by Emily Oak, Director, WBC and AIR Training & Development Manager

From June 23-25th at Olympia, in Kensington London, the world’s best baristas and coffee professionals gathered together under one roof to celebrate all facets of the specialty industry. Baristas from more than 50 countries represented their individual nations competing against each other in a bid to win the global title.
This year was fresh and even more interesting for two main reasons. Firstly, it was the first time a semi final round was introduced into the competition. This added a layer of complexity and difficulty for competitors and judges. Secondly, there were more than 15 second or third time champions competing. This mean the standard of performance was higher than it has ever been before. Australia’s reining Barista Champion Scottie Callaghan, (who was also World Latte Art Champion 2006 and Australian Barista Champion 2007) put in a solid performance, making it through both the preliminary and semi final rounds to the final of the championship, no easy task at all. Scott came away with the third place trophy, making him the third best barista in the world. Combined with the efforts of the rest of ‘Team Australia’ competing in a whole range of competitions (Latte Art, Good Spirits and Cup Tasting) Scott’s placing helped secure the overall team trophy for Australia…. Well Done!

by David Schomer

Often during my twenty years spent in hot pursuit of this elusive espresso, I have come back to the words of Piero Bambi, the owner of LaMarzocco espresso machines: ‘In espresso we are trying to preserve the fragrance through the brewing process’. And really, isn’t that what anyone wants from coffee, to taste as good as it smells?  But to achieve this is to control several complex factors from the green bean selection, roasting, and blending to the sensuous performance art of brewing and pouring. Let’s follow our barista as she performs her graceful dance to lure this delicate beauty into a cup. It starts when she (we are tagging along with Linda Cleckler) hits the button on the grinder. Heavy conical upper burrs pull the beans down, compressing them until they shatter into smaller fragments to enter the flat burrs, to be sheared into the final grind…  
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The First of our Series, Profiling the Outstanding Figures of the Coffee World

Coffee ‘cupping’ is the tasting of coffee to uncover the coffee’s unique profile. And in the rarified world of cupping, there are few who can rival Ken Davids for experience or expertise. Originally an academic and writer, Ken Davids has grown to be recognized as one of the coffee world’s pre-eminent figures. He has a consultancy business in the US and a number of highly regarded books on coffee to his credit. He is also a sought-after speaker at coffee conferences and seminars worldwide. (more…)