The great world coffee event, the WOC, World of Coffee which should have taken place in Poland, in Warsaw, changes location and arrives in Milan, from 23 to 25 June. An extraordinary event that rewards Italy, the country par excellence of the best coffee, the espresso.
World Coffee Championship: why Milan
The news that went around the world was given by SCA, Specialty Coffee Association which represents thousands of coffee professionals, from producers to baristas from all over the world and which traditionally organizes this event.
The reason for moving the headquarters is due to the fact that the planned location, the Ptak Congress Center in the Polish capital, has become unavailable since it was used to host Ukrainian families fleeing their country for the Russo-Ukrainian war.
From coffee an aid for war-torn Ukraine
“We will return to Warsaw anyway – commented Yannis Apostolopoulos, managing director of SCA – and we are also committed to donate 100 percent of revenue from ticket sales to Ukrainian coffee businesses and professionals".
For the first time such an important event that brings together professionals from all over the world in the sector is taking place in Milan, in the heart of the city, the MI.CO and as is tradition, it will also host 5 world championships after two years of interruption, cause of the pandemic.
World Coffee Championship: competitions and prizes
La Specialty Coffee Association Italy has already been at work for a few months for the complex management of the world event. The 5 championships are based on very tough contests of skill, inventiveness and professionalism. It's about the competition Latte Art, Coffee in-Good Spirits, Cup Tasters, Cezve/Ibrik and Roasting.
Latte Art requires the finalists to prepare 10 coffee and milk-based drinks with artistic decorations in 4 minutes. The Coffee in-Good Spirits competition pits the experience of expert baristas against that of bartrending and requires the preparation of 10 Irish coffees and 2 hot/cold cocktails based on coffee and spirits in 2 minutes. In the third competition, Cup Tasters, the competitors will have to identify in the shortest possible time the cup containing a coffee with a different taste within a set consisting of 3 cups. The Roasting competition requires grading of green coffee, roasting and tasting of the roasted coffee.
The last prize sees the contestants grappling with what is known as Turkish coffee, based on the Ibrik, a copper, brass or ceramic saucepan, where the coffee must be prepared according to a precise ritual, in use in 'Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
