After a successful event at this year’s Specialty Coffee Expo, The Barista League jumps back to Europe for a fun-filled event in Zagreb, Croatia!
BY ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Cover photo by Carolyn West
Get ready to party! The Barista League comes back to Europe after a quick jaunt in the United States for this year’s Specialty Coffee Expo. After a huge turnout in Boston, where this year’s Expo was held, the folks behind The Barista League have their sites set on Zagreb, Croatia.
“The Barista League: Zagreb is being hosted by RNB (Restaurant and Bar) Weekend, a new innovative festival for the coffee, food, and beverage industries. This means in addition to all the usual festivities, there will be tonnes of additional workshops, coffee demos, a beer garden, and food stalls,” a press release states. The event will take place on May 24, and the winners of the event will receive a trip to South Korea—they’ll join the winners of the Helsingborg Barista League event earlier this year, as well as the winners of a yet-to-be-announced competition later this year.
As always, the competition will focus on fun and exciting team events that are more light-hearted than the serious-minded barista and coffee competitions we’re used to seeing. “The teams will be competing in three rounds of fast-paced challenges: Barista Skills, Sensory Skills, and the notorious Mystery Round,” the press release states.
“In the first round, teams will be dialing in espresso and milk drinks on the Rancilio Specialty and Compak PKR Grinders *while* they sample roast coffee on the IKAWA PRO roaster at the same time. In round two, teams will try to identify five colored, flavored infusions of flavors found on the SCA Flavor Wheel. And in the final round, teams will grind up those IKAWA sample roasts on Baratza Virtuosos and blind cup all the results. Teams and judges will have a chance to award points to their favorite cups,” the press release states.
In the spirit of teamwork and friendly competition, the winners will engage in a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style trip when they travel to South Korea. “The trip’s attendees will all get input into the type of adventure they want to have. The Barista League wants everything they do to be as rewarding and fun as possible for everyone involved … and this prize trip is no exception!” reads the press release.
Fundamental to The Barista League events is a focus on social initiatives. “The Barista League also released their first ever Environmental Impact Statement from their recent event in Helsingborg, Sweden,” the press release states. “While The Barista League is still a small event, they want to push themselves to do better, be more sustainable, and make a lot of (small, but) better decisions about their events. By releasing this document, they hope that it will inspire other people making events in the coffee community to consider the environmental impact of their own event as well.”
The Barista League: Zagreb is free for folks with an RNB ticket, and kicks off May 24 at 5:30 p.m.!
