On the 21st January The Barista League kicked off its second season with a hugely successful event in the cold northern city of Oslo, Norway.
In front of a 150 strong crowd of roasters, baristas, green buyers, and other coffee professionals, Team East Side eked out a win, proving the best in three rounds of sensory, brewing and speed competitions.
In an unprecedented move for grassroots competitions, The Barista League announced that, in collaboration with Collaborative Coffee Source, they would be sending the winning team to Colombia for a unique origin experience. Ida Jansson (Nord Oslo) and Lise Romo (Nord Oslo) will be joining CCS to visit the La Palma y El Tucan farm in Colombia.
In addition to visiting other producers in the area, the winning team will spend 3 nights at La Palma y El Tucan learning about the hard work and specialist processing from a leader in the field of high end specialty coffee in Colombia.
‘As so many other baristas, going to origin has been a dream for many years. And Colombia is one of my favorite producing countries.
I am especially happy to get to visit La Palma y El Tucan – the farm that produced my coffee for WBC. We had a great collaboration during my training, we met in Dublin and I consider them my friends. So needless to say, this means a lot to me.’
-Lise Romo (Winner, The Barista League: Oslo)
The event is a new approach to bringing the whole industry together in a fun, social and inclusive atmosphere.
Within the 150 attending professionals and 26 competing baristas there was a huge diversity in crowd, with equal participation from both genders, as well as involvement from roasters, trainers, baristas of all skill levels, machine producers and green coffee buyers.
‘We’re thrilled to be a part of Barista League because the event is all about breaking down perceived formalities and barriers for baristas who are interested in engaging with the larger community in both competitive and fun ways. Coffee can be as fun and accessible as it is complex and serious and Barista League celebrates all of the above.’
– Melanie Leeson, Collaborative Coffee Source
This is just the beginning of a huge year for The Barista League which will be travelling to Gothenburg (Mar 25), Copenhagen (May 12) and Berlin (Sept 23).
