From March 11 to March 13, 2021, in Moscow, within the framework of the Coffee Tea Cacao Russian Expo (CTCRE), competitions were traditionally held among the most experienced and outstanding masters of the country's coffee business. The Russian Barista Days hosted 5 coffee championships, 2 of which are the exhibition's own coffee projects: the Barista of the Year National Award and the Roaster of the Year National Award.
19 baristas from all over Russia took part in the National Award "Barista of the Year". Anastasia Vaininskaya (Sibaristica) became the champion. The second place was taken by Daniil Kochetkov (Sibaristica), the third - Mikhail Shchepetov ("Cheboko"). More details about the results can be found link on website of the Prize.
- The victory was unexpected, there were a lot of strong participants and performances. It seems to me that the championship was previously underestimated. Last year, Ilya Polikarpov set a very high bar, and the participants prepared very seriously. I think next year there will be even more cool recipes and talented solutions.,
- the winner Anastasia Vaininskaya shared her first impressions.
The prize is annually supported by the Rosteacofe Association, which provides cash prizes for the winners. The General Director of the Association Ramaz Chanturia notes:
- I believe that such independent competitions should definitely take place in Russia, since this is a great opportunity for baristas from all over the country not only to compete, but also to receive vivid emotions and support, and, most importantly, to feel like a part of a large coffee community. The national award "Barista of the Year" has already become a significant event for the coffee industry in Russia, participation in which is an excellent professional start for every barista, regardless of income and place of work, as it gives everyone equal opportunities, and the Association's task is to support coffee professionals and create conditions for their further development and career growth.
We congratulate the winners, wish them further success in their profession and remind Anastasia that a special prize awaits Anastasia, which was prepared by the general sponsor of the championship - the Amenari company together with the Cimbali group: a trip to Italy, training at the MUMAC Academy under the SCA course program, as well as a visit to the Cimbali Group production and the Museum of Coffee Machines.
The national award "Roaster of the Year" was held this year in 2 stages. The first stage involved 60 roasters from all over Russia, the second - 25, where they provided two types of coffee: a free roast, which the company chooses from its range, and a mandatory roast - coffee provided by a sponsor. Aleksey Stakanov (Arome company) became the champion, the second place was awarded to Grigory Feklistov (Stereo Coffee company), and the third - to Artem Sedov (Roasting Brew company). More details about the results can be found link on website of the Prize.
- This was my first experience, I just laid out on everything: watched coffee, tasted, roasted, analyzed, tasted, chose. At first I was very worried about the first stage, when I passed with the third result, I had a chance to win. I waited for the second coffee to come, chose a lot of beans for arbitrary roasting, took a long drip. Out of 40 varieties, I chose only one, which I roasted and sent. The most important thing is to work, try, taste, look for something further and go to a delicious cup, -
Alexey considers.
Aleksey also became the best in compulsory roasting, for which he received a special commemorative prize from the green grain sponsor of the KLD Coffee Importers Company.
The best roasting company was named Stereo Coffee, which was represented by roaster Grigory Feklistov.
The winners and awardees will travel to Tanzania on a coffee trip organized by the sponsor of the Prize, KLD Coffee Importers. We wish them further success in creating delicious beans, and we will definitely make a separate report on the coffee journey on the pages of our magazine "KICH".
Another championship of the magazine "KICH" - Tea Latte Battle for making tea with milk was held at the exhibition site. The main objective of the competition is to show the ability to work with such a product as matcha, its combination with milk or herbal products, as well as the ability to create drawings and interesting copyright drinks. Margarita Kafidova, "Kafema" became the champion. The full list of participants with points has been published link.
- For me it was very exciting, it was the first championship of this kind, in which I participated, where I had to prepare. This victory was justified by how often I trained drawing, because I had not done latte art before and it was even difficult for me to make this butterfly, but I am very glad that it turned out,
- shares Margarita.
For the first time this year, an invited Insane Latte Art Battle championship took place on the RBD site. This is an independent championship for creating drawings on coffee using frothed milk. Anatoly Bambulyak (Element Coffee) took the first place in it, the honorable second place was taken by Maya Mikhailova (Paulig Café & Store), and the third - Nikolay Shakov (Beloque).
In addition to these competitions, 2 qualifying coffee championships were held as part of the Russian Barista Days under the auspices of the SCA.
Prizes in the Moscow Latte Art Championship Qualifiers were distributed as follows:
1st place - Polina Notic (Roast & Crosby),
2nd place - Vladislav Sheinfeld (KOF ROASTERY),
3rd place - Veronica Shagova ("Doublebee").
A complete list with the estimated scores of all participants is published link.
At the Moscow qualifying championship in cap testing, co-organized and sponsored by Tasty Coffee Roasters, the best were identified:
1st place - Roman Sorokin (Just Coffee) with a score of 6 cups out of 8 (time 7:37:97),
2nd place - Valery Nikulin ("Welder Ekaterina") with a score of 5 cups out of 8 (time 6:35:13),
3rd place - Yulia Semenova ("MAY") with the result of 5 cups out of 8 (6:44:88).
The fourth place was taken by Oleg Kondaurov ("Coffee Owl") with the result: 4 cups out of 8 (time 7:07:41).
A complete list with the results of all participants has been published link.
The winner and runners-up of the SCA qualifying championships will continue their performances at the National Championships. We will definitely cheer for them and monitor their progress.
Three unforgettable days filled with emotions and coffee aromas flew by like an instant. But nothing would have happened if not for the support of our sponsors and partners.
General sponsors:
Milk and Cream Sponsor - Parmalat Company and White City Brand;
Tea Latte Battle coffee machine sponsor - Delovaya Rus company, official distributor of Nuova Simonelli equipment, which provided Victoria Arduino coffee machines;
The sponsor for coffee machines and coffee grinders for the National Barista of the Year Award and the Latte Art Championship is Amenari together with the Cimbali group with the M100HDA ATTIVA coffee machines and LaCimbali ELECTIVE coffee grinders.
Official sponsors and partners:
Sponsor and co-organizer of the National Cup Testing Championship - Tasty Coffee;
Boiler sponsor - FRANCO company, exclusive distributor of the Marco brand;
Herbal Drinks Sponsor - OraSi Brand;
Tea ware sponsor - Elephant Tea Company;
Disposable tableware sponsor - the company "Huhtamaki Russia";
Octo Storm Brewing Equipment Sponsor - Under Ground Coffee Project;
Sponsor of Tea Matcha for the Tea Latte Battle Championship is ORIGAMI TEA;
Sponsors of promotional clothing for volunteers - ROASTING BREW;
Coffee sponsor of the Moscow Latte Art Championship Qualifier - Paulig;
Coffee sponsor of the Roaster of the Year National Award - KLD Coffee Importers;
Espresso Coffee and Milk Drink Sponsor of the National Barista of the Year Award - Coffee Workshop;
Coffee Sponsor for Alternative Brewing of the National Barista of the Year Award - GreenCof;
Water filtration sponsor of the Russian Barista Championship, the Roaster of the Year National Award - BACBUSTERS with EVERPURE filtration systems;
Water filtration sponsor of the National Barista of the Year Award and the Moscow Latte Art Championship Qualifier is BWT water + more;
Sponsor for weights is Gourmet Style with the Acaia brand;
The sponsor for brewing equipment for the Cap Testing Championship and the National Roaster of the Year Award is Gourmet Style with Curtis D500 filter machines;
The grinder sponsor for the National Award “Barista of the Year” and “Roaster of the Year” is Gourmet Style with the brand Baratza;
The cleaning products sponsor is Gourmet Style with the Urnex brand.
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Partners:
Ice partner - Ledocool;
Coffee packaging partner - ABCpack;
The championship partner is Opticom;
Apron Partner - Checkedout
The brewing partner is Kafema.
We would like to thank our wonderful hosts, professional judges, all volunteers and, of course, the participants of the championships, who created a real holiday for professionals and coffee lovers.
The next exhibition will take place on April 6-8, 2022, and we are already planning a lot of new and interesting things! Follow our news - stay up to date with the latest Russian Barista Days events!
The championships were held with the support of the Rosteacofe Association and the Russian branch of SCA.
The championships and the exhibition are organized by the Coffee and Tea in Russia magazine.
Photos from the championships are available link
Video clip available link
Recordings of participants' performances from the championships are available link
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Exhibition site Coffee Tea Cacao Russian Expo