Barista contest to be held next month

New Delhi: The Speciality Coffee Association of India (Scai) has announced the annual India Barista Championship. The contest which is being held for the third consecutive year in India, aims to recognize excellence and skill amongst the barista community in the country.

A barista is a person who prepares coffee in a bar and delights consumers with his brewing capability.

Baristas are as much part of the speciality coffee movement as those who take special care to grow quality coffee beans. In the Championship, baristas will be judged for their ability to blend coffee, their cleanliness, style, creativity and presentation to the consumer in numerous well tasting ways - hot, cold, with new exciting recipes but always with the coffee taste being dominant.

With the coffee bar culture growing in the country, baristas have played a major role in bringing awareness about quality coffee among the consuming public at large.
A team of jurors will select the champion based on defined criteria, designed by World Barista Championship (WBC) Committee.

The panel of judges will evaluate the contesting baristas for Best Technique, Best Signature Drink and Best Communication Skills.

Mrs.Sunalini N Menon, quality ombudsman of Scai, will be rendering her technical expertise in conducting this prestigious event.

The winner of the Indian Championship will represent India at the World Barista Championship 2004 to be held at Trieste, Italy, later this year.

"The objective of organizing this contest is to foster quality, coffee creativity and bring public focus on the barista profession," said Mr Ashok Kuriyan, chairman - Speciality Coffee Association of India. "It is also great fun," he added.

Mr. D.M. Purnesh, secretary - Scai and chairman - IBC for the second time, remarks, "It is hoped that the promotional activities such as this get translated into higher coffee consumption in the long run which should help the coffee industry as a whole."

He further added, "The coffee industry and Coffee Board, despite the hard times they are undergoing have been of immense help in organizing this event.

He added that, "The chairperson of Coffee Board, Ms. Lakshmi Venkatachalam, in particular has been encouraging and supporting Scai in all their promotional activities including IBC, the Coffee Board besides being the main sponsor, has also instituted a trophy for the champion. Scai conveys its gratitude to them for their support but for which Scai would not be able to conduct such events," he added.

Mr. S.Venkatesh, co-coordinator - Scai, is of the opinion that it is an opportunity for all the baristi to showcase their capability. The coffee bars should therefore send their baristi to participate in the championship. It is also a great forum where the baristi could build their networking and exchange views on their profession.

The preliminary and semi final rounds of the Indian Barista Championships will be held in Bangalore from January 21st to 22nd, 2004. The final round will be held on February 9th and will be adjudged by an international panel headed by Mr. Tim O'Connor of the USA.

While the eventual Champion stands to gain a glittering trophy instituted by the Coffee Board, a cash prize and a ticket to Trieste to participate in the World Championships, the other three winners will be awarded with gold, silver and bronze trophies, carrying cash prizes of varying amounts.