Barista Magazine

OCT-NOV 2012

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MOSCOW, RUSSIA beautiful coffee, oh I loved that coffee. I have thought about it all year, and now I come back. I am back for coffee from that man again." Truly, Russians' interest in coffee has seen a sea change since 2011. At the Soyuz festival last year, coffee was a strange, almost exotic offering. Most asked for tea. The baristas instead gently suggested the signature drink created for the event, the Spasskaya Tower: essentially a sweetened cappuccino with pistachio shavings on top. It was a gateway for the attendees, who were surprised to enjoy a coffee beverage. But even remembering how many came around to coffee in 2011, I couldn't have prepared myself for what I saw this year: Russians ordering espresso, straight up. If not that, then an Americano. Sure, there were plenty who still asked for extra pumps of vanilla syrup in their drink. But it was shocking to see how many returned for the flavor of Soyuz, as much as they were drawn in by the entertainment. And about that entertainment: For 2012, Soyuz Coffee Roasting decided to present the baristas in two teams. The first team of five would work the initial four days of the festival; on that team's final night, the second group would arrive. There would be a wild and sensational night with all 10 baristas, plus Drago, Regina, our beloved Sergey Trubchik and Asli Yaman—both from Soyuz's headquarters in Kaliningrad, Russia— Giovanni Fucili and Svetlana Titova of the awesome Nuova Simonelli, which once again sponsored the Specialty Coffee Show this year, and lucky, lucky me. Then the five from Team One—Alejandro and Francesco, plus 2012 Barista Champion of El Salvador Daniel Mendez; 2011 and 2012 Barista Champion of Slovakia Monika Palova; and of course 2012 WBC Champ Raul Rodas of Guatemala—would head home, while Team Two got to work. I spent just under three days with Team One, and a little more than two days with Team Two, which consisted of 2012 WBC finalist Stefanos Domatiotis of Greece; 2011 World Latte Art Champion Chris Loukakis of 34 barista magazine The Kazakhstan Military Orchestra paid a visit to the Specialty Coff ee Show to meet the champion baristas (pictured here, at front, from le : Chris Lou- kakis of Greece, Stefanos Domatiotis of Greece, Javier Garcia of Spain, and Coen van Sprang of the Netherlands) at the festival in Red Square. Greece; 2012 Barista Champion of the Netherlands Coen van Sprang; 2011 and 2012 Barista Champion of Costa Rica Ricardo Azofeifa Mora; and 2011 Barista Champion of Spain Javier Garcia. These baristas were chosen to participate not only for their lofty coffee skills, but for their power as servicepeople. "We want you to sing and dance, have fun with the crowd, " Regina tells the baristas. "Of course make them wonderful drinks, but we are celebrating not only great coffee, but the great people who make that coffee—baristas!" After seeing it for the first time in 2011, that Soyuz message was really driven home in 2012: Specialty coffee can be truly spectacular—but only if you drink it. This young company had a terrific product from the get-go when it was founded just over a year ago: three espresso brands each crafted for particular palates, Mon Ami Cafe, Barista, and Paretto. But just having a superb product, Drago and Regina knew, was a small part of the battle: Russians, by and large, are not coffee drinkers. And they're not predisposed to trying new things. This is why the powerhouse specialty café chains— Coffeemania, Koffein, and the new Babushka Batman, each dedicated to top-quality coffee and service—are merely blips on the Moscow radar. Even having 30 outlets doesn't go very far in a city of 13 million. Soyuz, which has yet to open cafés but has expanded bean sales in grocery stores throughout the megasize country, emerged in 2011 with strength. Staging the Specialty Coffee Show at a festival that draws all demographics, from grandmothers and children to Moscow's emerging hipster set, was a risk. The only way to ensure it was memorable was to be big, bigger, biggest. And thus, it was a success in 2011.

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