London’s 2018 Coffee Masters competitors have been revealed.
Australia’s Shinsaku Fukayama of St Ali made the cut, and hopes to follow the footsteps of former colleague and 2016 London Coffee Masters winner Ben Morrow.
Shinsaku is one of 24 baristas named in the Coffee Masters competition, taking place at The London Coffee Festival from 12 to 15 April
Shinsaku impressed an expert panel with his submission video, featuring his Samurai Shake signature drink. This includes Japanese ume fruit liqueur, chocolate liqueur, strawberry liqueur, yuzu, espresso, egg white, vanilla syrup, mixed, shaken and served on ice with freezed dried strawberry to garnish. See Shinsaku’s signature video
here.
Other competitors to make the cut include seven representatives from the United Kingdom, two from the United States and Czech Republic, and one from Denmark, Hungary, The Netherlands, Russia, Poland, Germany, Latvia, Romania, Canada, Germany, Italy and Ireland.
Coffee Masters is a fast-paced, multi-disciplinary global barista tournament, featuring seven disciplines and one winner.
During the competition, baristas undertake different challenges that emulated the busy working environment of a professional barista. The different category rounds include cupping, brewing, latte art, the order challenge, the signature drink, the espresso blend and the origin. These disciplines are designed to test a barista’s skill, knowledge, creativity, professionalism and presentation in a head-to-head, fast-paced battle. The Coffee Masters contestants will use a Faema E71 coffee machine and either a Mahlkönig EK43, K30 Vario Air or Peak.
Competitors have the chance to join a prestigious line-up of world-class baristas and be in with the chance of taking home more than £5000 (more than A$8000) cash prize.
This year, Coffee Masters will welcome back Anne Lunell as Head Judge. Tim Wendelboe, Freda Yuan, Kris Schackman, Mikaela Wallgren, Sonja Zweidick and David Donde will also take on judging roles.
Stepping up to the mic this year as emcees will be Gwilym Davies, Founder of Prufrock Coffee; Jordan Michelman, Co-founder of Sprudge.com; and Lem Butler, United States champion barista.
The London Coffee Masters Festival will feature La Marzocco’s True Artisan Cafe, workshops, pop-up cafes, cocktails, art, food pairings and more
For more information, click here. To view all the contestant’s signature videos, click here www.londoncoffeefestival.com/WhatsOn/CoffeeMasters
