AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands – The sixth edition of The Amsterdam Coffee Festival was a hit. More than 12.000 visitors spread out over three days enjoyed a cup of coffee and so much more. From a Roast Masters™ championship to a Mindful Coffee Tasting Experience, The Brand Dubai Hub and established values like Latte Art Live and the Dutch Barista Championships: Amsterdam was again the beating heart for every coffee lover.
Meet the first Roast Masters champion
New this year was the Roast Masters™ championship with a main focus on the art of specialty roasting. 24 roasters showcased their skills. But the industry-leading experts in the jury – Anne Lunnel (Swedish barista champion), Niels Te Vaanhold (champion of Dutch Cup Tasters Championship) and Rubens Gardelli (WCE World Coffee Roasting Champion) – all agreed that White Label Coffee was the ultimate Roast Masters™, followed by Dutch Barista and HMC.
White Coffee Label was very proud to win: “We are very happy that we defended our hometown. It was so interesting to see what all these different roasters had done to the same coffee. Our secret? Trying until we meet perfection. To give you an idea: we sample-roasted a hundred grams for about seven times, until we were happy with the flavor profile, and then roasted a bigger batch on the Giesen W6. It gives you more precision.”
Mindful Coffee Tasting Experience
Another new concept at The Amsterdam Coffee Festival was the Mindful Coffee Tasting Experience. Florence, a visitor and coffee lover was very enthusiastic about it: “I always drink my cup of coffee to wake up and start my day. I usually drink it very quickly. But at the Mindful Coffee Tasting I learned to look at my cup of coffee in a different way. I started to really enjoy it and took my time: smell the aromas, feel the coffee beans, see the colour. It was a fascinating experience.”
Dutch Barista Championships in association with SCA NL
Sander Groenink was the star at this years’ Amsterdam Coffee Festival. He became champion in two competitions: Sander won the Dutch Brewer Championship 2019 and the Dutch Cup Taster Championship 2019. This has never been done in The Netherlands before.
Kaspar Tammjärv won the Dutch Latte Art Championship. Dutch Barista Champion 2019 this year is Wendelien van Bunnik. She will be representing The Netherlands at the World Barista Championship in Boston in May. She has got big shoes to fill, as last years’ Dutch Champion, Lex Wenneker, came second at the World Championship. But we are convinced she will do great.
Wendelien van Bunnik wins the Dutch Barista Championship 2019.
A summary of the winners:
- Dutch Brewers Champion 2019 – Sander Groenink
- Dutch Latte Art Champion 2019 – Kaspar Tammjärv
- Dutch Barista Champion 2019 – Wendelien van Bunnik
- Dutch Cup Tasters Champion 2019 – Sander Groenink
Vivid coffee culture in The Netherlands
Allegra, the organization behind this festival, looks back with satisfaction. Director Ludovic Rossignol: “Bringing together all the key players from across the thriving Dutch coffee scene, the 6th edition of The Amsterdam Coffee Festival is a true testament that craft coffee culture is going from strength to strength. We were also impressed by the amount of international visitors this year, further highlighting that the Dutch coffee scene is becoming a beacon model for excellence in coffee quality standards in Europe. Our brand-new international coffee roaster competition Roast Masters, which was won by White Label Coffee from Amsterdam, is proof that roasting standards in The Netherlands are now as advanced as other leading coffee markets in the world.”
