Shanghai Championship 2016: the interviews of the Italian Champions
In Shanghai, Hotelex has been the stage of the World Cup of Coffee in Good Spirits, World Coffee Roasting, World Cup Testing and World Latte Art, organized by the World Coffee Events (WCE). In their respective stages, the champions of nearly 40 countries competed in the qualifying round on Wednesday 30th and Thursday 31st and then at the final race on Friday, April the 1st.
Coffee World in Good Spirits Championship 2016:
The Coffee World in Good Spirits Championship promotes the art of creating innovative recipes using coffee and liqueurs and enhances the capabilities of the barista in the creation of unique cocktails, from the very traditional Irish coffee to hot or cold cocktails.
the top three finalists:
1st place: Michalis
Dimitrakopoulos, Greece
2nd place: Martin Hudak, Slovakia
3rd place: Berg Wu, Taiwan
Davide Berti, Italian Champion of Coffee in Good Spirits:
Ranked 9th overall in the ranking WCIGS 2016: a respectable result, which saw a beautiful, clean and cured performance, but unfortunately not able to take him to Friday's final. "I am very pleased with how we developed the race," says Davide, adding: "We always participate to win, but during a contest we have to deal with high-level international champions and I'm still happy with the result obtained."
World Championship of Coffee Roasting 2016:
The performance of the competitors are evaluated based on three criteria: the coffee grading, namely the quality of green coffee used; the roasting profile choices to better accentuate the typical characteristics of the coffee used; The cup result of the roasted coffee.
the top three finalists:
1st place:
Alexandru
Niculae, Romania
2nd place: Dimitri Borodai, Russia
3rd place: Matthew Robley-Siemonsma, UK
Rubens Gardelli, Italian Champion of Coffee Roasting 2016:
Rubens, the Italian Coffee Roasting champion for the 3 years in which they were held in Italy, conquered the fifth overall position at the World Championships, giving a technically flawless test. "We noticed how roastings that make more perceiving the specific terroire of each batch have not been awarded, while roastings slightly darker that favor sweeter flavors due to the caramelization of sugars were rewarded "explains Rubens “The races are a unique opportunity to learn about the best roasters around the world and it is always an opportunity for both professional and personal growth. The Roasting Championship is very young, the only aspect to improve is perhaps the calibration of the judges, while in Italy it would be very important for the next National Championship to use the very same machine used at the World Championship”.
World Championship of Latte Art 2016:
In this championship the artistic expressions of the international barista in an 'on demand' challenge are highlighted: the cappucino becomes a work of art and the judges are required to evaluate the creativity and the ability to execute and replicates each sample.
the top three finalists:
1st place:
Umpaul,
South Korea
2nd place: Qi Li, China
3rd place: Minako Yoshizumi, Japan
Giuseppe Fiorini, Italian Champion of Latte Art 2016:
Presenting the figures of the ostrich and of the cupid, Giuseppe rank 7th in Latte Art, despite the lack of his own equipment which caused him a 20-second overtime. "For me it has been the first world contest, and the awareness of being part of a great team, who supported me constantly, has been very strong", tells Giuseppe "These are the moments when you realize that 'Unity is Strenght’. Amazing Italian Team!"
World Championship of Cup Testing 2016:
In this competition the skills of each Champion are put into play in terms of speed, skill and accuracy in distinguishing the differences among the presented Specialty Coffees. Each Barista will use his olfactory and gustatory capacity and will be guided by his own experience in order to identify in the shortest possible time the ‘anomalous cup' among those submitted.
the top three finalists:
1st place: Gabriel Céspedes, Costa Rica
2nd place:
Boris Ortner, Austria
3rd place:
Seong Jun, South Korea
Lorenzo Sordini, Italian Champion of Cup Testing 2016
After an excellent opening day, Lorenzo has stood in the semi-finals, ranking 16th in the overall standings, and he said: "I am very pleased with the result. It was an incredible opportunity for me, very new in this industry, to see the work of true professionals. It gave me the charge to start working in order to close the gap and make a better result next year".
