At the end of June I was able to spend a few days in Copenhagen with the Eversys team and our Danish distributors Coffee by Storm, to support the activities being run at World of Coffee, the SCA's annual European event. Whilst I’ve visited Copenhagen, and previous WOC events on many occasions it was fantastic to see how those two things uniquely combined to create a fabulous energy, with some of the cities fantastic cafes having queue's out the doors as they offered special tasting experiences, or talks in the evenings, whilst the show itself was full not just of European roasters and manufacturers, but a truly global audience including every part of the value chain.

The show hosted a strong agenda of lectures and workshops, covering new science and research, but also considering some of the challenges and opportunities we see across the coffee industry, from understanding and developing the profitability of your cafe business, reacting to an uncertain business environment, to navigating the challenges in accommodating the needs of the EU deforestation scheme equitably into the coffee supply chain.

On the show floor, whilst we demonstrated some of the technology and automation that has been fuelling our success across many markets, it was great to meet some of our distribution partners and hear how they’re using Eversys to help clients access customers where coffee quality and service speed are non-negotiables as well as have some of Denmarks best roasters presenting incredible coffees on our machines. Those Themes were mirrored elsewhere with new automated milk systems, filter and cold brew machines alongside roast equipment intentionally targeted at the smaller cafe business space. Brands like roest, stronghold and bellwether all offering new or upgraded products combining elements of automation, algorithmic assistance and cloud based data capture with batch sizes between sample and production roasting that create challenges and opportunities around the traditional roaster/wholesale business model.

The show provided stages to four world championships, including the world latte art champs, where super-automatic machines are now used by all competitors. In the World Roasting championships we saw further incorporation of the new CVA assessment scheme being used by roasters to deliver unique ideas of what the future of coffee quality might look like, meanwhile I spent most of my time watching the coffee in good spirits championship, where some of the worlds best baristas were combining coffee brewing with bartending skills and ingredients to create innovative drinks that help us share coffee stories in new ways - It was great watching so much creativity, from all around the world, but the ultimate champion, Seung Chan Wi, of Ediya coffee’s focus on traditional Korean ingredients in a modern approach to drink making was a real highlight.

Outside of the show, many of us visitors were lucky enough to have some extra time to enjoy Copenhagen’s coffee scene. As the beating heart of the new Nordic cuisine, it isn’t surprising to see the quality of food and drink available, but it is a reflection of how much specialty coffee has become the norm to find so much amazing coffee in the beautiful bakeries and small restaurants that were easy to drop in and overeat at! Whilst famed specialty roasters like Coffee Collective, April and Prolog all delivered remarkable and different coffee experiences in their retail stores, it was equally exciting to taste truly well made specialty coffee as the core espresso in the two chains I visited, well-brewed filter coffee in every small cafe, and specialty grade coffee in the hotel conference offer.  Whilst food and drink (and coffee) across the city is relatively expensive, those prices seem to support a culture that demands and rewards quality, and a slightly higher price for much better coffee wherever you might be buying it, feels like a bright future for all coffee drinkers, not just the geeks. 

As always, the show created opportunities to connect with old and new friends from around the world, and I can’t wait to see you all again in Geneva next year!

Dale Harris

World Barista Champion 2017