World of Coffee (WOC) has announced the New Product of the Show Awards recognising some of the most exciting new innovations to enter the market over the past 12 months.
The contenders featured a mix of products and services including a robot, cacao tea made with the the most remote and smallest beans, a chocolate bar factory, a new environmentally-friendly black paper coffee bag, and an advanced press-type coffee brewer, just to name a few.
This year’s winners, announced on 23 June, were selected by an independent panel of coffee and hospitality experts following an intensive judging process, combining written submissions and videos.
And the winners are:
Best New Professional Espresso Machine – Slayer Steam.
A special mention went to Gruppo Cimbali SPA for the Faema E71.
This machine aims to raise the industry standards for ergonomics, consistency, and beverage quality. The patent-pending Vaporizer™ creates dry steam at custom temperatures, enabling coffee professionals to coax out high levels of gloss, sweetness, and creaminess.
Espresso extraction is managed through customised volumetrics, increasing efficiency and consistency. Slayer has also introduced Accu-Flow, a technology that features four programmable steam flow presets, easily configured through the digital barista dashboard.
“The steam system demonstrates the ability to enhance consumer experience of the final product in the cup,” the Jury said.
Best New Professional Small Equipment – Milk Mate by La Cultura del Caffe.
“The Milk Mate provides a compact, practical solution that will improve productivity, speed of service and reduce waste,” said the Jury.
Best New Food/Non-Coffee Beverage – Hazel Mountain Cacao Tea.
A special mention went to Coffee Cherry from Mare Terra Green Coffee.
“This tea, a by-product of the cocoa process, provides a satisfying beverage that is not only sustainable but with a distinctive flavour and aroma in the cup,” the Jury said.
Best New Roasters Product – Coffee-tech engineering with the Silon ZR-7.
The Jury described this as a “well designed mini roaster that would complement a shop environment and enable a barista approach to roasting”.
Best New Consumer Product – Beans Corp with the Cafflano Kompact.
“A great, compact coffee brewer displaying high levels of innovation to enable consumers to drink great coffee on the move,” the Jury said.
Best New IT and Technology Innovation – Artisan Coffee Group with the Open Cup.
“An easy-to-use, labour saving software package that enables multiple users to aggregate sensory data in a simple to use format,” the Jury commented.
Best New Packaging – Ahlstrom with the Green Capsule Top Lid.
The jury said this product has the potential to deliver significant environmental benefits in the growth area of single-serve capsule coffee.
“The New Product of the Show Awards are one of the most eagerly anticipated features at WOC, and this year’s competition has proved yet again that innovation is ripe in the coffee and foodservice sectors,” said David Veal, Executive Director, Specialty Coffee Association of Europe.
Thousands of people have made their way to Dublin, Ireland for WOC, one of Europe’s greatest coffee events.
Taking place from 23 – 25 June, WOC is celebrating its 16th anniversary. The event attracts some of the industry’s most influential producers, suppliers and professionals to learn about the latest trends and developments in the sector, and compete in major international competitions.
To keep up-to-date with all the news from Dublin, stay tuned to www.worldofcoffee-dublin.com.
