Coffee on the competition stage: barista championships
Why find out who makes coffee faster?
Coffee competitions are a particular corner of reality. Paradoxically, championships between coffee professionals are not about who brews fastest, but who brews most precisely. They test the skills of people who work with coffee every day. Their deceptively simple tasks include preparing several perfect espresso shots in which judges detect the same aromatic and flavour notes, body, bitterness and acidity in each successive sip.
In theory, anyone can organise a competition, but those whose rules are set by the SCA, the Specialty Coffee Association, have held the greatest prestige for years. To keep things clear, the organisation has distinguished eight competition types in which latte specialists — and others — can compete. Each year, you can watch baristas at the World Barista Championship, latte artists at the World Latte Art Championship, baristas turning bartenders at the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship, Q graders at the World Cup Tasters Championship, brewers at the World Brewers Cup, roasters at the World Coffee Roasting Championship, and even professionals using traditional coffee pots at the Cezve/Ibrik Championship.
One of our own on the podium
As lovers of well-brewed coffee, we follow all these championships enthusiastically, especially when someone from our country wins. That happened in 2018, when Agnieszka Rojewska won the World Barista Championship.
How did the Polish champion charm the judges? Not just through expertise and skill in the successive tasks — preparing a milk drink, espresso and a signature beverage — but above all through her individual approach to the judges and her direct, warm way of making a connection. Yes, a competitor's conversation is assessed too. A barista is, after all, a kind of confessor who serves a comforting latte instead of assigning penance.
“Rojes” Rojewska is not the only winner to emphasise interpersonal skills. Coffee guru James Hoffmann also says that connecting with the judges, along with bringing extra espresso cups and cups for tasting coffee creations, is key to a high score. As he puts it, “Being a barista is about making people feel good in our company.” It is hard to disagree, is it not?
Returning to Agnieszka Rojewska, it is easy to understand the judges' enthusiasm. Her signature drink fulfilled every coffee fantasy: passion-fruit syrup, clarified milk and espresso made from beans from hot Ethiopia. It could win over anyone's taste buds...
Boring? Nothing happening?
Barista and latte art contests are the most spectacular events in the SCA series. Rushing between machines and cups, shaking cocktail shakers or watching a hand tremble while creating intricate milk designs keeps our noses close to the computer screen and our right hands posting YouTube comments. Baristas and latte artists certainly create excitement. But what about the other competitions?
Unfortunately, contests demonstrating true mastery of brewing and cupping are not especially thrilling to watch online. Imagine a live stream of ski jumper Piotr Żyła cleaning his goggles and you have roughly the same excitement level. That does not mean the contests themselves are boring! The World Cup Tasters Championship, for example, involves assessing eight groups of coffee samples against the clock and identifying the odd cup in each group, different by just one detail, such as roast level or even when the bag was opened.
Coffee competitions let us see masters at work and discover trends in the coffee world, including fashion trends — yes, we mean colourful socks. Some events resemble a potions exam at Hogwarts, such as the World Coffee Roasting Championship, or a coffee-brewing session in the Sahara, such as the Cezve/Ibrik Championship. If you are a fan, or are becoming one, tell us, or drop into Café Borówka to discuss them with our baristas! :D