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This year, the event also hosted the 13 th Italian Barista Championship, and accompanying national competitions for Coffee In Good Spirits and Latte Art. I walked into the building and found myself between two long concourses stretching out to either side. Each was then crossed perpendicularly by seven long halls, and each of the halls housed hundreds of booths hawking the latest in technology, equipment, and supplies for the represented industries, along with numerous competitions of their own. It was far and away the biggest trade show I've ever seen. Directly in front of the turnstiles where ushers and attendees scanned badges for admittance, an amphitheater opened up to a stage and large video screen. It was the competition space for the coffee contests, and a prime location for the Italian baristas to showcase their skills. Just to the right was a coffee bar spon- sored by the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE) to promote its upcom- ing World of Coffee event, which will be held in this same expo center in June and will host the World Barista Championship. (Though while Sigep filled the entire con- vention center, the World of Coffee will take up only one hall.) The bar was open and free to the public, and that morning a coffee from Aida Batlle Selection (ABS) in El Salvador was on tap. It was roasted by multi-time Italian national barista champi- on, Francesco Sanapo, who recently opened his own specialty roaster, Artigianale, in the Tuscan city of Florence. Positioned behind the espresso machine was none other than 2009 World Barista Champion Gwilym Davies, who was attend- ing the event not only to serve coffees but to teach attendees about specialty coffee and demo the latest machines from Nuova Simonelli. He was excited to be back in Rimini. He told me that it was evident from his first experience at Sigep a year ago that the Italians love the social aspects of the convention, and were fascinated by specialty coffee and anxious to learn more. He ably demonstrated this by producing shot after shot of espresso for passers- by. Inevitably, they would stop, inspect the espresso, and drink it even though Gwilym served it without the typical sugar packet or two. One security guard took a moment, considered the espresso, accept- ed Gwilym's apology for not having sugar on hand, drank the shot, and then said, "It's sweet. Doesn't need sugar." Rimini has a reputation as a high-energy summertime beach town, and will have an entirely different vibe come June when coffee professionals from around the world flood the seaside city for the SCAE's World of Coffee. It will be held in the same building as Sigep, but not quite the same location. Incoming president of the SCAE, Cosimo Lombardo, said he pushed for the Rimini location in part because in the summer, the cafés and beaches will be buzzing with energy, music, and fun. "It's going to be amazing," he said. Given that the coffee competitons to be held during the SCAE show will be free and open to the public, and based on what I saw at Sigep, Italians will be there, ready to be entertained as well as educated about specialty coffee. It's somewhat paradoxical that the country, which gave the world espresso, along with so much of our modern coffee culture, has been behind the times when it comes to specialty coffee. Almost all the coffee roasted and consumed in Italy is presented in blends, You put a lot of thought into the coffee and espresso you serve your customers – doesn't your chocolate deserve the same level of consideration? GoodDrinks ™ Single Origin Ghana Dark Chocolate Sauce and Single Origin Peru Cocoa Powder are sourced from the purest cocoa beans on the planet. Paired with your distinctive brews, it's pure drinking pleasure…hot or cold. GETGOODDRINKS.COM TO ORDER, CALL 800-877-3811, EXT. 105 GOURMET COFFEE + SINGLE ORIGIN CHOCOLATE. LIKE TWO BEANS IN A POD. 43 www.baristamagazine.com B o o k 1 - 4 4 . i n d d 4 3 Book 1-44.indd 43 3 / 1 9 / 1 4 1 0 : 0 0 P M 3/19/14 10:00 PM