World Coffee Events (WCE) has released the 2018 World Barista Championship (WBC) teams.
Alongside individual barista performances at the WBC in Amsterdam, taking place from 20 to 23 June, competitors will be grouped into 10 teams as part of the 2018 Teams Competition.
Australia’s Craig Simon of Veneziano Coffee will join Team Steam, which includes the national Barista Champion from Singapore, Switzerland, Nicaragua, Sweden and Ukraine.
The other team groupings include:
Team Tamper: Brazil, Malaysia, Slovakia, Canada, Philippines, Uganda
Team Blend: Austria, Kazakhstan, Romania, Hong Kong, Peru and Russia
Team Brew: China, Greece, South Africa, El Salvador, Latvia and Spain
Team Espresso: Belgium, Mexico, United Kingdom, Kenya, New Zealand and Vietnam
Team Extract: Belarus, Guatemala, Lithuania, Denmark, Japan and United Arab Emirates
Team Knockbox: Czech Republic, Ireland, Panama, Honduras, Norway and Thailand
Team Portafilter: Colombia, Hungary, South Korea, Germany, Netherlands and Zambia
Team Pressure: India, Italy, Turkey, Indonesia, Poland, United States
Team Scale: Costa Rica, France, Portugal, Ecuador, Iceland and Taiwan
The WBC teams competition is designed to foster and encourage that same spirit of mutual support amongst competitors. Participating groups are equally weighted based on historical performance of their national body.
Competitors will continue to give the standard on-stage performance to the audience and a panel of judges, while working with and supporting their teammates behind the scenes. Each team also works a shift on the Team Bar, where competitors will work together to decide on menu, equipment and service.
The overall winner of the Teams competition will be determined by combining each team member’s individual score from the WBC preliminary round.
The team with the highest combined score win the WBC Teams Competition, and some great prizes, including the chance to participate in a future WCE All-Stars event.
The highest ranking member of the winning team who is not already qualified into semi finals will win a spot as the 16th semi-finalist, and continue in the WBC.
In 2017, the WBC Teams competition was won by Team Tamper, which included Canada, China, Italy, Kenya, and Romania. Kenya’s Martin Shabaya qualified into semi-finals, and also joined the WCE All-Stars event at Hotelex Shanghai.
More than 60 competitors will take to the stage in Amsterdam, The Netherlands at the World of Coffee show. With regional competitions well under way, qualified competitors will have started planning their preliminary round performance, preparing three espresso-based courses in 15 minutes to a panel of judges and the audience. Alongside the preliminary round on day one and two, competitors will also collaborate in groups of teams, as part of the WBC Teams Competition.
Over the last 18 years, WCE says it’s been clear to see that behind every barista, there is a strong support network, from coaches, to producers, to roasters.
For more information, visit www.worldcoffeeevents.org
Image credit: World Coffee Events