Checking out the show floor, the global competitions, and more at Europe’s biggest specialty-coffee show.
BY CAROLINE CORMIER
SPECIAL TO BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Cover photo by Caroline Cormier
The heatwave that has left Berliners sweltering this week hasn’t stopped droves of visitors from turning up at the 2019 World of Coffee event to chat with coffee roasters, baristas, producers, and other professionals from around the world about the latest products and innovations.
The 2019 World of Coffee features over 300 exhibitors on the show floor, a vast schedule of lectures covering a wide variety of topics, and a competition roster featuring four World Coffee Championships events: World Latte Art, World Coffee in Good Spirits, World Cup Tasters, and World Cezve/Ibrik.
One booth receiving attention on the show floor was the one from Coffee Circle, where Moritz Voigt was busy chatting with visitors over Arbe Gona coffee from Ethiopia. Moritz is one of the more than 40 coffee enthusiasts involved with the Berlin-based collective, which focuses on selling great coffee directly to the consumer. He told me about the plans on the horizon for Coffee Circle in 2019, including moving beyond German-speaking countries and tapping into the potential of offering their specialty coffee to the rest of Europe. Having opened their own Berlin-based roastery in 2016, they’re also on the cusp of launching a café in Berlin, which will come complete with a coffee e-learning and training center, regular cuppings, and coffee workshops for all levels.
Visitors also had the chance to visit the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) booth, where Kellem Angew Emanuele, president of the IWCA, was discussing the important work that the IWCA does around the world. With chapters fully operational in 24 countries, the IWCA works to ensure that women within the global coffee community can achieve meaningful and sustainable livelihoods.
Exhibiting at their first European trade show, MiiR attracted a crowd with their crisp, clean, and functional designs. This certified B Corporation makes classic tumblers made to fit into both consumers’ cup holders and their on-the-go coffee routines. They also create custom drinkware that showcase brands on the whole gamut of products they offer, including their popular camping cups and travel tumblers.
Loveramics attracted a crowd with their carefully curated and colorful booth. Loveramics has been a long-time favorite of baristas around the world, and they provided the cups for this year’s World Latte Art Championship. Simon Stevens, head of design, took visitors on a tour of their display, sharing the intricate details of each cup along the way, including their Brewers sets, the Dale Harris WBC Champions Signature Cups, and their new Nomad Mug meant for life on the go.
Also drawing many visitors was the booth of Slovenian company Goat Story, which has been going strong since raising half a million dollars through Kickstarter for their Goat Mugs in 2014. Their team continues to ride the coffee wave with their 2016 GINA, the first smart coffee instrument with a built-in scale and an app that enables you to brew coffee with pourover, immersion, and cold drip. Emi Fukahori, the 2018 World Brewers Cup champion from Switzerland, was on-hand to serve up Laurina coffee courtesy of Daterra Coffee.
On display at the Coffeedesk stand was the electric Stagg EKG Pour-over Kettle by Fellow Coffee, which was only recently unveiled in Europe. The kettle is optimized to deliver the perfect pour every time with its built-in accurate temperature control, precisely profiled gooseneck, and built-in stopwatch.
The custom packaging offered by Savor Brands also caught the eye of show-goers. With a keen attention to detail, bright colors, and clean designs, the prototypes of their current mythical brand, Pono, showcased the endless possibilities of their zero-waste custom packaging offers, including the incorporation of holographic material, thermographic ink, and even augmented reality.
Cuppings took place throughout the two Roaster Villages and in the specialized Cupping Rooms throughout the day, drawing many slurping coffee lovers.
As the activity on the floor began to wind down for the day and visitors awaited the announcement of the semifinalists for the World Latte Art Championship, DaVinci Gourmet came through with a refreshing apple strudel-flavored coffee cocktail served up by London’s Celeste Wong, who is also known as The Girl in the Café.
Here’s the recipe for those interested in trying it at home:
25 ml DaVinci Gingerbread syrup
25-30 ml espresso
100 ml apple juice (natural, no sugar added)
Pour ingredients into a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously.
Garnish with thyme and sliced-fresh or dehydrated apple slices.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Caroline Cormier is a freelance writer from Canada. She currently lives in Berlin, where you can find her digging through archives to discover forgotten stories of the past for her Ph.D., exploring the city’s art and culture scene, or simply enjoying a good cup of coffee at a local café or farmers market.
