richtigen Wege zu sein. Und intensiver Austausch mit allen, die Erfahrung in der Teilnahme an Weltmeisterschaften haben.

Viel Glück für London 2010 wünscht

Johannes Lacker

Belgium is making a good statement in the coffee world. We now have a world latte art champion, Peter Hernou did a great job. Here you see him on the third place from the left. We had an excellent year on the different championships. On the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE) website you can follow the progress that Belgium has made over the different years.

For his show you can see the clip over here.

Since yesterday, there is a big international gathering taking place in Cologne, Germany: Coffeena, a coffee fair is playing host to the SCAE’s (Specialty Coffee Association Europe) Wonderful Coffee event. During this event, coffee industry professionals not only talk coffee, drink coffee, buy coffee but also make coffee and compete with coffee. Apart from a conference and several workshops involving espresso, latte art, roasting, barista ergonomics and ‘flair’ (ooh yea, baristas got flair ) etc, there are also four world championships taking place: the World Latte Art Championships (WLAC), the World Cuptasting Championships (WCC), the World Coffee in Good Spirit Championships (WCSC) and the World Cezve/Ibrik Championships… Lots of stressful competitors, but also time to let the steam off at the barista parties and social gatherings.

Belgium is represented by some fine coffee professionals: Peter Hernou for WLAC, Bart Vansanden for WCC, Ronny Billemon for WCSC and finally Violeta Leci for Cezve/Ibrik. On top, Manu Demets is master of ceremony for some of the competitions! Today Peter took on the challenge to compete for our country for the third year in a row now. He’s been training harder every year and deservedly placed first in the semifinals… By lucky chance, I just opened up my laptop at the bar to have a quick look at the live stream and he was on!  I missed the finals, but just read the good news: we finally have our first World Champion in coffee: huge congrats to Peter as the new World Latte Art Champion! Belgium is slowly catching up in the specialty coffee industry and this is another big and important step. Thank you, Peter!

Tomorrow and Sunday, the other competitions are on; so lets cross our fingers for our fellow colleages. Tomorrow we are remotely following from the bar (here for the live stream), but on Sunday, the OR team travels to Cologne for some personal support! So Bart, if you hear someone whistle: its us

Good luck!

Heute habe ich den Betritt des Kaffi Schopps zur Swiss SCAE erklärt.

Die SCAE ist der europäische Kaffeespezilitätenverband (Speciality Coffee Assocation of Europe) mit Sitz in London. Natürlich gibt es auch ein “German Chapter”, doch da das Kaffi Schopp “Feine Schweizer Art” bietet, liegt es natürlich nahe, dem “Swiss Chapter” beizutreten.

Nachdem ich mit Heinz Trachsel, dem nationalen Koordinator der SCAE für die Schweiz, klären konnte, wie ich als in Deutschland Ansässiger der Swiss SCAE beitreten kann, habe ich heute schnell das Beitrittsformular ausgefüllt und an die SCAE nach London geschickt.

Nun warte ich auf entsprechende Bestätigung meiner Mitgliedschaft.

In der Swiss SCAE sind über 80 Mitglieder, natürliche Personen wie Unternehmen, miteinander vernetzt. Gerade aus dieser Vernetzung zur Schweizer Kaffeeszene erhoffe ich mir neue Impulse für den erfolgreichen Start des Kaffi Schopp in Deutschland.

Grundgedanke der SCAE ist die Verknüpfung aller Mitglieder der Wertschöpfungskette, um gemeinsam die Kaffeequalität zu verbessern, das Wissen um Kaffee, seine Zubereitung und Verarbeitung zu fördern, sowie dem fachlichen Austausch als Plattform zu dienen.

Diesen Zielen hat sich auch das Kaffi Schopp verschrieben. Unser Schwerpunkt liegt dabei natürlich bei Kaffee aus Schweizer Röstereien und dessen handwerklich perfekten Zubereitung.

Kontakt zur Swiss SCAE finden Sie über Heinz Trachsel.

Johannes Lacker

P.S.: Die deutsche Seite der SCAE erreichen Sie hier.

Wie schon in meinem Artikel über die Barista Schweizer Meisterschaften 2009 angekündigt, finden im kommenden Jahr die SCAE Weltmeisterschaften im Juni in Köln statt.

Die Koelnmesse launched eine neue Veranstaltung für die internationale Kaffeebranche: Die coffeena – International Coffee Fair – vom 26. bis 28. Juni 2009 in Köln ist zeitgleich Veranstaltungsort der SCAE Wonderful World of Coffee. Die jährlichen Coffee World Championships der SCAE – Speciality Coffee Association of Europe – sind ein Highlight der Kaffeebranche und geben ihr mit ihren herausragenden Wettbewerben um Produkt und Dienstleistung wichtige Impulse und Anregungen. Ergänzend dazu bietet die neue coffeena eine breit aufgestellte Präsentation rund um das Thema Kaffee – vom Anbau und der Verarbeitung über Mahl- und Kaffeemaschinen bis zum Genussprodukt Kaffee in all seinen Facetten. Mit diesem attraktiven Mix aus Fachinformation und Event spricht die coffeena am letzten Veranstaltungstag auch den interessierten und kaffeebegeisterten Endverbraucher an.

Die Abbildung der gesamten Wertschöpfungskette auf der Messe und der Innovations- und Erlebnischarakter der SCAE-Weltmeisterschaften bieten Branchenexperten eine ebenso informative wie einmalige Verbindung aus Businessplattform und Event. Konferenzen, Workshops und Seminaren, die von der SCAE organisiert werden, stellen einen zusätzlichen Anreiz zum Besuch dar. Die Veranstaltung richtet sich sowohl an Fachleute aus der verarbeitenden Industrie als auch an alle, die in den Kaffee-Consumer-orientierten Bereichen tätig sind. Erwartet werden demnach Interessenten aus Verarbeitung, Systemgastronomie und Gastronomie, Groß- und Einzelhandel.

Darüber hinaus wird die Messe an einem Tag für den Endverbraucher geöffnet sein, der sich für Kaffee und seine vielfältigen Geschmacks- und Darreichungsformen, für spezielle Zubereitungen, aber auch für die Anbau- und Herstellungsverfahren, für Kaffeemaschinen und innovative Kaffeekonzepte begeistern kann.

Die Messe findet vom Freitag, 26. Juni bis Sonntag, 28. Juni 2009 statt. Die Tage Freitag und Samstag sind für Fachbesucher reserviert, der Sonntag ist dann auch für den interessierten Endverbraucher geöffnet.

Kaffi Schopp wünscht schon jetzt dem kommenden neuen Schweizer Meister 2009 viel Erfolg in Köln und drückt die Daumen. Einen genauen Zeitablauf der Wettbewerbe liefere ich nach.

Mehr Infos zur Messe finden Sie unter www.coffeena.de

Johannes Lacker

Nachtrag vom 27.6.: die aktuellen Ergebnisse bei Twitter, die Vorberichterstattung zu Latte Art und Coffee in Good Spirits aus Schweizer Sicht und die Schweizer Cup Tasting Meisterin im Interview. Mehr unter www.scae-championships.com und der Live-Stream unter Gun Barista Challenge.

Im Berner Ausstellungszentrum BEA finden während der “Fachmesse für Bäcker und Konditoren (FBK)” in der Halle 120 am 24. und 25. Januar die Schweizer Baristameisterschaften 2009 statt.

• Samstag 24.1.09, 08.00h-18.30h: Vorausscheidung Barista Meisterschaft

• Sonntag 25.1.09, 09.00h-18.00h: Final Barista Meisterschaft, Latte-Art, Coffee-in-Good-Spirits

Der amtierende Schweizer Baristameister Thomas Liebe hat hier also die Möglichkeit, seinen Titel zu verteidigen. Die (neuen) Schweizer Meister nehmen dann anschließend an den Weltmeisterschaften in Atlanta (Baristi) bzw. Köln (andere Disziplinen) teil.

Interessierte Besucher sind an beiden Tagen herzlich willkommen!

Organisiert wird die Messe vom Swiss Chapter der SCAE.

This just came in the mail recently awarding us for our participation earlier this year as one of the selected coffees used in the World Cup Tasting Championship in Copenhagen, Denmark 2008.

Congratulations to Casper Engel the 2008 World Cup Tasting Champion!  A phenomenally skilled cup taster a gentleman and all around really nice guy.  He kept his cool and made it look easy.

This year the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe held 5 World Championships including the WBC and the World Cup Tasting Championship.

If you want a shot at the next WCTC in Cologne, Germany June 2009; you must compete and win in your own country.  To compete in the United States Cup Tasting Championship in Atlanta – April of 2009, email us at fanatics@onyxcoffee.com for more information.

Edwin Martinez of ONYX COFFEE - 7th in the World

The organizer and emcee for this event was the legendary Alf Kramer who commented in his email to me that he invented the World Barista Championship as well.

You can go here and CLICK ON “CUPPING FINAL” to see the final round, unveil and awards or below for Caspers winning performance.

Casper Engel from Denmark is a part of The Coffee Collective along with master roaster Peter Dupont, “form giver” Linus Törsäter and World Barista Champion Klaus Thomsen

Casper drew #1 out of the hat which meant he had to go first! Must have been foreshadowing.

Casper flew through the first round in an amazing 1 minute and 19 seconds getting all 8 right.  Jorge Escobar from El Salvador and Anna Nordström from Sweden placed 2nd and 3rd who both had small armies in the audience cheering them on waving their respective national flags.  Also noteworthy, Catherine Ferrari from Australia cruised through the first round in 1 minute 11 seconds getting 6 right.  I wouldn’t be surprised if she placed in the top 3 had she taken an extra 30 seconds.  You can join her fan base in Australia at her site where you’ll find interesting coffee quotes daily as well as some fantastic looking recipes that use coffee.  Overall it was an amazing experience that was engaging for the audience who got to taste all the coffees including the finest from Daterra, FVH and Hacienda Esmeralda.

Há pouco mais de 10 anos, vender café em restaurantes e bares era considerado quase impossível no Brasil. Acreditava-se, mesmo em lugares “chiques” que o cliente não pagaria pelo café, deveria ser gratuito e não precisava ser de alta qualidade. Restaurantes muito bons tinham café coado, sem muita preocupação.

Café Fazenda Pessegueiro

Com o tempo, foram surgindo os cafés espressos, com suas máquinas, em diversos lugares. Começou-se um trabalho muito bem feito de de promover (e vender) o café de alta qualidade. Os especialistas dizem que um tripé garante o espresso perfeito: o café, a máquina e o barista (profissional que “tira” o café).

Os grãos precisam ser escolhidos, selecionados, provados e torrados corretamente. A máquina muito bem regulada. E o barista treinado para preparar e explicar, ensinar sobre o produto.

Pode-se ter como exemplo o vinho, com suas regiões, cepas, histórias e tradições. Tudo isso existe no café, e é cada dia mais explorado. Um exemplo de marketing bem feito, além de incluir atualmente as certificações de sustentabilidade (3 pilares: social, ambiental e econômico).

Hoje isso, é possível encontrar cafés de excelente qualidade em muitos lugares do Brasil. A primeira marca que ganhou espaço foi a italiana Illy, tradicionalíssima em espressos no mundo. Eles são muito bons de produto, de promoção e marketing, e em contar a história da empresa, da família e do café. Têm, por exemplo, uma coleção de xícaras pintadas, para promover discretamente o café deles. Financiam uma universidade corporativa para treinar e capacitar produtores que fornecem matéria-prima. Fazem anualmente um concurso que premia os cafés, que melhor se adequam ao blend da marca. Enfim, fazem um trabalho muito bem feito para promover a marca e garantir sustentação do market share e sobre-preço conquistados. Outro exemplo, muito bem-sucedido de café de alta qualidade e caro, é o Nespresso da Nestlé.

Alguns produtores de cafés especiais perceberam que era preciso ser dono da marca para agregar mais valor ao seu produto. Um deles é o Café Fazenda Pessegueiro, da família Gonçalves Dias de Mococa-SP, capitaneado por Clóvis Gonçalves Dias Filho, ou Tio Clovinho como me acostumei a chamá-lo desde criança.

O café Pessegueiro é produzido em uma única fazenda e ganhou um prêmio único, “The Hidden Treasure”, da SCAE (Associação Européia de Cafés Especiais). O primeiro e único café brasileiro a ganhar essa honraria. Há pouco tempo começaram a fornecer para a rede argentina Havanna. O café é especial. E tem história.

No entanto, parece que alguns locais entendem o café espresso como mais uma oportunidade de faturar, sem se atentar para a qualidade. Sem se preocupar com café, máquina ou barista. Ontem, no aeroporto de Campo Grande, tomei um espresso na Casa do Pão de Queijo que me assustou. Um café mal tirado, sem creme, nada especial, parecia mais um café coado e “cozido”, daqueles que ficam horas na garrafa térmica, ou em banho maria. O preço: R$ 2,00! Perguntei assustado: é esse o café espresso? A moça, indiferente, respondeu: sim. E virou-se. Em outras franquias da CPQ, o cuidado com o café é maior, parecido com dado ao pão de queijo (sou fã do recheado com polenguinho).

Quem vende café espresso de qualidade conseguiu fazer algo muito difícil, mudar o hábito do brasileiro. Criando um novo mercado, daqueles que pagam e apreciam cafés diferenciados. Isso é fantástico e deve ser comemorado. No entanto, quem vende gato por lebre precisa ser combatido. A melhor forma para isso é levar mais informação, ensinar o consumidor. Um ótimo exemplo é o vinho. Há mercado para vinhos caros e baratos, mas eles não se misturam.

Um café que simplesmente foi feito em uma máquina de espresso não pode ser vendido e entendido como o mesmo que um café gourmet, especial, com história, bem tirado. É preciso mais do que isso. Não vamos misturar o especial com o comum.

Well, in the time since i last posted cupping notes, we have cupped a great many coffees, including many great coffees, some good coffees (including the new crop Panama Hacienda La Esmerelda, which is good, but not even worth considering at those silly prices) and some downright pants ones too. But standing out by a mile and a half were these.

I don’t have a great deal of information on the premise behind Operation Cherry Red, though i’m assured its all good. Higher prices for premium products, farmers actually getting the money and the community benefiting. When i get some more info, i’ll update this post. Promise.

Update from press release: Operation Cherry Red is a selection of special micro lots, of about 50 bags each, both washed and unwashed Ethiopian coffees. In the normal sorting of the coffees, green unripe cherries are removed, however under this premise, only the ripest red cherries are removed and processed as Operation Cherry Red. These lots are then reassessed in order to determine the best possible coffees from all entrants. Washed coffees are packed and shipped in 2×12.5kg vac packed cartons whereas the naturals are in 60kg special grainpro bags inside quality jute, avoiding risk of ferment due to moisture content, etc.

The samples themselves arrived in an unassuming brown box, including a selection from Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Brazil and Kenya to name a few, though it was the handful of Ethiopians that meant serious business, the best of which all shared the same title and processing – Operation Cherry Red and all naturals.

So good was this cupping, it had to be repeated the following week, just to make sure we weren’t getting this wrong!

Organic Unwashed Yirgacheffe 3 – Operation Cherry Red 2007/8 crop

When opening the sample bag of greens, that sweet, sickly smell of a great green coffee, kinda like a liqour/cocktail cabinet smell, hits you. The beans themselves looked very similar to the Biloya Special Natural that we so enjoy, I was getting an idea of what we might be in for the following day! We were not let down – ripe, almost Harrar-ish gameyness, but with a wonderful, delicate sweetness. The benchmark had been met!

Organic & Rain Forest Alliance Unwashed Sidamo 3 – Operation Cherry Red 2007/8 crop

A Juicier, yet more refined coffee than the previous cup. There were two roasts, a light and a slightly darker one (still very much light though). My notes for the light simply read “LUSH – LIKE GRAPEFRUIT JUICE – ACIDITY – SWEETNESS“, whereas the darker roast tames the bright acid/sweet cat and mouse game. Interestingly, after a long time, when others were obviously over-extracted, this was still holding its head high. Stone cold, but high up there.
Unwashed Sidamo 3 – Operation Cherry Red 2007/8 crop

Following in the footsteps of the last cup, both figuratively and sensually. Very fragrant with those fruity notes and great acidity. Peter dubbed this “strawberry jam“. On the second time around all i could think was Fruit Salad (the Black Jack’s partner in crime, might be a British thing. I dunno). Fruit juices in cooling. Simply outstanding!

We can’t wait to get some of these coffees in the roastery. They will, In my humble opinion, beat anything out there. But then again, I do love Ethiopian coffee.

Off to Copenhagen at the end of the week to see Maria at Marista Kaffee and check out the SCAE meet. Good luck to all those competing in their events, especially Lily de Bolaños of Viva Espresso in San Salvador.

If you are going to be at SCAE this year be sure to pay a visit to The Coffee Collective.  We have the privilege of a time of sharing in an intimate setting… their cafe and roastery this next week.

This year at SCAE 2008 Copenhagen there will be 6 competitions!  Yes, count them.  6!  I believe these efforts are doing a fantastic job of bridging the gap between coffee professionals and one of the most important links in the coffee chain.  The consumer.

I will be competing in the World Cup Tasting Championship representing the U.S. mostly to scout it out to develop such a competition in the U.S. in 2009 most likely at SCAA.  I became U.S. Cup Tasting Champion the same way I got my Guatemalan drivers license.  Lets just say it has nothing to do with merit.

When I got my first job in a coffee shop I thought, “I like coffee, that machine looks fun – how hard can it be?”. I was more worried about burning the food in the café or how I was going to amuse the scary looking emo teenagers in the corner than what sort of coffee was going to go into that strange noisy hopper on the worktop. I’d used the coffee machine when I worked in the pub; it involved sticking a cup underneath and pressing a button. I could cope with that. All would be well.
That was 2006, and in the last eighteen months my views on these things have changed a great deal, especially after my experiences over the last few days.

Caffe Nero, according to their website, pride themselves on their coffee, referring to ‘the art of the barista’. All employees – baristas – ‘undergo days of intensive training before being allowed to serve an espresso.’ When I started working there, I can’t say I much noticed the intensity of the training; I had already done some barista training at Pumphreys Coffee House for my previous job, and as such, assumed I knew what I was doing. All I had to learn now was how to make coffees ‘The Nero Way.’ It is fair to say that everything in Caffe Nero is branded somehow, even down to the exact proportions of foam, milk and espresso that go in to the cappuccino. You can’t just serve ‘any’ cappuccino, it has to be a Nero Cappuccino, and as petty as it sounds, there are some glaring differences.

These differences become very apparent when it came to Barista Championship competitions. The Speciality Coffee Association of Europe hold regional and national competitions for baristas to show their skills and compete for a place in the World Barista Championship. Last year’s World Champion barista was James Hoffman from the UK, who luckily for me, happened to turn up at Pumphreys Coffee House when I trained there. I met a coffee celebrity! He was also one of the main judges for the UK regional finals this year. The competitors in these Barista championships took the event very very seriously, and not just because of the cash prize and prestige on offer for the World Champion. This competition is a culmination of a lot of practice, a lot of skill and a lot of hard work perfecting what is essentially an art form.

Meanwhile, Caffe Nero also hold their own Barista of the Year competition. The northern heat was held in Newcastle on 22nd January, and I tagged along to support some friends and former colleagues. Although the area manager described the event as ‘a bit of fun’ and the sheer quantity of free beer, the cheerleading efforts and the ‘Prize for Best Team Song’ seemed to demonstrate this, the specially made t-shirts saying “Barista of the Year 2008 Finalist” on them, and the prizes – a trip to New York and a chance to meet Nero CEO Gerry Ford – suggested that the competition did have a serious side.

In the northern region, there were thirteen competitors, representing the Nero stores in Durham, Darlington, Ripon, Gosforth, Newcastle, South Shields, Berwick and Hexham. Each store manager had put forward one or two baristas judged to be the best in the team. Their efforts were judged by regional managers and Nero ‘Coffee Maestros’ from other parts of the country. The Newcastle Caffe was not exactly a huge venue, and so only two baristas could compete at once, using different sides of the same Gaggia machine. Each side had two double handles, a grinder and a milk wand, and so technically speaking each barista could have potentially made four drinks at once. But as the area manager, Kirsten, announced beer bottle in hand: “Please don’t use the second handle on the left for espresso, its a bit dodgy…” Since espressos are the basis for all the drinks made in the competition, this should have been a bit of a hindrance, but it didn’t seem to make any difference at all!

The first two rounds were timed; the first challenge was to make a cappuccino, a latte and a single espresso shot in three minutes. The second was three medium cappuccinos in four minutes. After judging each, competitors with the least points, or those who ran out of time, were eliminated. Eventually, it was down to four baristas, Michael from Ripon, Frost from Gosforth, Becky from Hexham, and Steve from Durham. These four then had to make another series of drinks, this time without being timed. They just had to make the best drinks they could. From these, the judges picked the final two, Michael and Frost. The final round was to make a hot chocolate, a mocha, a latte and an espresso. After four attempts at his espresso, Frost eventually won the competition, and crowned the Northern region’s Barista of the Year. Celebrations were very noisy, but only Steve from Durham seemed remotely gutted about losing the chance to meet his hero, the enigmatic Gerry.

More significant from the point of view of a trainee barista, was why Frost won. The judges were looking for various aspects of Nero coffee making, but not all of them immediately obvious. The emphasis of the competition was very much on Nero-ness – a bit of fun to get all the teams socialising together, but also more subtly, to reiterate the brand. One of the qualities of a good barista at Caffe Nero is the possession of good customer service skills, and a happy barista who is having fun is generally better at serving customers. More specifically, a happy barista who can make good coffees consistently, repetitively and very quickly is even better for the company. The point of testing competitors’ ability to make three cappuccinos in four minutes was to see if they could actually keep it up – anyone can make one decent cappuccino once, but it takes some skill to do it over and over again during an eight or nine hour shift, while maintaining a sense of humour.

As mentioned before, a Nero Cappuccino is a very specific thing as well. In a 15oz cup, there is supposed to be double shot of espresso (1/3 of the mug) one third hot milk, and one third dry milk foam. And chocolate on the top. In this case, Caffe Nero HQ tends to be fiddling while the cappuccinos burn. What shocked me, even though I know the company pretty well now, was that the judges did not even bother to taste the coffees made. The cappuccinos were poked to test the depth of froth, lattes were stirred to check consistency, and the espressos were timed to see if they poured for the correct 15 seconds (which would be woefully underextracted in any other circumstances). But no one actually tried them, there was no test of flavour. They just had to look right. However, it is very possible to make coffees that look great but taste foul, so I asked why they weren’t tasted and was told there was no need; the judges could see how well it was made anyway. “It’s not the Barista’s fault if the coffee isn’t good.” This worried me a great deal. If the coffee itself ‘isn’t good’ then this doesn’t say much about Nero as a company: area managers do not even believe their own marketing. More to the point, the very people in charge of judging the standards of drinks for the whole company are seemingly unaware that even if the coffee itself is high quality, it can still be ruined by being prepared badly by the barista. Coffee is NOT “just coffee”, cappuccinos should not be made just to look pretty, and it is very disappointing to think that the brand that got voted the UK consumer’s favourite for the past seven years still thinks like this.

To make sure, I went round sneaking mouthfuls of everyone’s attempts whenever I could. Some were very much better than others. However, none had anything like complexity that I was to experience the next day. The very next morning I eventually got myself to Edinburgh to see the Scottish heat of the official UK Barista championship. This was a much more serious affair. Fourteen competitors throughout the day, four ‘coffee’ judges including last year’s World Champion, and two technical judges, testing the way the baristas used the machines. Anyone could put themselves forward for the competition as long as they had two years experience in the industry, and you competed as an individual not as a representative of a particular company. Apart from the fact the whole event was sponsored by La Spaziale who make the espresso machines, it was relatively devoid of commercial propaganda. More interestingly, not one of the entrants in this heat came from a big chain coffee shop – no Nero, Costa or Starbucks baristas here.

Every competitor had the same task – to make four espresso shots, four cappuccinos and four of their own speciality drinks inside 15 minutes. They could use whatever blend of coffee they liked, and most took the time to explain to the judges what they were using and why, showing that they really actually knew the blend. Interestingly, one entrant, Andrew Mundy, used a single estate coffee from Cachoeira Fazenda, or Waterfall Farm in northern Brazil. Cachoeira Fazenda has won a great many awards, and is apparently one of the ingredients in Caffe Nero’s house blend, implying that Caffe Nero coffee really shouldn’t be dismissed so easily.

The four judges probably suffered severe sensory overload by the end of the day, having to taste three drinks from all fourteen competitors. They gave marks out of six for the taste and balance of the espresso, and the ‘tactile balance’ of it, how full bodied it was for instance. The cappuccinos were again graded on balance and consistency, but also temperature so as they were not too hot to drink like at Nero. Finally, the signature drinks were graded on flavour and also quality of the espresso base. Baristas also got points for technique and use of the machine. They were penalised for wastage – grinding too much coffee, or frothing too much milk, or even pouring away spoilt drinks, not that anyone needed to. They also lost points if they went over the fifteen minutes performance time.

Personally, I loved the signature drinks. By far the best part of the day from the audience’s point of view was the fact that after the judges finished their analysis, the drinks were passed round for the rest of us to try. The signature drinks could be anything that involved espresso, that could be made inside the allotted time, and did not involve alcohol. My personal favourites were the truly bizarre ones: ‘Sun, sea and sand’, by Paulo Tanzillo involved risotto rice in the bottom of a glass, with espresso poured on the top, and finished off by topping it with a bright yellow cream made of whipped egg whites and lemon juice. It tasted a bit like bitter lemon meringue pie! Others included Leo Ventisei’s ‘Agua Dulce’ which was espresso with a slice of crushed lemon in the bottom and the glass crusted with sugar, it tasted stupendously good in my humble opinion. Kirsten Olsen made a drink inspired by the coffee’s origins – Brazilian, and mixed her espresso with avocado and lime. David Fraser served his drinks in tiny biscuit barrels, and used blended up ginger biscuits in his coffee.

I admit, I was a little disappointed with some of the winners, not because I thought they shouldn’t win, but because they were not the most interesting! Third place went to Agnes from Kilimanjaro Coffee in Glasgow, who made a signature drink infused with orange blossom and vanilla. First place went to Gillian Campbell with her iced drink with orange and chocolate. These were very, very good, if not the most original! However, it was the espressos and cappuccinos that won it – complete with latte art rosettas. Signature drinks are wonderful, but in most coffee shops, standard coffees are the most important thing, and this is recognised even at national competition level.

In a totally non-biased fashion, I was very pleased when Stuart Archer from Pumphreys Coffee House in Newcastle came second. Whereas I just got mouthfuls of the other competitors’ drinks to test, I’ve been lucky enough to sample Stuart’s coffee properly outside of competition circumstances, and it is very good indeed. Although he claims he spoilt his cappuccinos, the judges obviously didn’t think so. His signature drink sounded not only bizarre, but pretty disgusting too – espresso infused with garlic, and laced with chocolate. Debating whether to hold my nose first, I tried it, and contrary to expectations, it really worked. The garlic didn’t actually kill the coffee, and somehow brought out its natural sweet smoky taste. Not something I think many coffee shops will be offering on the menus very soon, but certainly an interesting treat.

Stuart and the other two winners will go through to the national final, held in London next month, and the winner of that event will represent the UK at the World Barista Championship in Copenhagen in May, and of course, whichever coffee shop this person works for will be able to advertise the fact to their own advantage. The Nero Barista of the Year will get a special t-shirt and the store he represents will be able to use the fact they have the best Barista in the company in their own marketing. But what other purpose is there to the competitions? Barista championships are like
any other industry awards: recognising talent and skill in the particular field, and to reward hard work, or act as an incentive to excel. But essentially, coffee is a beverage, designed for human consumption. The displays of coffee making prowess at the SCAE competitions are artistically and creatively excellent, but these are not the sort of drinks you will get served at an average coffee shop. In short, they are not actually designed for regular consumption – at most, they are a luxury afforded only to those who bother to seek out the independent coffee shops that serve speciality coffees and employ world class baristas (which are few and far between in this country). At worst, they are art for art’s sake, and remain relatively unconnected with the regular coffee shop industry as a whole. As former UK Barista champion, pointed out: “The British are at the ‘Blue Nun’ stage of coffee drinking.” Put more simply, we are not yet coffee gourmets, and in this country there is little place in the market for such luxury, and elitist, drinks.

Caffe Nero, in comparison, may not take the idea of barista awards so seriously, and may not be judged by the same standards, but the coffees made in the competition are exactly what the customer will receive when they visit a Caffe Nero store. This cannot be said of the SCAE competition. The Nero awards are designed to uphold their own standards throughout the company, and to reward talented employees, which it can be argued, is a much more practical reason for holding the competition. There is no doubt that the coffees at the SCAE competition were of much higher quality, but there is also no denying that it is Caffe Nero and similar chain stores that are the most successful and profitable, and not the independent cafés. In the current climate, it is the chain stores that are actually supplying what the average consumer really wants.