In cooperation with the Moscow Coffee and Tea Expo for its 2013 event, Nuova Simonelli and Business Russia are launching a unique educational program called Coffeeducation League ”Russia 2013.
Coffeeducation League ”Russia 2013 was born from the Barista League Championships that took place in 2012, where participants showed their skills in crafting latte art, espresso, cappuccinos, and signatures drinks, in both pairs as well as teams.
The educational program is a series of high-level courses dedicated to the most topical and relevant aspects of the current specialty coffee industry. This year, the Moscow Coffee and Tea Expo will welcome Irish Barista Champion Colin Harmon; 2009 World Barista Champion Gwilym Davies; and 2002 World Barista Champion Fritz Storm.Foreign experts were invited by Nuova Simonelli and Business Russia.
The first of these events took place on March 16 in Moscow in the café, LES, which is well known for its quality coffee and high level of service. A roaster as well as a café, LES offers only single origin coffee. Its overall friendly, focused atmosphere made LES the perfect place to host such an event.
The speakers for this first event were Stephen Leighton, who is the managing director of Has Bean Coffee Ltd., in Stafford, U.K.; and three-time Irish Barista Champion Colin Harmon, who co-owns Third Floor Espresso in Dublin. Stephen spoke about coffee origins, the best practices for evaluating beans, and the way processing centers for coffee work. Colin spoke about water: how it influences the taste of coffee, how to change the extraction, and how ratio effects the coffee overall.
The final stage of the Coffeeducation League ”Russia 2013 will take place October 3 within the Moscow Coffee and Tea Expo at the Main Business Stage. Fritz Storm ”a sought-after consultant and co-founder of The Barista Camp ”will return to Moscow to lead this session.
On the Main Business Stage at the Moscow Coffee and Tea Expo, Fritz will lead workshop participants through the coursework in two parts: the first will focus on the growing of coffee and how a thorough understanding of what happens on the farm positively effects the quality of the coffee. Fritz will share his experience of traveling around the world visiting coffee farms, including his knowledge of coffee production, harvest, selection, and the latest trends. He will advise participants on how explaining coffee production to customers can leave them with unforgettable and emotional experiences, which can secure them as longtime loyal customers.
Each participant will take a test at the end of the event, and the top finisher will win a trip to Japan to attend The Barista Camp with founders Fritz Storm and Kentaro Maruyama.
The Barista Camp is a unique event that is held in Japan at Kentaro’s roastery. The camp unites baristas and coffee producers from all over the world. During the three-day course, participants not only attend lectures but share the experience with each other, which helps them all in learning about community and the coffee industry.
The Moscow Coffee and Tea Expo team is also collaborating with Business Russia and Nuova Simonelli to present other events for the Coffeeducation League October 1, 2, and 4.
The legendary Gwilym Davies ”2009 WBC Champion, owner of London’s popular Prufrock café, and a member of the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe ”and Colin Harmon will host classes on topics that will interest baristas, café managers, and managing directors.
Gwilym’s program will consist of lectures about determining the perfect recipe for espresso, in which he will discuss the importance of the right dose, yield, and temperature. He will include theoretical and practical coursework called œBrewing With the Champions, that should prove interesting to those who are interested in pursuing an alternative brewing menu, which is a new and very popular trend in the coffee industry. Gwilym will be joined by Russian coffee experts Nikolay Christyakov (café LES), Asli Yaman (Soyuz Coffee Roasting), and Dmitry Koryukin (OMNI Coffee) who will talk about roasting in Russia, and how styles, appearance, and also the taste of coffee (both espresso and filter) differ around the world; the impact of roast profiling on blending, brewing, and customer preference, and what to choose for espresso: single origins or blends.
The reigning Irish Barista Champion, Colin Harmon, who made it to the final round of the World Barista Championship in 2013, will talk about the methods that he uses at Third Floor Espresso to differentiate his business from other cafés, and to engage customers in the understanding of specialty coffee. Colin will present a number of strategies that can be used in business to not only make excellent coffee, but to insure that customers develop an appreciation of what baristas are doing, in order to insure the customers come back. Colin will also hold a course called œBrewing With the Champions and will talk about his preferred method of brewing ”Chemex ”and what factors you should focus on while brewing it. The class will then steer toward measuring extractions and how standards in brewing will be changed in the coming years.
You can find more information about the extensive educational sessions being offered by top baristas at the Moscow Coffee and Tea Expo at www.expocoffeetea.ru. All events are free of charge, but have limited attendance.
See you at the Moscow Coffee and Tea Expo!
