Russian Coffee Roasters Championship Has a Lot to Boast
The heat is definitely on for some of the best roasters in Russia as they toil over their final practice batches before the Russian national round of World Coffee Roasting Championship begins on Friday in conjunction with the Moscow Coffee & Tea Expo (MCTE). The competition will take place September 19 “23.
The winner of the Russian Roasting Championship, organized by Moscow Coffee and Tea Expo, KLD Coffee Importers Ltd., and Coffee Owl Freshly Green & Roasted Bean, will represent Russia at the World Coffee Roasting Championship in 2015.
It’s only the fourth year for this competition, but it already boasts soaring popularity: Applications flooded in immediately after MCTE opened registration. Only 10 roasters will show off their coffee grading skills and demonstrate the abilities to develop a roasting profile that best accentuates the desirable characteristics of a coffee.
The progressive Russian coffee projects KLD Coffee Importers Ltd. and Coffee Owl Freshly Green & Roasted Bean will co-host the event from September 19 “21. On day one, the competitors will be given some time for evaluation of the provided green coffees and for sample roasting; while on day two, they will familiarize themselves with the laboratory equipment using some dummy (i.e. not competition) coffees. And on day three, they will finally get their hands on the competition coffee and move on to the most exciting stage of the championship: production roasting. This is when things are bound to heat up! Contestants will have one day ”September 22 ”to play and practice with the coffee, before the grand finale on September 23, which will take place at one of the Moscow Coffee and Tea Expo stages called The Lab.Open Space. Here, after the final cupping, the juding panel will name the best roaster in Russia.
The MCTE team has already revealed some of the renowned judges lined up to evaluate these roasters. Among them are Gloria Pedroza, a certified WBC judge, World Cup Tasters Champion of 2006, and a seven-year veteran of judging national barista competitions; certified WBC-judge and WBrC and WLAC judge, Polina Vladimirova, the first Russian Q-grader, El Salvador 2013, Honduras 2012, Guatemala 2010 Cup of Excellence Judge, Head Manager at Coffeemania barista training centre; green coffee buyer, SCAE member and certified WBC judge and Denis Sigulin, quality manager at KLD Coffee Importers.
The competitor pool is quite impressive ”it includes Barista Champion of Russia, Dmitry Boroday, who is also the two-time Russian Roasting Champ, and two-time Russian Cup Tasters Champ; and Panov Daniil, a Russian Q-grader, among other talents. The judges will have a tough time determining a winner, but a champion will be crowned on September 23! Stay tuned for more news from the Moscow Coffee & Tea Expo, right here on Barista Magazine’s blog!
