The seventh edition of the International Coffee & Tea Festival (ICTF), the UAE’s only dedicated trade event for the specialty coffee and tea industry, registered an overwhelming success with a record footfall of over 7,000 visitors attending the annual event during the three-day period.
Visitors were particularly enthralled by the display of innovative brewing equipment and the variety of coffee and tea products showcased at the event.
Most of the international exhibitors were impressed by the quality of visitors and their yearning for innovative and high-end products.
The names of the winners of the UAE National Barista and Latte Art Coffee Championships – were announced at the concluding day of ICTF. Lyndon A. Recera of Espresso Lab in Dubai was named as the National UAE Barista Champion and will represent the UAE at the 2016 World Barista Championship in Dublin, Ireland.
Prakash Rai of Café Nero, also in Dubai, won the title of the National UAE Latte Art Championship and will go on to represent UAE at 2016 World Latte Art Championship in Shanghai, China.
Anselm Godinho, Head of the ICTF’s organizing team, said: “The UAE is slowly but surely developing its own culture, centric to café and coffee and tea drinkers. The key objectives of International Coffee & Tea Festival are to drive up quality through competition and to instigate consumers to demand better.
We would like to see all cafes offer a ‘Specialty Coffee Experience’ and shows such as ICTF and the National Coffee Championships that promote education, training and competition, will sooner than later determine which roasters and cafes survive the test of quality.”
ICTF 2015 featured over 40 local and regional exhibitors and sponsors who were able to engage potential café owners and consumers as they showcased their latest solutions for the coffee and tea industry.
Visitors, comprising mostly café owners, hospitality management professionals, aspiring entrepreneurs, and coffee and tea enthusiasts, were fascinated with the latest products, including state-of-the-art coffee machines, mixers, grinders and brewers; cutting-edge coffee roasting equipment; and a wide variety of specialty coffees and teas.
In addition, a new segment called ‘Coffee & Tea in Business’ was successful in opening the door to a larger business-oriented meeting of café professionals at the next event.
“Le Piantagioni del Caffe exhibited at ICTF 2015 for the first time with an aim to promote the culture of premium coffee among customers.
We displayed our exclusive product range that features the latest trends in the third wave of coffee, taking the opportunity to inform consumers that coffee is more a matter of quality than just a simple habit.
The event went beyond our expectations, as there were lots of visitors and potential customers along with baristas who were impressed with our offerings and were interested to network further.
Through our participation at ICTF, we have realised that there is tremendous opportunity in the region interested in sustainable coffee or coffee with a story to tell. We look forward to bring our gourmet coffee to outlets here as well as offer them tools to brew coffee that way it should be done,” concluded Estel Gast, Export Manager, Le Piantagioni del Caffe.
ICTF will once again be back in 2016 with novel concepts, new products, and added features to cater to the growing coffee and tea industry in the UAE and the region.
