From left, former Spanish Barista Champion Javier, reigning Spanish Latte Art Champion Miguel, and 2011 World Latte Art Champion Christos of Greece, take in the June+July issue of Barista Magazine.
Really now, this is pretty much paradise. If all trade shows could be held in such an idyllic location as the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe’s World of Coffee event here in Nice, France, I suspect we would never get any work done. However, we are being very productive in the daytime, and we party at night, so it seems like a pretty good mix.
After a few days in London, which was rainy and cold and not at all like summer, it’s fantastic to be here in the sunshine by the sea. And the best part? Seeing coffee friends from all over the world. As I write this, I am seated at the bar at Cafes Richards’ booth on the show floor, watching Jen Marks, the Australian Latte Art Champion, practice for her competition time. So there are French people to my right, Aussies in front of me, Germans, Norwegians, Italians, and all other nationalities around me. It’s such a wonderful show.
To give you an idea of how things are going here, I’m posting photos from the show floor, as well as the hugely fun and totally awesome SCAE & Coffee Kids party last night, which was held on Hi Beach.
Unic, the espresso machine company responsible for the boutique machine, Stella di Caffe, is based here in Nice, France, so this is really their party! Here, Anastasia and Sauro of Unic enjoy themselves in the booth.French Latte Art Champion Rudy (far left) poses with Australian Latte Art Champion Jen, as well as Anthony Calvez, the French Barista Champion in 2008 and 2010, at the Cafes Richard booth.2009 World Barista Champion Gwilym Davies goes in for a kiss with Lauro of Nuova Siomonelli at the Coffee Kids Beach Party.World Coffee Events Chair Carl Sara (in beach attire, left) poses with past Greek Barista Champion Stefanos Domatiotis.Luzia poses with the full page photo of her in the current issue (June+July) of Barista Magazine.Stefanos poses with Yiannis at the Coffee Kids party; Stefanos works for Yiannis at the esteemed roasting company in Athens, Taf.From left, former Spanish Barista Champion Javier, reigning Spanish Latte Art Champion Miguel, and 2011 World Latte Art Champion Christos of Greece, take in the June+July issue of Barista Magazine.Latte art champions unite! Miguel and Luzia at the Coffee Kids party.Cafes Richard is kind enough to welcome the World Latte Art competitors to the company’s booth to practice. Here, the latte art champs of Ireland and Italy practice their pours.Michael of Cafes Richard works at lightening speed!George Howell gets a kick out of the Nespresso booth.2012 World Barista Champion Raul Rodas emcees the World Latte Art Championship. Here, he interviews French Latte Art Champion Rudy after Rudy’s stellar performance.Raul chats with the latte art champion of Slovakia after his performance.Stefanos look very serious, jusding at the World Latte Art Championship.In the Nuova Simonelli booth, Cosimo gets a hug from Nadia of Coffeemania, Moscow.Head judge Sonja Grant (in red dress) assesses the performance of crowd favorite, the Spanish Latte Art Champion, Miguel.The Marco Brew Bar features some of the best coffees ”not to mention baristas brewing them ”in the world.Old friends: Matts, who owns da Mateo in Sweden (left) and Jens, owner of Europa in Copenhagen, and head honcho of Nordic Barista Cup.Akos (in blue short with shoulder bag), the reigning World Coffee in Good Spirits Champion, stops by the Coffee Kids booth to pick up his ticket for the beach party.Costas ”who you may remember from the cover of Barista Magazine in February+March 2006, shows me a new device he created which reduces coffee waste by raising the sides of the portafilter.David Latourell of Solberg & Hansen in Oslo leads a cupping inn the SCAE show’s Village area.
Sarah Allen (she/her) is co-founder and editor of Barista Magazine, the international trade magazine for coffee professionals. A passionate advocate for baristas, quality, and the coffee community, Sarah has traveled widely to research stories, interact with readers, and present on a variety of topics affecting specialty coffee. She also loves animals, swimming, ice cream, and living in Portland, Oregon.
