With the national championships in a full swing, we thought of bringing your attention to all the events that are worth visiting in order to progress in your career.
We believe that what anyone needs to progress in their path are Community, Knowledge and Perspective. We have learnt a long time ago that everything is connected, and it is no different in the coffee world. Our community is probably the most common reason for anyone to stick around. It boosts with knowledge, friendly vibes, it is supportive and welcoming, but it is also challenging and diverse. It is the people who are into Speciality coffee that keep it going. And it is them who might be your access to further knowledge or give you their opinion and perspective on different approaches to coffee, be it producing, roasting or brewing.
To sum it up, you need to actively search for the community and expand your horizons, look outside of the box and meet people who might know more or different things than you. There is nothing you could lose, you can only gain from that. Amen, here are the events to do so!
World of coffee
Definitely, the biggest gathering of the coffee community that happens every year, this year’s World of Coffee comes to Budapest, Hungary, 13-15 June 2017. The main attraction to many would be the World Championships happening there, bringing the national champions in Brewers Cup, Latte Art, Cup Tasters, Coffee in Good Spirits and Cezve/Ibrik two days high-class presentations. The competitions themselves are definitely worth the trip, especially to watch the diverse approaches and learn from them. But there is plenty more things not only to watch but also to discuss, taste and test.
To name just a few
The Coffee Science and The Coffee Business seminars will be held for everyone who is eager to learn about either side of the industry.
The Cupping Room runs every day, offering a rotation of coffees from diverse suppliers and/or roasters. What a better opportunity to taste a wide variety of coffees literally from across the world?
The Sustainability Forum takes care of one of the most pressing topics in our industry. If you want to keep on top of this issue and listen to speakers that have a lot to share on the matter, join in.
The Brew Bar will give you the opportunity to taste different coffees prepared using diverse brew methods. It is, similarly to The Espresso Bar, the place to get energised with a fresh brew and the most approachable way of talking to professionals. The Bars are run by volunteers from across the world and will be hence the best chance to learn about international coffee scenes.
Barista and Roaster Camps
There are four events that are coming up between this spring and autumn. Organised by Barista Guild of Europe (BGE) and Roaster Guild of Europe (RGE) they will also have a stand at WOC, in case you wanted to meet the team and learn more about those.
The two major events—Barista and Roaster Camps—run by BGE and RGE—are the two of the most exciting for any barista and roaster who wants to build on whatever his knowledge and experience foundations are. In a highly educated environment, within a packed schedule of lectures and under the lead of professionals from across the globe. Not only can you learn, you can pass exams in what you have learnt and build towards a coffee diploma, which is currently the highest form of speciality coffee education worldwide. And we really do not like to repeat ourselves, but it is all built on community and that is why it is so great.
The location changes every year, revealed before the spring ends. The after-summer educative holidays have been previously hosted by Greece, Italy or Estonia.
CoLab: Berlin & Belfast
CoLab is the perfect event to discover a local coffee community, gain perspective from a coffee culture you may not know at all, learn about roasters that are leading the community and meet new friends from the whole Europe. Despite the fact the CoLab events are organised by BGE as well, they are aimed to be more accessible and focused on a wider community than the Camps. Here, you do not have to be a barista at all, all you need is a little interest in coffee. CoLab will introduce you to a different perspective on what coffee scene might look like and you will leave inspired, no matter your profession.
As said, the community is at the core of what we do, and if you would like to learn and progress in our industry you need to be part of it.
Competitions big and small
You do not have to be the winner of the World Championships to make a count. There is plenty of opportunities to try competitions, such as AeroPress championships, which have grown in popularity for their laid back atmosphere.
Similarly to The Barista League, this year in its second season, bringing a competition opened to anybody to four European cities. Comandante Cup or Latte Art throwdowns are also happening in more cities every year. It is a good opportunity to see if you even enjoy competing and want to continue to the ‘big league’.
We are also always on the search for the current competition series happening around Europe, and if you follow our Events section you will learn about many of them potentially in your area as well.
So come join us, we are happy to have you!
