Today we will look beyond the world of the coffee consumer and enter the world of the coffee professional. A lot of people love coffee and it has become a part of their daily lives but might not realize just how big the world coffee community really is.
That is what we will present to you today through a short modern history lesson about coffee. What’s more, we will introduce to you the different coffee barista championships that take place every year and why you will enjoy visiting them if you are a coffee lover.
Little Coffee History – The Three Waves
But before we dive into the specifics, first we need a short coffee history lesson. The coffee industry has come very far after the discovery of coffee in the middle of the 15th century. Today we use state of the art technology to build equipment that brings out the finest properties of coffee in many ways, like roasting and brewing. This happened gradually over time and is presented within the coffee world in three waves:
The First Wave
The first wave of modern coffee consumption focused on convenience and appeared at the end of the 19th century with the founding of Folgers Coffee. An example of this is the famous instant coffee which is still widely consumed in many countries. This method of brewing coffee targets people who need a quick cup of coffee with no focus on flavor or aroma and no factual information about where the coffee came from.
The Second Wave
The second wave of modern coffee consumption appeared in the 1960s with the founding of Peet’s and later Starbucks. Starbucks has the first-mover advantage for crafting drinks and creating a coffee shop atmosphere where the coffee lover could sit down, relax and enjoy their cup of coffee. The focus of this second wave is on the experience of drinking the coffee rather than the quality of the brew. A lot of coffee drinks that originated during the second wave tend to be very sweet due to the addition of syrups or cream.
The Third Wave
Last but not least, the third wave of modern coffee consumption focuses on the quality of the coffee bean. It is important that there is transparency all the way through the journey of the coffee bean, from the farmer to the consumer. This wave emerged during the 1980s with the founding of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). A few years later we see the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE) joining the SCAA as one organization, the SCA.
Today, the SCA is a nonprofit, membership-based association that works to make coffee better. For the purpose of this, there are different initiatives and guilds that the coffee professional can join. More specifically there is the Barista Guild, the Roaster Guild, and the Coffee Technician Guild. Each of these guilds has a board of people who are responsible for events such as the barista camp, roaster camp, and world coffee championships. Apart from that, the SCA offers a range of certified courses by professional instructors in subjects like brewing, roasting, coffee sensory, and more.
Many coffee professionals from around the world participate in the classes, events, and championships of the SCA. The association has managed to create a global community for coffee professionals. As part of that community, a lot of people have started innovating and participating in the coffee chain through various ways, such as competing or doing research. To understand this community better we will take a look at the different championships that take place around the world every year.
The Popular World Barista Championships
For the purpose of the championships, the SCA founded an event management organization called World Coffee Events (WCE). This organization is responsible for SCA’s 6 annual world coffee championships. These events take place in a different country every year and countries can submit a proposal to host them. The coffee championships are:
- The World Barista Championship
- The World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship
- World Latte Art Championship
- The World Cup Tasters Championship
- World Coffee Roasting Championship
- The World Cezve/Ibrik Championship
1. The World Barista Championship
This championship is one of the main events of the World Coffee Events. It focuses on the profession of the barista and gives baristas from around the world to represent their country by showcasing their skills with regard to coffee preparation and extraction, milk frothing, customer engagement, and overall coffee knowledge. One of the more creative sides of this championship is that the baristas are required to create their own signature drink. The result is usually surprising and delicious.
2. The World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship
This championship challenges the mixology skills of the baristas by bringing alcohol to the table. The competitors are required to create innovative beverage recipes that include both coffee and spirits. The baristas have to make educated decisions about which spirits to use in order to enhance the flavor of the coffee. This event is particularly interesting to watch as it brings two worlds together; the one of coffee and one of spirits.
3. World Latte Art Championship
As you guessed by its name, this championship focuses on the latte art designs a barista can execute while maintaining creamy milk texture and correct milk temperature. The baristas have the chance to express themselves artistically. They are being judged based on visual attributes, creativity, patterns, and overall presentation.
4. The World Cup Tasters Championship
This is one of the most challenging championships to compete at since it involves having an excellent perception of the coffee bean’s characteristics. Coffee professionals are required to accurately distinguish the flavor differences between different coffee beans. They are judged on speed, skill, and the ability to recognize what type of coffee bean they are tasting by assessing its aroma and flavor.
5. World Coffee Roasting Championship
This championship focuses on the competency of coffee roasters and is completed in three stages:
- The competitors have to score the quality of the green coffee that is given to them.
- Then, they have to develop a roast profile that will bring out the best qualities of the beans and;
- The judges score the competitors after trying the final cup of the roasted beans. This is a great opportunity for roasters around the world to experiment and bring new ideas to the table.
6. The World Cezve/Ibrik Championship
This last championship focuses on one of the oldest forms of preparing coffee: the ibrik. The purpose of the competition is to celebrate this long historical and cultural tradition. Baristas are encouraged to develop their own style and add cultural elements to their performance in order to demonstrate the significance of ibrik coffee in the world coffee culture.
While these championships take place, the visitors of the events have the chance to participate in discussions about coffee; and to meet many leaders of the coffee industry who are there showcasing their products or researching the market. There are lectures, cuppings, workshops, and awards for new products and sustainability initiatives. The great news is that you don’t have to be a coffee professional to attend these events. All you have to do is register or you could even volunteer and take a closer look at the event.
Spanning over three days this is an event that attracts many coffee lovers because they have the opportunity to try new roasters and buy a new state of the art equipment. Even if you are not interested in the championships themselves, there is something for everyone. It is obvious that the world coffee community is getting bigger and bigger every year and it will soon start expanding in countries where it may not be that big yet.
Wrap Up
In any case, the aim of this article is to introduce the coffee lover to the community of coffee professionals around the world and give them a chance to become involved. All of these people that participate in these events started more or less as coffee lovers who wanted to learn more so there is always room for more in the community. One thing is for sure, the future of coffee is happening every day.
