Supporting

Part of

28-31 March 2019 | Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane.

Coffee Masters

24 contenders

7 Disciplines

1 winner

Creativity, passion, skill, knowledge and personality – this is what makes a Coffee Master.

Judged by a panel of industry figureheads, the fast-paced knockout battle format of Coffee Masters will see 24 baristas showcase their skills head-to-head across a broad range of disciplines. With a prize of £5000 on the bar, and the prestegious title of Coffee Master, the stakes are high.

This year, Poland's Agineszka Rojewska was crowned Coffee Master at The London Coffee Festival 2018, making her the first ever female to take the title in London. A now seasoned coffee competitor on the world stage, Rojewska returns home with the cash prize and the biggest title of her career: Coffee Master.

Speaking of her historic win, Rojewska commented, "this year, the level of baristas was super high, and being the first female to win in London makes it even more special for me. I’m proud to ‘clear the road’ for the next one.”

Check out last year's highlight video and the 2018 contender line-up below.

THE 2018
CONTENDERS

NAME: Janis podins
REPRESENTING: the coffee collective
FROM: Denmark

NAME: phil groves
REPRESENTING: timberyard
FROM: uk

Phil Groves Coffee Masters Application from Allegra Events on Vimeo.

NAME: shinsaku fukayama
REPRESENTING: st ali, Melbourne
FROM: japan

NAME: Kristóf Mayer
REPRESENTING: Department of coffee and social affairs
FROM: hungary

Kristof Mayer Coffee Masters Application from Allegra Events on Vimeo.

NAME: Rob Clarijs
REPRESENTING: dasawe coffee roasters x beanspire
FROM: Netherlands

Rob Clarijs Coffee Masters Application from Allegra Events on Vimeo.

NAME: Jimmy Dimitrov
REPRESENTING: clifton coffee
FROM: uk

NAME: Max white
REPRESENTING: small batch coffee roasters
FROM: uk

NAME: polina vladimirova
REPRESENTING: coffeemania
FROM: russia

NAME: Agnieszka Rojewska
REPRESENTING: freelance
FROM: poland

NAME: wissem ben rahim
REPRESENTING: ben rahim
FROM: germany

NAME: Eliasz Minkiewicz
REPRESENTING: Weanie Beans
FROM: uk

NAME: Dagne Vaskopa
REPRESENTING: rocket bean roastery
FROM: latvia

NAME: daniel horbat
REPRESENTING: network cafe
FROM: romania

NAME: cole torode
REPRESENTING: rosso coffee roasters
FROM: canada

NAME: jennifer hall
REPRESENTING: black & white coffee roasters
FROM: usa

NAME: kasey headley
REPRESENTING: trinity street coffee bar
FROM: usa

NAME: jaya chingen
REPRESENTING: lp cafe
FROM: uk

NAME: Natanaél Stürenberg
REPRESENTING: five elephant
FROM: germany

NAME: claire wallace
REPRESENTING: brew lab coffee
FROM: uk

NAME: Petra Strelecka
REPRESENTING: industra coffee
FROM: czech republic

name: sam reed
Representing: Stir Coffee
From: UK

name: matteo colaci
Representing: the bookshelf coffee house, ireland
From: italy

name: wojciech tysler
Representing: bewley's
From: ireland

NAME: tomas misar
Representing: hagen espresso bar
From: czech republic

how it works

Judged by a panel of industry figureheads, the fast-paced knockout battle format of Coffee Masters will see 20 baristas showcase their skills head-to-head across a broad range of disciplines: Cupping, Brewing, Latte Art, The Order and The Signature Drink, with The Espresso Blend being included for those who successfully make it to the Coffee Masters semi-finals.

The Disciplines

The Cupping

The Cupping tests the barista’s ability to understand taste profiles in a highly-competitive time-pressed battle.

Each competitor is presented with six coffees set in a particular order. The competitors have three minutes to taste and memorise the order in which those coffees are placed on the table. The coffee bowls are then shuffled randomly and competitors have two minutes to taste and return the coffee bowls back to their original order.

The Brewing

The Brewing tests the barista’s ability to choose the right brewing method for a coffee.

The competitor will select one of the six coffees presented in The Cupping round to brew.

This discipline aims to assess the barista's understanding of grinding (using a EK43) and their ability to select the right brewing method among Chemex, Aeropress or V60 to maximise taste. The competitors will be judged on the correlation between their choice of coffee and brewing method, their presentation and the taste of their coffee.

The Latte Art

The Latte Art tests the barista’s mastery of milk, challenging them to create specific patterns in milk-based drinks against the clock.

The judge will roll a dice three times, determining three different coffee patterns that competitors have to replicate and present to the judges.

The presented coffees will be judged on visual appearance of the pattern, milk quality and contrast.

The Order

A real world test. Baristas are challenged to deliver an order of 10 espresso-based drinks, common to a quality café menu.

Baristas will be presented with an order docket, which they will be challenged to produce in nine minutes or less. The competitors will be judged on their technical skill, professionalism and time.

The Signature Drink

Baristas will need to replicate and present the same Signature Drink as per their online submission video.

A signature drink is a coffee based mixed beverage consisting of three or more ingredients, as long as they are safe and legal to use.

The competitors will present three identical drinks to the judges and will be judged on taste, creativity, consistency and presentation.

The Espresso Blend

Baristas will create an espresso blend from the coffees used in The Cupping.

The ‘Espresso Blend’ discipline will only occur during the semi-finals. The two finalists will need to replicate their bespoke blend during the final.

The Origin

The Origin tests the barista’s ability to identify coffee origins by taste, in a highly competitive time-pressed battle. Each contender is presented with six coﬀees, and a table-top map of the world. The contender will have ﬁve minutes to taste the coffees and place them on the map in the correct geographical location from where they originate.