Spanish Coffee Company Creates a Barista Competition for People with Down Syndrome

DSC_0257web — Baristas competed in teams, each tema member tasked with a job that fell into his area if expertise.

On September 15, at the historical Pazo de Lestrove hotel in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain, the second Galician Down Barista Championship, 21 baristas with Down syndrome (DS) competed in a very special barista competition. It was the first barista contest of its kind in the world.

Twenty-one baristas participated in this exciting competition, which offered participants fve days of training time prior to the event. — Twenty-one baristas participated in this exciting competition, which offered participants five days of training time prior to the event.

œA couple of years ago, we started training people with Down syndrome as baristas, and the experience was amazing for everyone who was involved,” says Carolina Otero, championship organizer and marketing manager of Cafento, one of the largest coffee companies in Spain. “Our baristas found a lot of satisfaction in working with Down syndrome people, and realized that they really enjoyed preparing great coffee, they were fast learners and that, with a few days of good training, they would be capable to perform like professionals. So we decided to take a step forward.

The first championship for baristas with DS was an informal affair held in Valencia in 2011. The popularity of the event was such that Carolina and her colleagues immediately got to work on the more structured Galician Down Syndrome Barista Championship, which meets the official barista competition requirements, save a few adaptations.

Baristas competed in teams, each tema member tasked with a job that fell into his area if expertise.

The championship event began a week before the actual day of competition, giving the competitors five days to train. Four teams were formed, two from the Down Compostela Foundation, in the Galician capital, Santiago de Compostela, where the famous Way of St. James ends; and two from the Association Down Vigo, a coastal city with the same name, Vigo, in the south of the Spanish autonomous region.

œThey ”the apprentices ”all wanted to make cappuccinos because latte art was what they liked the most,” says Diego LÃ³pez, a Cafento barista who trained the Compostela teams. “But the classic latte art drawings were not enough for them! One of them drew a soccer field and even Neymar’s silhouette! Neymar is an acclaimed Brazilian soccer player who plays at F. C. Barcelona.

This was the second time Cafe has hosted this special competition. The first was more informal, but with the success of this year's more structured affair, it will continue and grow in years to come. — This was the second time Cafento has hosted this special competition. The first was more informal, but with the success of this year’s more structured affair, it will continue and grow in years to come.

VÃctor Couto, the other Cafento coach, working with Vigo teams, says that œteaching people with Down syndrome is easier than I thought. There are no big differences than with any other kind of person. They come each day really eager to learn and practice.

When asked about the actual skills these barista apprentices gain during the training lessons, Couto says, œMany experienced coffee shop owners and restaurant workers are not able to do some of the things these guys have learned to do during the training week. They are developing true barista skills.”

Barista mentors from Cafento trained the competitors for five days before the competition.

This is why Cafento and the other organizers ”Down Compostela, Down Vigo, Pousadas de Compostela, and the Businessmen Association of Hotel and Catering of Santiago de Compostela ”chose to give the competition winners a job opportunity and a chance to continue improving their professional skills.

The prize for the two best teams consisted of a period of real practice in some of the best hotels in Compostela and Vigo. This is the way AC Palacio del Carmen, A Tafona do Peregrino, Hostal dos Reis CatÃ³licos, NH Obradoiro, Puerta del Camino, San Lorenzo and Tryp Santiago in Compostela, and Gran Hotel Nagari, Hesperia Vigo, NH Palacio de Vigo, Pazo los Escudos or Tryp Los Galeones, in Vigo, got involved and supported the second edition of this initiative.

The competition on September 15 drew a large and excited audience.

On September 15, a full audience packed the competition hall to watch each team’s performance. The four groups decided previously that the role of each barista should be on display during the show: there were the espresso specialists, latte art experts, and even cocktail authorities. There was a speaker, too, who was in charge of explaining every step his teammates were going through for the duration of the competition.

Each barista team included a speaker, who explained to the audience what was going on on stage throughout his team's performance. — Each barista team included a speaker, who explained to the audience what was going on on stage throughout his team’s performance.

The teams were tasked with preparing two espressos, two cappuccinos, and two coffee cocktailsfor the two official barista judges. It was determined that Café Molido, one of the Vigo teams, was the best, followed by the Latte Art team, from Compostela. But the feeling among the public and organizers was that, in the end, all the 21 new baristas were winners.

Judges carefully deliberated to determine which team was the winner.

The Galician Down Barista Championship will have a third edition next year, and Cafento is creating similar competitions in other parts of Spain.