18 May 2009
Even though this was a few weeks ago, we are still over the moon that this year’s World Barista Champion hails from the UK! Held in Atlanta, USA, Gwilym Davies accomplished Barista skills allowed him to gain one of the six places in the final. This is no mean feat considering he beat 52 of the world’s best Baristas.
“I felt much more relaxed during the final performance at the Worlds, and wanted to do something that shows what drives me to still make coffee each day, even after 11 years of doing so. It’s been lovely to make coffee for my peers, and I felt privileged to make coffee for and in front of people I have a lot of respect for. But it’s really about all the people in the chain including the farmers and the roasters – I’ve simply tried to do justice to the coffee”
Gwilym had one of the most impressive and also dangerous signature drinks ever to show up at the World Barista Championship. He assembled a collection of 16 ingredients—four that represent the sweetness he finds in the coffee, four that represent the texture he finds in the coffee, four that represent the fruitiness he finds in the coffee, and four that represent the flavors he finds in the coffee.
He said they are the “best bits of his coffee and they really show the possibility of the espresso. And added, “I just want to have fun.” He then asked the judges to each choose an envelope, then combined the chosen ingredients —nuts, butter, notes of orange—and combined it with the espresso.
For his espresso & cappuccino Gwilym selected the Del Obispo from Huila, Colombia and for his signature drink, which was constructed with the assistance of the judges and some envelopes, he served the Colonia San Juan from Bolivia.
Gwilym explained to the judges that in the espresso, they would taste hot buttered toast smothered in blackberry jam, along with black current and some toffee at the end. In his cappuccinos, he says the lovely fruit juice of the espresso will give way to a softer jammy fruitiness. The cappuccino, he says, “is just a lovely representation of this coffee’s flavors.”
Gwilym, who runs a coffee-cart business in two East London street markets, took the world title by a mere three and a half points, beating Canadian Sammy Piccolo who has been very near to becoming the world’s top man on several occasions now. Gwilym’s success would have been by a wider margin, had he not run seventeen seconds over his allowed time, incurring a very heavy points penalty – but he still won. The American entry came third by one single point, and the well-regarded Irish contestant, Colin Haron, scored an admirable fourth.
We’re very excited about next year’s WBC being here in the UK, for the first time. We’ll be sending through details about next year’s UKBC heats, which barista’s need to win for their chance to represent the UK at WBC, but now is a good time to start thinking about getting your staff involved. Having UKBC barista on staff is great for business, you can use it to get press coverage, and show your customers you’re serious about the coffee you serve, and of course, help you stand out from the crowd! If you have any queries relating to UKBC just give Helen in the office a call, as a judge, sponsor and committee member she has the answer to most UKBC related questions.
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