Martin Shabaya, the Kenya National Barista Champion, whips up a cup of coffee. FILE PHOTO | NMG
A Kenyan has become the first African in the history of the
World Barista Championships to qualify for the semi-finals of the
competition.
Martin Shabaya, who was the winner of
Kenya National Barista Championship 2017 edition, reached the
semi-finals of the World Barista Championship (WBC) held in Seoul South
Korea last month, making Kenya the first country on the continent to
have reached that level.
Agriculture and Food
Authority director general Alfred Busolo says this means Kenya has some
of the best coffee makers who are now ranking with the likes of the US
where coffee culture is more developed.
“This implies
we are among the best in the world on value addition and it comes as a
boost to our coffee industry,” said Mr Busolo.
WBC is a premier barista competition with the winners of each national barista championship competing for the world title.
Competitors
prepare and serve 12 coffee beverages in 15 minutes - four espresso,
four cappuccino, and four signature drinks to be tested by four sensory
judges.
Points
are awarded for the taste of each individual drink and consideration is
given to raw materials used and style of the beverage.
Competitors
should strive for a harmonious balance of sweetness, acidity and
bitterness. Contestants are advised to explain verbally to the judges
why they chose their particular coffee, the basic roast profile, the
espresso constituent structure and the major taste elements.
The barista competition format was created in Norway and the WBC was dominated in its early years by Scandinavian baristas.
The
competition is owned and organised jointly by the Specialty Coffee
Association of America (SCAA) and the Specialty Coffee Association of
Europe (SCAE).
The championship this year attracted 58
competitors from around the globe. Cafe Show Seoul hosted the 2017
contest at the Coex Exhibition Centre in Gangnam
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