In November, the International Coffee Week will host 4 international championships with competitors of over 40 nationalities and thousands of visitors

The World Cup of Coffee with its various categories is happening, and it will take place in the capital of Minas Gerais. From November 7th to 9th, 2018, Brazil will host the World Barista Championships for the first time, and thousands of visitors will come from around the globe. The face-offs are highlights in the program of The International Coffee Week (ICW), the greatest event in the coffee industry, and the most relevant encounter of the agribusiness.

Over a hundred national champions form more than 40 countries will compete against each other in the craft of coffee in Belo Horizonte, MG. The four championships will focus in four different moments of coffee making: the World Latte Art Championship is about artistry with espresso and steamed milk, made by the barista (the professional that extracts the espresso) in cups and judged by the final visual results. In the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship, the competitors combine coffee, alcohol, and other ingredients that harmonize into cold or hot drinks, being the most famous of them the Irish Coffee.

Previously scheduled to happen in Dubai, the World Brewers Cup and the World Cup Tasters Championship will also be part of the official program in the ICW. In the first one, baristas have their performance evaluated in different coffee brewing methods, with coffee beans of choice and also beans stipulated by the championship organization. The latter championship is suited for the professional coffee taster. The competitors are required to identify the different coffee in sets of 3 cups. The winner is the one who makes less mistakes in less time.

The World Coffee Championships are organized by WCE – World Coffee Events, event management organization that is wholly-owned subsidiary by Specialty Coffee Association, and aims to bring together a community of passionate coffee people from across the globe and show the world what the heights of coffee professionalism can be.

Director of Café Editora and one of the ICW creator, Caio Alonso Fontes points out that “winning the chance to host 4 World Championships is the result of the combination of many features presented by the International Coffee Week: connection of all links from the coffee supply chain, diversity of international and domestic attendees, maturing of the domestic market, and the unstopped promotion of new businesses in specialty coffee. This is a great opportunity for us”.

BUYERS AND PRODUCERS
Mr. Roberto Simões, president of the Federation of Agriculture and Livestock from Minas Gerais State (Sistema FAEMG), also entity director of ICW, recalls that “Brazil is the largest coffee producer in the world, and every 5 cups of coffee drunk in the world, 1 comes from Minas Gerais. More than a drink, coffee is historical, social and economically important. Beyond quantity, Brazil is also known worldwide by its high quality coffee, from various origins and different flavours”.

In Addition to the World Championships, the International Coffee Week has as purpose the promotion of the several coffee producing regions in Minas Gerais and Brazil. During the event, it will be possible to attend various cupping sessions and taste the finalist coffees from a quality contest that gathers the best beans, Arabica and Robusta, from the new crop – The Coffee of the Year.

The Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Seapa) Mr. Amarildo Kalil states that “The ICW is becoming bolder every passing year. The World Championships will bring substantial number of international visitors to our ICW, but the event itself is reinforcing its identity as one of the most significant coffee events in the international calendar”.

Content-wise, the event is also a blockbuster. It presents relevant content through lectures, workshops and masterclasses to all visitors. ICW 2017 registered 17 thousands attendees, 140 exhibitors and it was responsible for around R$ 35 millions in turnover.

Priscilla Lins, Manager in Agribusiness from Sebrae Minas closes up by saying: “We coordinate a huge connection web among the coffee supply chain, and the ICW will be an incredible moment to expand the opportunities to do business in a different way, a way that is only possible in a producing country as Brazil is. The world championships will be a milestone and a source of inspiration to all aspiring coffee entrepreneurs! We would like to invite everybody to be part of this journey that celebrates our new crop and creates the opportunity to taste the best coffees in the country, directly from the producers”.