World Barista Championship

The World Barista Championship (WBC) is the current premier barista competition [Bonné, Jon (April 19, 2005) [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7558763/ Espress yourself.] "MSNBC.com" Retrieved on 2006-oct-25] [Phadnis, Chitra (February 7, 2003) [http://www.blonnet.com/2003/02/08/stories/2003020800201100.htm Robust competition for barista championship.] "The Hindu Business Line" Retrieved on 2006-oct-25] [Murphy, Melinda (May 8, 2003) [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/05/07/earlyshow/contributors/melindamurphy/main552860.shtml The Best Brew In The World.] "CBS News" Retrieved on 2006-oct-25] , with the winners of each national barista championship (or an otherwise appointed competitor) competing for the world title. Competitors prepare and serve 12 coffee beverages - four espresso, four cappuccino, and four signature drinks for four sensory judges. There are two rounds of judging, the first a preliminary round and the second a finals round, featuring the top six competitors. The Tokyo 2007 WBC is the first to be held outside Europe or the U.S., and marks a growing trend for increased coffee consumption in Asia.

The 2008 Championship was won by Stephen Morrissey from Dublin, Ireland. He was crowned champion by impressing seven judges over four days of brewing in Copenhagen, Denmark, in June 2008. Morrissey bested 51 other international champions, by producing four espressos, four cappuccinos and four personal signature drinks - in just 15 minutes. Stephen's signature drink was an espresso blended with flambéed chocolate mousse and blueberry. More than 1,000 spectators watched this coffee artistry at the venue, as well as thousands other watching a live internet link. A delighted Morrissey was the first Irish winner of the biggest coffee competition in the world, since its inaugural event 2000.

The barista competition format was created in Norway [Wendelboe, Tim (May 1, 2005) [http://www.coffeegeek.com/opinions/professionals/05-01-2006 The Future of the World Barista Championship.] "CoffeeGeek.com" Retrieved on 2006-oct-25] , and the WBC has been dominated by Scandinavian countries [WBC [http://www.worldbaristachampionship.com/wbc_history.htm WBC History: Previous Years.] Retrieved on 2006-oct-25] . It is owned and organized jointly by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) and the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE).

Past winners

* 2008 (Copenhagen, Denmark) Stephen Morrissey, Ireland
* 2007 (Tokyo, Japan) James Hoffmann, United Kingdom
* 2006 (Berne, Switzerland) Klaus Thomsen, Denmark
* 2005 (Seattle, USA) Trouls Overdahl Poulsen, Denmark
* 2004 (Trieste, Italy) Tim Wendelboe, Norway
* 2003 (Boston, USA) Paul Bassett, Australia
* 2002 (Oslo, Norway) Fritz Storm, Denmark
* 2001 (Miami, USA) Martin Hildebrandt, Denmark
* 2000 (Monte Carlo, Monaco) Robert Thoresen, Norway

Future Events

* April 16-19, 2009 Atlanta, Georgia, USA, held in conjunction with the [http://www.scaa.org/ SCAA] 21st Annual Conference and Exhibition

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.worldbaristachampionship.com/ World Barista Championship] official site