RIMINI, Italy – Ten baristas, selected all over the world among 200 candidates, will participate from 1st to 10th February in Honduras, in “Barista & Farmer”, the first and only talent show dedicated to the promotion and culture of quality coffee.
For ten days the selected baristas will have the experience of living as coffee producers in the country of origin: in this case the famous Honduras plantations.
They will be covered 24 hours a day by video cameras the footage will be aired on www.baristafarmer.com. A documentary will be made of this edition, showing a new way to conceive the coffee world, with the intent of spreading this increasingly global culture (coffee is the second most drunk beverage, after water).
The format is based on an idea by Francesco Sanapo, multi award-winning champion barista, in collaboration with Rimini Fiera and SIGEP – International Exhibition of artisan Gelato, Confectionery and Bakery production, and with the patronage of the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE) as a valid initiative for the International Development Committee (IDC).
The selected baristas compete on a points basis; the winner will participate in the production of the 2016 edition. The contestants will work on the coffee farms that supply quality coffee worldwide as the pickers who harvest the coffee, will get up at dawn and spend the morning on the plantation, picking the beans.
The participants will follow all the stages in the processing of the product: from the harvest, through the use of the various technologies to the experience of tasting and the opportunities of consumption, taking part in a competition involving every stage of the life and processing of coffee.
They will also attend the Barista & Farmer Academy, a special multi-discipline school with the sector’s pros as teachers, directed by Alberto Polojac.
The “professors” include Ruben Rivera, who will talk about the areas of coffee production in Honduras; Napoleon Matute on plantation management; Arnold Paz on processing methods; Scott Conary will give an insight on roasting, whereas Alberto Polojac and Janny Torres will speak about green coffee.
As well as these activities, there will also be tasting sessions with Douglas Urquía and Andrej Godina, examinations and practical workshops in the nurseries with José Omar Rodriguez and some producers.
The baristas selected for the new edition are: Bogdan Prokopchuk (21 years old), barista with the Double B Coffee and Tea coffee bar chain in Moscow (which he calls his “‘coffee family’), whose interests include boxing, marathon running and cooking; Julien Latin, from France (36), about to open in Annecy a café with coffee roasting, specialized in quality products, after 10 years spent as an insurance agent; Agustina Román (24) from Buenos Aires, lady barista champion in Argentina in 2013; Colombian Angelica Madrigal Garcia (30), with a master in coffee economy and science and a job with the coffee growers Cooperative of Antioquia.
There are three Italians: Deborah Cesanelli (34) from Morrovalle (Macerata), a barista with a craze for training, whose hobbies are photography, travel and collecting; Sandro Bonacchi (37) from Pistoia, owner of Torrefazione Oriental Caffè, a family business since 1955, and Patrick Sinapi (38) from Latina, raised in his parents’ coffee bar and the owner of Bix Café.
Plus: Stephany Dávila (29) journalist and coffee buff, her parents are producers in south-east Guatemala, in the Santa Rosa region, famous for its high quality coffee; Panuwat Yoosakda, aka “Mangooo” (24), born and raised in Chiang Mai (Thailand), has lived in Antwerp since 2012 with his Belgian wife, head barista and assistant roaster with Cuperus Koffiebranderij, who he adores. Lastly, Australian Julian Dammanhayn, after experience in Melbourne coffee bars, joined the Genovese Specialty Coffee Division, which introduced him to the production side of the industry.
Rimini Fiera business unit manager Patrizia Cecchi says, “We believe that with Barista & Farmer, speciality coffee and quality coffee can boost the development of the entire chain, from training trade members in the countries of origin to the exploitation of excellent products by manufacturers of innovative technologies, through to new cafeteria formats that promote more consumer awareness. All this encourages the creation of further business opportunities, supporting new trends in the life styles of the countries that consume coffee.”
Francesco Sanapo says, “The talent show lets the world see the passion growers and baristas have for their work. Baristas have the job, privilege and responsibility of promoting the real value of coffee, with passion and knowledge, with end consumers; at the same time, the format shows farmers’ hard work, commitment and passion and all their dedication to the production of high quality coffee.”
Rebecca Atienza, President of Barista & Farmer and owner of the Hacienda San Pedro coffee plantation in Porto Rico, where the talent show was held in 2013, comments, “The first edition was fantastic, since the format contributes to both the training of the contestants and increasing the professionalism of all the companies involved, as well as creating greater awareness with spectators, who become an integral part of the event via the social networks.”
Alongside work and study, there will also be enjoyment and amusement, with thematic games and competitions, visits to archaeological sites, along with local authorities and personalities, and contests in which coffee will be prepared in a unique way, showing new tasting opportunities and habits.
The new edition of Barista & Farmer (the second, after the 2013 edition, held in Puerto Rico), will be staged in the north-western part of Honduras, near one of the country’s most important Maya archaeological sites.
From 1st to 3rd February, the baristas will be firstly at Santa Isabel in Copán, directed since 1955 by Raul and Marina Welchez, who have turned it into a destination for a new type of responsible tourism, an example offering an alternative to that of a classical type.
The participants will move round the plantation aboard an old tractor calls “Baronesa”, used by the coffee pickers during the harvest season. The coffee talent show will then continue from 4th to 10th February in Las Capucas in San Pedro de Copán, in the Celaque National Park, the site of the Cooperativa Cafetalera Capucas Limitada.
This social cooperative is formed by 835 families of coffee producers, a winning model of economy, where coffee is grown and exported with high quality standards, and social projects developed (hospitals, IT assistance, schools for children).
The farm visited by the contestants will include Finca Tierra de Benedicion, Finca Origenes and Finca La Victoria. Barista & Farmer will end its program with a big party at Santa Rosa di Copan, a city known as the capital of good coffee in Honduras. The closing event features the participation of international baristas, local coffee producers and the involvement of the entire community of Santa Rosa.
Barista & Farmer has received commendation from the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe as a valid initiative for the International Development Committee (IDC) and Field Trip Projects. In fact, the company and farm hosting the event, Cooperativa Las Capucas and Finca Santa Isabel, meet the requisites of the SCAE projects.
Barista & Farmer is a project created by Francesco Sanapo, in collaborarion with Rimini Fiera – SIGEP Salone Internazionale Gelateria Pasticceria e Panificazione artigianale, with the patronage of SCAE Speciality Coffee Association of Europe; in collaboration with Cafè de Honduras, IHCAFE Istituto Hondureno del Cafe, HWC Honduran Western Coffee’s Beneficio Santa Rosa; hosted by Finca Santa Isabel, Cooperativa Las Capucas.
Main sponsor La Cimbali, Faema, Mumac Academy; event sponsors Genovese Coffee, Caffè Corsini, Caffè Pascucci, Molino Quaglia, Quarta Caffè; supporters Puly Caff, Cafeistas, 9 Bar, Imperator, Umami Coffee Campus. Golden media partner Barista Magazine, Bargiornale; media partner BeanScene, Global Coffee Review, Pasticceria Internazionale, Punto IT.
