World of Coffee Amsterdam takes place this week, where baristas from all over the globe will compete in the World Barista Championship—here’s what you need to know.
BY ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Photos courtesy of World Coffee Events
Wednesday, June 20, marks the beginning of World of Coffee in Amsterdam, the annual coffee trade show, which this year hosts the World Barista Championship (WBC). Coffee professionals from around the world will soon be flocking to the event, where attendees can walk the show floor, attend innovative workshops, and witness baristas battle it out for the prestigious distinction of the best barista in the world.
Along with the WBC—which begins day one of the preliminary round on Wednesday—World of Coffee will host lectures, a roaster village, competitions for design and product development in coffee, and events like Automating Excellence, a partnership between World Coffee Events and Cup of Excellence to showcase coffees made on super-automatic machines. There will also a showcase of vintage espresso machines so attendees can see how the category has evolved over the years.
Along with World of Coffee, there will be a number of parties and events throughout the week, like the The Barista League Midsummer Party hosted by the always awesome Ally Coffee team, and the Bitterballen Bal, a happy hour featuring local snacks (like Bitterbal, a deep-fried snack usually filled with meat) hosted by us at Barista Magazine in partnership with our friends at Cafe Imports. Both of those parties are free and open to all. Tickets to the official WOC launch party on Thursday are 50 Euro and can be purchased here. And of course, it wouldn’t be a WBC without a killer after-party; this year’s party will take place on Saturday evening, and tickets will be available for purchase in the World of Coffee store at the show.
If you’re in Amsterdam and you want to check out the local café and beer scene, Merijn Gijsbers and Lex Wenneker—who between them have won the past four national barista championships in Holland—worked with our friends at Urnex, the official WBC Cleaning Sponsor, to create an awesome guide to the best coffee and beer in the city. You can check it out here.
Here’s a full list of the round one WBC schedule (all times GMT +1):
DAY ONE, Wednesday, June 20
9:15 – Winston Thomas, South Africa
9:23 – Joshua Tarlo, United Kingdom
9:31 – Joo Yeon, South Korea
10:01 – Massimo Santoro, France
10:09 – Benjamin Roque, Panama
10:17 – Michalis Katsiavos, Greece
10:47 – Tonny Gitonga, Kenya
10:55 – Andre Osthues, Germany
11:03 – Khadija Ósk Sraidi, Iceland
11:38 – Athip Archalerttrakool, Thailand
11:41 – Jonathan Mendoza, El Salvador
11:49 – Vu Tran Nguyen Anh, Vietnam
12:19 – Lex Wenneker, The Netherlands
12:27 – Jeremy Chaves, Costa Rica
12:35 – Tore Øverleir, Norway
1:05 – Pan Zhimin, China
1:13 – Remy Poirot, Belgium
1:21 – Torok Ádam, Hungary
1:51 – Diego Mejía, Ecuador
1:59 – Adam Neubauer, Czech Republic
2:07 – Danil Kapelukhovsky, Spain
2:37 – Ariadna Chaparro, Mexico
2:45 – Ronald Valero, Colombia
2:53 – Meng-Shin Lai, Taiwan
3:23 – Arvind Khedun, Ireland
3:31 – John Gordon, New Zealand
3:39 – Perdo Marmelo, Portugal
DAY TWO, Thursday, June 21
9:15 – Kostiantyn Strelnykov, Ukraine
9:23 – David Solano, Guatemala
9:31 – Liliya Gadelshina, Russia
10:01 – Keith Koay Zizheng, Malaysia
10:09 – Pinar Aktepe, Turkey
10:17 – Craig Simon, Australia
10:47 – Takayuki Ishitani, Japan
10:55 – Camilo Giraldo, Chile
11:03 – Ochen Simon Eidodo, Uganda
11:33 – Agnieszka Rojewska, Poland
11:41 – Zenn Soon, Singapore
11:49 – Jonas Gehl, Denmark
12:19 – Chun Pan Wong, Hong Kong
12:27 – Cole Torode, Canada
12:35 – Muhammad Aga, Indonesia
1:05 – Matt Winton, Sweden
1:13 – Lyndon Recera, United Arab Emirates
1:21 – Junior Vargas Otero, Austria
1:51 – Aldrin Lumaban, Phillipines
1:59 – Davide Cavaglieri, Italy
2:07 – Mathieu Theis, Switzerland
2:37 – Daria Pinchuk, Belarus
2:45 – Adrian-Gabriel Avasilcai, Romania
2:53 – Thiago Sabino, Brazil
3:23 – Geetu Mohnani, India
3:31 – Mindaugas Ryskus, Lithuania
4:01 – Mauricio Rodriguez, Peru
4:09 – Lukas Podbehly, Slovakia
4:17 – Cole McBride, United States
4:25 – Deybis Rodriguez, Nicaragua
We’ll be providing continuing coverage all this week of the goings-on in Amsterdam, both here at Barista Magazine Online and on Instagram. Stay tuned this week for more!
