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PULL JOURNAL OF JAMS, COMPETITIONS, AND BARISTA EVENTS NBC IN CPH: FINLAND TAKES THE GOLD IT IS NOT EVERY DAY that I look around and find myself literally surrounded by huge groups of stupidly attractive people in a wonderful Northern European city, but there I was, in line at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport to board my flight to Copenhagen for the Nordic Barista Cup (NBC). It became very apparent that Copenhagen was not just hosting us coffee geeks for the week—it happened to also be Fashion Week, and models from all over the world were descending on this amazing city via my airplane from Amsterdam. From the moment I stepped off the plane, I could tell that Copenhagen had a real sense of social and environmental awareness that I haven't really experienced anywhere other than small pockets in the United States like Madison, Wis., Austin, Texas, or Boulder, Colorado. Everything is green and lush, people here care about saving energy, and bikes rule the road. Even my hotel's accent wall was adorned with the slogan, "Organic Is the New Black." This type of awareness seemed to translate really well into the widespread Danish appreciation for flavor in fine dining and coffee. The cafés I visited had a very bright welcoming feel with clean lines and an air of refined simplicity that forced me to focus on the flavors I was experiencing in my cup. Also, Copenhagen is home to the current number-one-ranked restaurant in the world, Noma. These people know flavor, and they don't sacrifice their values, so what you end up with is an unbelievable café or dining experience that you would be totally comfortable with paying the full karmic price for. Now that I've set the scene, I want to talk about my experience being an attendee of the NBC. From the moment I walked through the doors at the Faculty of Life Sciences Building at the University of Copenhagen, where the daytime activities of the event were being held, I could tell the whole thing was going to be run as a tight ship. David Latourell from Solberg & Hansen in Norway was directing people from his schoolyard megaphone; NBC chief organizer Björg Brend was furiously and efficiently handing out welcome packets with cupping spoons; and Jay Lijewski of Handsome Coffee Roasters was assisting the barista competitor teams in setting up their workstations. (Five teams hailing from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and Sweden compete in coffee activities throughout the three-day event, while lectures and cuppings take place for the general attendees.) Volunteers diligently bustled about their duties while smiling and greeting incoming attendees, and everything seemed like it was working as it should. Amazing. Even more amazing considering this was a coffee event. All of our meals were covered in the price of admission, and they mainly consisted of delicious local biodynamic cheeses, breads, fruits, meats, and tons of yogurt…did I mention they had yogurt? The competing barista teams were each assigned a visiting barista from Kenya to work alongside them through the event—Kenya was this year's NBC focus country, and the team to eventually win—Team Finland for the first time!—will travel to Kenya to visit farms and cafés in 2013. Each team competed with a Kenyan coffee roasted by the Coffee Collective, and we attendees judged their drinks throughout the weekend to determine the winning team. The speaker lineup this year was particularly impressive. For me, the lineup was almost like your favorite band opening with that song you just would freak out to hear live. René Redzepi, the founder and head chef of Noma, was the first speaker on day one, with a lecture entitled "Coffee Is the Sh**." Redzepi is a world-renowned chef and his endless pursuit of distinctive flavors in everything from local sea greens to different ant species led him to have an interest in coffee. Redzepi has had strong influences like the Coffee Collective and Tim Wendelboe to guide him on his journey. Redzepi made the commitment that his restaurant would serve 22 barista magazine At top, Nordic Barista Cup emcee Jay Lijewski enjoys the sea air on a boat excursion with Mallory Roth. Below, the Aussies hit Copenhagen in the form of Ma Perger and Emily Oak, pictured here at the NBC Opening Party with the author, Noah Namowicz better coffee than any other restaurant in the world by 2013. It's a pretty bold statement, but if anyone can pull it off, I believe he can. Equally impressive speakers included agronomist Peter Kimata of Kenya, Doug Zell, Morten Wennersgaard, Hamish Anderson, Tim Wendelboe, James Hoffmann, Wanjira Njeru, David Walsh, Vince Fedele, and Oliver Strand. Each of these people is a specialist within the culinary world, and the research they shared with us was incredible to witness as a part of an intimate audience. Many of these speakers incorporated breakout cuppings and tastings into their lectures, so we were given the ability to truly engage with what they were teaching us about. Certainly for me, it was an extremely effective way to learn. Within the lectures, team competitions and educational cuppings, the talented NBC team also fit in time for us to evaluate Nordic Roaster submissions for espresso and brewed coffee. Solberg & Hansen won the filter competition, Kaffitár of Iceland won the espresso category, and Solberg & Hansen took the overall top spot for Nordic Roaster of the year. This event truly was one of the greatest coffee events I have ever attended, thanks in large part to the work of Björg Brend and Jens Norgaard organizing the event; the awesome emcees, Latourell and Lijewski; the incredible volunteers working so efficiently; and the wonderfully orchestrated lineup of speakers who came out to share their perspective with us. Copenhagen is a place I want to be and a movement I want to be a part of. I am taking home so much from their culture, and new friendships with coffee people I otherwise would never have had the chance to meet. —Noah Namowicz