World Coffee Events’ (WCE) Working Group has released the 2017 Rules and Regulations for the 2017 Budapest Championships, which includes the World Brewers Cup, World Latte Art Championship, World Coffee in Good Spirits and World Cup Tasters Championship, taking place from 13 – 15 June, 2017 at World of Coffee in Budapest.
In a video release on 14 December, WCE said its world coffee competitions follow comprehensive rules and regulations that are constantly in evolution, with committees of experts updating them every year.
Some of the highlights include:
- World Latte Art Championship expands with a Semi-Finals round focused on free pour designs
To respond to the growing number of World Latte Art Championship (WLAC) competitors and better recognise the diverse array of technical and aesthetic skills involved in the competition, a new Semi-Finals round, focused wholly on free-pour lattes and macchiatos, is being created. The WLAC Final Round will consist of both free-pour and designer lattes.
WCE says the impact of the Semi-Finals round will be to give more weight to free-pouring skills in the overall competition. As more evaluation opportunities are added, the effect of the Art Bar score on the preliminary round is being de-emphasised. The required macchiato designs have been moved from the Finals to the Semi-Finals, leaving the Finals focused wholly on free-pour and designer lattes. Competitors are also being encouraged to waste less milk, and some clarifications are being made to technical evaluation, and allowed beverage decoration.
- World Brewers Cup Championship allow competitors to instruct the judges in evaluation
To allow for more creativity in service and better standardise judging, a new evaluation protocol will give competitors the ability to instruct the judges in evaluation and utilise different vessels for aroma evaluation. This protocol is inspired by the World Barista Championship (WBC) procedures, and aims to ensure fairness and integrity in the World Brewers Cup (WBrC).
There are also clarifications on grinder usage, over-time disqualification, and which items are allowed on the judges’ table.
New procedures are being implemented to improve the quality and consistency of the compulsory coffee brewed by all competitors, and to verify the integrity of the water and brewing equipment used.
- World Cup Tasters Championship to allow water on the table
Minor changes have been made to the handling of water and spit cups. Based on feedback from competitors and staff, specific direction in regards to water containers and spit cups has been clarified. Competitors – you can now put your water on the table. Specific direction for competitor use of sponsor supplies, when provided, has also been included.
- World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship performance times lengthened and standardised grinders introduced
The World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship’s handling of sponsor grinders is another rule being aligned with WBC procedure. To give every competitor equal opportunity and to minimise the need to travel with equipment, all competitors are now required to use standardised grinders for both espresso and filter coffee, which will be made available for practice and performance at the event by the sponsor. Additional time is being provided in the Spirit Bar, Stage Performance, and Finals preparation times. Competitors will now have the option to choose at which point in their service they wish to signal the end of their performance time.
The Rules and Regulations working group is a global selection of experts who volunteer their time to ensure that the world coffee competitions reflect the highest possible standards for the coffee industry. This process seeks to improve the competitor experience, increase fairness, and honour the support of our community and our sponsors, so the world coffee competitions can continue to grow with our industry.
“These changes ensure that the world coffee competitions reflect the leading edge of coffee seen through the eyes of global experts in each competition committee,” said WCE.
For full rules, explanations and summaries, visit www.worldcoffeeevents.org/rules/
Updates will soon follow for the World Barista Championship Regulations for Seoul, South Korea in 2017.