Australian representatives Amy Zhang, Danny Andrade and Artem Kryuchenkov will be among 90 competitors to compete in the 2023 World Coffee Championship (WCC), taking place at the Taiwan International Coffee Show from 17 to 20 November.
Australian Specialty Coffee Association (ASCA) Australian Latte Art Champion Amy, of Archer Speciality Coffee Roasters in Queensland, won the national title in August 2022, and will finally get the chance to compete and share her skills to a global audience.
World Latte Art Championship
In the preliminary round of the championship, baristas will produce a single creative latte pattern at the Art Bar, then move to the stage to create two identical free-pour lattes and two identical designer lattes, which allow etching and decoration.
Scores from the Art Bar and stage are combined, with the top 12 to qualify for the semi-finals. In this round, competitors will make two matching sets of different free-pour latte patterns, and one matching set of free-pour macchiatos.
The top six semi-finalists qualify for the final round, where competitors will make two different matching sets of free-pour latte patterns, and one matching set of designer lattes.
Baristas are judged based on visual attributes, creativity, identical patterns in the pairs, contrast in patterns, and overall performance.
The top-scoring competitor in the final round will be declared champion.
The schedule for this year’s competitions can be found here, with details of the World Latte Art Championship as follows:
- Day 1 Art Bar, 17 November at 2:45pm AEDT (11:45am CST)
- Round 1, 18 November at 7:45pm AEDT (4:45pm CST)
- The semi-finalists will be announced on 18 November at 9pm AEDT (6pm CST)
World Coffee in Good Spirits
Danny of Neli Coffee in Queensland will fly the Australian flag in the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship.
In a recent interview with BeanScene, Danny says he was “honoured and very grateful” to everyone that has helped him prepare for the competition.
“My family, team, and friends have all been so supportive. I’m very lucky to be surrounded by such generous people in Queensland,” he says.
“I’m excited to share my message through my routine and connect with people.”
During the preliminary round, competitors will produce four drinks – two identical hot/warm coffee and alcohol-based designer drinks, and two identical cold coffee and alcohol-based designer drinks. The six competitors with the highest preliminary scores will compete in the final round.
The final round requires competitors to produce two Irish Coffees and two coffee-and-alcohol-based designer drinks. The highest-scoring final round competitor will be named World Champion.
- Round 1, 19 November at 12:27pm AEDT (9:27am CST)
- Finalists will be announced on 19 November at 9:32pm AEDT (6:32pm CST)
World Coffee Roasting Championship
Artem from Bench Coffee Co in Victoria will compete in the World Coffee Roasting Championship.
In this three-stage event, competitors are evaluated on their performance evaluating the quality of green coffee (coffee grading), developing a roasting profile that best accentuates the desirable characteristics of that coffee, and on the ultimate cup quality of coffees roasted.
The winner will be announced on the final day.
To watch the livestream of each competition, visit the event website.
