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BARISTA CHAMPIONS HERALD SPECIALTY COFFEE TO THE CITIZENS OF MOSCOW EACH DAY AT DUSK, I've taken to strolling through the shadow of St. Basil's Cathedral. Still early September, the crisp bite of fall lingers in the air, but I'm warmed by the Soyuz Coffee cappuccino made for me by a barista champion—Javier Garcia of Spain today, Gutemala's Raul Rodas yesterday, Alejandro Mendez of El Salvador the day before—that I hold in my hand. I stride across Red Square for the sights and history, of course, but also to estimate how far I can get from the enormous white tent bearing the words "Specialty Coffee Show" before the throbbing dance music, the cheers from the crowd for the baristas, and the emcee's booming voice, fade away. And I have to get pretty far for that. I am back in Moscow for the event that Russian specialty company Soyuz Coffee Roasting, made famous in 2011, when its directors, Drago Lakic and Regina Vasilyeva, staged an epic celebration of coffee in this approximately 10-acre city center. Though it has been nearly five centuries since this still-sacred square was completed, the significance of the buildings surrounding it—Lenin's Mausoleum, Kazan Cathedral and the almighty Kremlin—uphold the historical and holy importance of the space, making it pretty much unheard of for an event as flashy, bold and contemporary as Soyuz's Specialty Coffee Show to take place on the hallowed bricks. But it happened, and it's happening again—in true Russian style, this time it's bigger and glitzier and louder than before. Held in conjunction with the traditional Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival, the Specialty Coffee Show welcomes tens of thousands of Muscovites eight evenings in a row as they wander through Red Square to watch military horses parade, buy souvenirs, or, as they did last year and are excited to do again now, enjoy a complimentary cup of Soyuz coffee prepared by one of 10 barista champions who are visiting Russia for the sole purpose of making them drinks. Festival attendees are screened and escorted through metal detectors at the edge of the Square, then left to traverse the incline of brick past the State Historical Museum to the north, and the Iberian Gate and Chapel to the west. They are met by lovely girls in brown jumpers bearing the Soyuz logo, with golden ribbons in their hair, who hand them glossy booklets detailing the Specialty Coffee Show and the world-renowned baristas within. But they almost don't need the booklet—there's no missing the giant cappuccino cup (12 feet across and seven feet tall) towering above the colossal white tent. And there's no avoiding the pumping music, which alternates from classic rock hits to techno numbers to contemporary Latino songs, coming out of the entrance to the tent. Poker-faced bouncers man the door: There are always at least 50 people, eager for the coffee and the entertainment, in line to get in. Once inside, they stand in wonder at the scene. Two champion baristas man each of three stations, which are elevated above the floor, essentially putting the baristas on stage. Our ever lively emcee Stanislav baritones in Russian about the magnificence of these coffee ambassadors, calling out their names and accomplishments about every 15 minutes, each time to thundering applause. Guests meander past round tables covered in crisp white linen to take their places in line. They might gaze at the enormous banners featuring all 10 of the barista champions, or perhaps they will be swept into a spontaneous dance when the DJ, playing a song that 2011 Italian Barista Champion Francesco Sanapo particularly likes, causes Francesco to climb down from his stage to swing them off their feet. As the Soyuz team had in mind when he designed all of this, the Specialty Coffee Show is as much about service and celebration as it is about good coffee. "You see, this is a party—it's where everyone wants to be, " Drago tells me, and he's right: from 5:30 to 8 p.m. each of these eight days, this white tent is essentially a coffee nightclub. Everyone is smiling. Those who are not actively dancing are tapping their feet. On occasion, all drink making ceases so the baristas can bang their steaming pitchers together to the beat of "We Will Rock You. " And the crowd goes wild. It's only two and a half hours of coffee service per night (the tent closes at 8 p.m. when the music festival begins) but for countless numbers of attendees, this is the show they remember. "I brought my mother to the Spasskaya Tower festival last year, and we do not even like coffee very much, but we had to see the show under the big [cappuccino] cup, " Irina Kramarenko told me as we wait in line together for coffee this year. "That man [she says while pointing to 2011 World Barista Champion Alejandro Mendez, who has been invited to participate again this year], he made me a www.baristamagazine.com 33