SÃO PAULO, Brazil – The best Brazilian baristas are set to take part in a local championship to compete for a spot at the World of Coffee 2023 in Athens later this year. The Brazilian Baristas Championship will take place from March 10-12 and will bring out the best that coffee culture has to offer to coffee lovers. The 20 participants will be judged on their skills in coffee preparation and presentation, as well as their knowledge of the industry and the products they are using.
The Brazilian Baristas Championship
Organized by the Brazilian Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA) and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil), the event will be held at Espaço Aroo located at the Rooftop of Shopping Light in São Paulo and will be open to the public, providing an opportunity for coffee enthusiasts to explore the latest trends and techniques in the industry.
Once selected, the Brazilian champion will have the unique opportunity to go against the best of the best worldwide and showcase his or her skills at the World of Coffee 2023 fair in Athens this June 22-24.
During the process of creating the perfect drink and impressing the judges, the baristas dedicate time and a lot of attention to finding the Brazilian specialty coffee bean that is a perfect match for the blend they intend to make and thus enhance the best that this special bean has to offer.
During this selection process, aromas, flavors, acidity, among other sensory notes are analyzed, in addition to various tests and cupping tastings, so that on the day of the final presentation, the grain and the barista are in perfect harmony.
“Specialty coffee and the barista form a fundamental combination necessary to create a beverage of excellence. The specialty bean demands an excellent professional to extract the potential of flavor, aromas, and the complete experience in the cup. That’s why BSCA encourages the relationship between the barista and the Brazilian bean, viewing to promote this duo worldwide”, states the executive director of the entity, Vinícius Estrela.
Brazil is the largest producer and exporter of coffee in the world, and the country’s rich history and tradition of coffee production has been passed down from generation to generation.
From the lush green plantations to the small coffee shops dotted around the city, coffee is an integral part of Brazilian culture, and the baristas who brew it are highly regarded as skilled crafters.
In addition to the official trophy, one of the official sponsors of this year’s Brazilian Barista Championship, Grancoffee, will award a cash prize to the top three finalists of the competition, as a way of appreciating and recognising the talent of the baristas.
“It is an honor for Gran Coffee to sponsor the National Barista Championship with the official Nuova Simonelli machines, Aurelia Wave. The equipment – mills and machines – are the means by which such important and valuable baristas will present all its expertise and techniques to deliver the perfect coffee. As a way of recognition, Gran Coffee will award the first three with BRL500.00, R$400.00 and BRL300.00 respectively, for purchases at store.grancoffee.com.br, which commercializes professional accessories, machines and coffees”, said the Managing Partner of Gran Coffee, Gustavo Gama.
The nation is considered global leader when it comes to coffee, in 2022, 122 countries bought Brazilian beans. Specialty coffee, for example, has consistently grown at an annual rate of 10% to 15% over the past few years, and represents around 20% of Brazilian coffee exports and for the 2021/22 harvest, some 8 million 60kg bags of specialty coffee were exported. The value of the global trade in green coffee beans is over USD 30 billion per year.
About Brazil. The Coffee Nation
It is a sector project, developed by BSCA and ApexBrasil, focused on the commercial promotion of the Brazilian product on the international market. The objective is to strengthen the image of Brazilian coffee beans worldwide and to position the country as a high-quality supplier, using state-of-the-art technology resulting from research.
The current project has as target markets: i) Canada, United States, China, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Spain, Poland, United Kingdom, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia for specialty coffee beans; and ii) Canada, China, United Arab Emirates, Chile, Portugal and the United States for products from the roasting and grinding industry. The project also aims at exposing the exclusive certification and traceability processes adopted in the national production of specialty coffees, highlighting their social and environmental responsibility and incorporating a competitive advantage to Brazilian products.
About Grand Coffee
Founded in 1998, the company is the leader in South America in coffee machines and hot drinks, operating in the most diverse segments with the mission of offering solutions so that can taste espresso coffee, drinks and food with pleasure away from home, quality, practicality and competitive costs.
Currently, Gran Coffee has 30 thousand machines installed in more than 15 thousand customers of different sizes, segments and regions of the country, in addition to a coffee industry, which is owner of the brands Astro Café, Café do Centro and Spress Café, selling products in grains, toasted and ground coffee and capsules throughout the national territory, in addition to the “private label” coffees that develops. The company has more than 1,500 direct employees and has 10 branches.
