Anyone who has attended an international-level coffee competition knows how stressful they are for the competitors: after months of intense training on their own, these baristas come together to compete. They are focused 100% on their performances, which is kind of a sad thing because it means they don’t have an opportunity to get to know each other, share techniques, play on machines together, and create friendships. They go from being completely alone to being in the middle of a group of peers but without the time to spend together.
DC Campus is the solution to this.
The Official Espresso Machine Sponsor for the World Latte Art Championship and the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship ”both of which will take place at the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe event in Nice, France, in late June ”Dalla Corte created a very special event in 2012 called DC Campus. DC standing for Dalla Corte, of course, the DC Campus event brings together National Latte Art and Coffee in Good Spirits Champions from all over the world to spend three days together learning, practicing, and having fun.
On hand is Sonja Grant of the World Coffee Events organization which puts on these two events every year. Sonja is a judge for these competitions, and a good one. But she is also a friend to the barista, and she delights in nothing as much as helping a barista become better and further enjoy their work in coffee.
Sonja will be on hand again this week when DC Campus kicks off for the second year in Milan on Friday. The three-day event will bring together the following National Latte Art Champions:
¢ Marius Nica, Romania
¢ Seivijus Matiejunas, Ireland
¢ Chiara Bergonzi, Italy
¢ Miguel Lamora, Spain
¢ Edith Juhasz, Hungary
¢ Joseph Dupuy, France
¢ Simon Altebalad, Norway
¢ Luzia Maite Taschler, Germany
¢ Leszek Jedrasik, Poland
And the following National Coffee In Good Spirits Champions:
¢ Cristi Coman, Romania
¢ Francesco Corona, Italy
¢ Damián Seijas, Spain
¢ Victor Delpierre, France
¢ Vala Stefánsdóttir, Iceland
¢ Ubirajara, Brazil
¢ Madeline Solheim, Norway
¢ Stavros Lamprinidis, Greece
¢ Akos Orosz, Hungary
¢ Ronny Billemon, Belgium
Dalla Corte is bringing these barista champs together to study, practice, and take part in mock competitions. And the public is welcome for one of the days, as well, to watch as the baristas have fun battling it out in a Latte Soy Art competition, as well as friendly jousts in Latte Art and Coffee in Good Spirits contests.
I’m super stoked to say that I am headed to Milan to report on this event! I’ll be writing about it here on our blog for the entire event, and also in the June/July issue of Barista Magazine I’m so excited to see and be a part of this unique and extraordinary barista exercise and community building event.
Check back often to see what these national champs are up to in Milan!
