Baristas warm up for coffee Olympics
Anthony Douglas has been preparing to represent his country for the past seven years.
This practice will culminate in a 15-minute head-to-head competition later this month. Mr. Douglas will compete against other baristas in the unofficial coffee Olympics, which is not a typical sporting event.
The World Barista Championship and World Brewers Cup, held in Melbourne this year, are the most prestigious coffee competitions in the world, with only one or two competitors per country.
Baristas devote countless hours to practice and bring support crews to maintain their specialized equipment, while spectators from around the globe fly in to watch the competition from a grandstand.
Mr. Douglas may be the hometown favorite as the reigning Australian barista champion, but he is not taking anything for granted.
Mr. Douglas told AAP, “It will be a very big deal for me, something I’ve worked toward for a very long time.”
“It is regarded as the pinnacle of achievement within the industry in terms of skill recognition and evaluation.”
Approximately fifty individuals will compete in the World Barista Championship, which tests espresso-making abilities, while thirty-five filter coffee brewers will compete for the World Brewers Cup.
In only 15 minutes, baristas must serve one espresso, one milk drink, and one inventive coffee concoction to each of the four judges to demonstrate their full range of abilities.
Then, they must describe in detail the flavors of the coffee to the panel.
Mr. Douglas stated that differences in coffee flavor and texture were due to a variety of factors, including bean quality, roast, water-to-coffee ratio, and barista experience.
