The program for the Nordic Barista Cup 2006 is still on going.

However below you will find the visionary statements made by the organizing committee prior to their kick off.

We firmly believe that the barista/attendee should be developing personally as well as professionally. Therefore the NBC vision involves a process of bringing together, acting together and learning together, in which the social track is just as important as the educational elements.

Through the learning process we are striving to improve the individual professional expertise and we are aiming to suffuse new meaning to the term, barista. Based on a foundation of knowledge, team spirit and teamwork, we aspire to expand and enrich the personal mind-set, by cooperating and exchanging with fellow participants as well as other professions and thereby generating development, sustainability and knowledge. This is also a way of maintaining the growth of the barista’s profession.

The NBC vision is that this coffee knowledge should be shared: The barista ought to be a translator of what coffee has to offer for the consumer and must be knowledgeable about other coffee-related business - not only in the café, but also on the wider scale.

In our way of looking at the situation, we feel that it is very important to ensure the participants’ social responsibility, including knowledge about the entire production chain of coffee and coffee-related products. This subsumes an engaged understanding of the social conditions under which the workers in the producer countries live and work and an understanding of sustainable agriculture.

We hope to achieve our objectives of transmitting this kind of knowledge, and hopefully, the "Cup" idea will eventually spread to other parts of the world. Furthermore, we believe that, through implementing these visions, the coffee network will thrive - and the inspiration will continue to be bountiful.

At the Nordic Barista Cup there was recorded a movie. To get a glimpse of, what the Nordic Barista Cup 2006 was all about, watch the movie.

Finally, here it is...
The Nordic Barista Cup 2006 movie.

Enjoy!

The pictures from the Nordic Barista Cup 2006 are now available on Flickr.com. You are welcome to write comments and to name the people on the pictures. Enjoy!

For pictures from Nordic Barista Cup 2006 click here. 

Copenhagen, Denmark --

This is where it all began in 2003. The Danish capital city proudly served as the host locale of an unprecedented challenge between longstanding rival countries Denmark and Norway. Only at this competition, unlike ages past, the battle would be waged with coffee, espresso, to be specific.

The event was smaller back then but the intent was as it is today and will remain in the future: to foster community among professional baristas, to encourage the mastery of teamwork in an effort to further the expertise and craftsmanship of the barista, to share ideas and do away with any secrecy that may have hindered coffee professionals' mutual development in the past, effectively bringing to the forefront a transparency meant to benefit every person along the global chain of coffee, from producers to roasters to baristas.

At the Nordic Barista Cup (NBC), the only rule is that there are no rules. Each year, the host country organizers determine the activities for the three-day event, from the specificities of the competitions, to the themes for evening parties and dinners, to sight-seeing excursions. After the initial event, the NBC expanded to include teams from all five Scandinavian countries: Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Iceland. Each national team is comprised of four baristas and one team coach. The fact that the teams compete with each other over the course of the event, however, does not exclude attendees from participating; in fact, attendees are involved throughout the entire event as participants as opposed to mere spectators.

If there is an overriding theme to the Nordic Barista Cup, it is one of sharing and learning. Rather than harbouring secrets about their techniques and knowledge of coffees, baristas at this event are encouraged to impart their wisdom to others, as well as to thoughtfully consider the opinions of their peers. The Nordic Barista Cup organization believes that the best baristas are intrinsically artistic, which means that no matter the similarity of the tools they use, each will bring a different sensibility to the coffees they prepare. In that way, the act of sharing can only expand the vision that a barista brings to his or her work.

Though five teams compete in the NBC, there is only one overall winner of the event. This was determined by the Nordic Barista Cup Board as a way to empower all teams as either first or collective second-place winners. For the record, Norway won in 2003; Denmark won in 2004; and Norway once again took top honors in 2005. However, taking the prize really isn't the point of the NBC. Unlike traditional barista competitions, all baristas at the NBC return home feeling like winners: they have gained knowledge, they have made new friends, and they have participated in one of the most innovative, community-centric, and of course fun coffee events in the world.

What's so fun about it, you ask? In Iceland in 2004, for example, one challenge found the barista teams at a dairy farm, where they were instructed to milk a cow into a steaming pitcher, run the pitcher over to a home espresso machine set up nearby, and make a cappuccino. In Norway in 2005, teams participated in a kind of coffee Jeopardy! game, complete with a Vanna White impersonator revealing the answers, and an MC keeping the game lively as attendees looked on with amusement.

Who knows what's in store for teams and attendees at this year's Nordic Barista Cup in Copenhagen -- all details about competitions and party games are kept under wraps until the last minute in an effort to encourage an atmosphere of spontaneity, team skill building, and enjoyment of the moment at hand.

The Nordic Barista Cup is an event like no other -- we wish you could be here to join us! But in your absence, we will update this website with news about each day's events as they happen, as well as profiles of teams, sponsors and attendees. The goal of the NBC is not only to promote community within the event itself, but to encourage baristas around the world to plan and engage in similar events in an effort to build a stronger, better, and more transparent specialty coffee industry for us all.

So join us here for more news, people and reports on the inevitable crazy happenings. We hope it will inspire you to embrace your craft as baristas just as it has and will continue to for all of us at the Nordic Barista Cup.

Skål!

-- Sarah Allen

Everyone is arriving now, bright and early. They began trickling through the doors at 8 a.m., wandering into the massive space that the 2006 Nordic Barista Cup (NBC) organizers secured for this unique event. We are situated down by the water at Strandgade 100 in Hal D (check it out at www.hal-d.dk) in what was formerly military housing and administrative buildings.

However, barista teams just returned from a briefing with the judges where they did learn a few things: they learned not necessarily the criteria upon which they will be judged, but that there will be a winner of each of the three days, with the final winner announced at the Gala dinner on Saturday night. The teams will not know how many points will be amassed on each of the days, so they are encouraged to try their hardest each day (goes without saying).

But perhaps the most exciting news teams learned in their meeting was that the final winner of this year’s NBC will win a trip to El Salvador to assist Café de El Salvador with the first El Salvador Barista Championship! The amazing Luis Rodriguez is here on hand to teach teams and attendees all about the coffees of El Salvador, which are gaining incredible prominence in the highest quality coffee programs in the world.

After a brief good morning and welcome to the event from the organizers, the team captains were recognized and introduced the team members from each country, including the very special guests, the national team from Estonia! Once again it proves that the primary focus in this competition is really sharing. The hope is after experiencing the Nordic Barista Cup firsthand and having free reign to all the information this year’s organizers have assembled, the Estonians will be able to use their knowledge to create a new event of their own. Perhaps a Baltic Open is in our future.

Martin Hildebrant just addressed the audience, speaking about “Expanding Your Toolbox.” He wasn’t necessarily talking about a physical toolbox, however, but the one kept between your ears, your mind. “If you keep doing what you have always done, you’re very likely to keep getting the same results you are getting,” he said.

He also asked the attendees to think about what it means to be a barista and what they hope the definition of a barista will expand to include in the future. This will be a theme throughout the weekend. Your mind is like a full glass of water, he said, if you share your knowledge you create space to learn something new. You can’t pour more water into a full glass, and some people have their glasses turned upside. Let’s hope I’m not one of those!

This guy is so awesome. Luis Rodriguez is a trailblazer for producing countries in his passion for the barista craft. Hailing from the Salvadoran Coffee Council, Luis is fresh from some travel in the United States – he attended the SCAA’s Roasters Guild Retreat, after which he spent some time with his friends at Intelligentsia Coffee Roasters ion Chicago, Ill., where he discussed coffee production with consumers and wholesale customers, as well as with the Intelly staff.

Now he’s made the trip to Copenhagen to represent Café de El Salvador as a sponsor of the Nordic Barista Cup in an effort to promote transparency from his producing region through to the baristas in attendance at this event. And he’s doing a fine job of it.

Luis presented attendees and barista teams with an informative lecture on coffee production in El Salvador, beans from in increasingly high demand among some of the top coffee professionals in the world. It should be noted that World Barista Champions Matthew Riddle (Intelligentsia) and James Hoffmann (La Spaziale) both used El Salvadoran beans in their blends.

During his lecture, Luis shared some astounding facts about the coffees of El Salvador, such as 68 percent Bourbon variety, and 29 percent grown is Pacas, which is a natural mutation of Bourbon. Coffee was introduced to El Salvador in 1740, but more interesting is the fact that in the 1970s, El Salvador ranked fourth worldwide in coffee exportation, an – hang onto your hats – first in productivity!

“For us, working with baristas and doing more training with the people producing our coffee has been so (beneficial) and important,” he told the audience. Luis revealed to the crowd that the Salvadoran Coffee Council is in the process of opening a barista and coffee school to further their efforts.

Four of the most sought-after prizes in the silent auction taking place throughout the Nordic Barista Cup is spots to accompany the winning team at this year’s Nordic Barista Cup to El Salvador on a trip to the first-ever El Salvador Barista Championship. Starting bid is 1000 Euro, and bidding – especially after Luis’ engaging discussion of the beautiful coffees of El Salvador – is getting fierce!

---Sarah Allen

No one could argue that the intense focus on the Cup of Excellence (CoE) program and the importance of quality has been truly the highlight of today (so far!). I’ll add to Ken’s sentiments about Steven Hurst’s discussion of the CoE that the audience was quite responsive to his definitions about quality and specialty coffee in general. Mr. Hurst was the first to admit that some of his sentiments were perhaps contentious: “This is a controversial idea I have, that the specialty coffee business is just 17 years old,” he said, noting that his reasoning behind the thought was that prior to 17 years ago, the coffee trade was highly regulated, resulting in the stifling of innovation and quality practices.

Mr. Hurst explained that while there are many auctions in existence currently, each works towards different, or at least varied, goals. All subscribe to one or more overriding themes: Ethics, Environment and/or Quality. Mr. Hurst pointed out that when it comes to the CoE, however, the focus is almost entirely on quality. “They (these three focuses) are all good for different reasons,” he said. “But of primary importance is making an informed decision.”

After a lunch break, during which attendees were encouraged to enjoy their sandwiches and salads with a new “buddy,” the discussion of CoE continued, this time led by Soren Sylvest, owner of Estate Coffee in Copenhagen and frequent CoE juror and buyer. Mr. Sylvest invited attendees with experience judging CoE coffees to share their experiences with the audience. Perhaps one of the most celebrated CoE judges ever, Mr. Kintaro Maruyama of the Maruyama Group in Japan, took the microphone to share some of his experiences working with CoE coffees over the years (he has judged in an unprecedented 25 of the 27 CoE competitions to date). Because of his insistence on pushing the consumption and appreciation of quality in Japan, CoE coffees are available in such common spots as city train stations!

Serious competition got underway when the barista teams were instructed to go over to four long cupping tables set up adjacent to the stage.

At each table was a member of each country’s team, and cups were prepared for smelling, as well as filled with hot water by the indefatigable Estonian team members, who seem to have the ability to help in 100 ways at once. The barista teams evaluated the coffees on their tables using the CoE score sheets, approaching each cup with an intensity that proved their professional expertise at the cupping table. At the same time, attendees cupped the same coffees and worked with the CoE score sheet, as well.

At the close of both cuppings, judges disappeared to evaluate the score sheets. News of the winning team to come!

---Sarah Allen

So you understand by now that the mantra at the Nordic Barista Cup is learning by sharing, right? After a coffee break following Luis Rodriguez’s presentation of Café de El Salvador, attendees eagerly returned to the lecture area to hear from Mr. Anders Selmer, the owner of celebrated Danish restaurant, Noma, located just one building over from where the Nordic Barista Cup events have been taking place.

Why the eagerness? Noma is ranked the 33rd best restaurant in the entire world, and that fact is especially impressive considering the focus on the traditional Nordic cuisine served there, which in the past has been much maligned.

Rather than expound on the history of Nordic cuisine, however, Anders instead pulled out a large cardboard box, and announced to the teams and attendees that one of the most creative events of the entire weekend would take place with the contents of the box.

Reminiscent of the crazy ingredient competition held in Iceland at the 2004 Nordic Barista Cup, Anders told the teams that they would be judged on their ability to create coffee drinks using the many ingredients he had assembled in the box at a competition to take place on a public square in Copenhagen on Saturday, the final day of the event.

The contents of the box included ingredients gathered from all five countries represented here: Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland.

Included:
--4 litres of birkevand (which is birch tree sap, a very special water collected from trees native to Sweden)
--Jamaican Blue Mountain Stout from Denmark
--Mutzo apples from a small island, South Sealand, in Denmark
--Lidt Skagen, a specialty ham from the northernmost town in Norway
--Woodruf, a Nordic herb
--Malt powder from Iceland
--Dried berries called syrlige torrede native to both Norway and Sweden
--Full fat organic milk from Arla Denmark
--Buttermilk from Arla Denmark
--Gourmet bryggeriet, which is a beer syrup from Denmark
--Chifon flaske, a special syrup from Finland
--Geleringsmiddel, a Finnish gelatin
--A special mustard from the Swedish island of Gotland
--Coffee!

Barista teams must use their teamwork capabilities and creativity to come up with one drink to be served to two judges, including Anders, on Saturday. Competitors were also given a cocktail shaker, a Nitrogen canister and CO2, a knife, and a cutting board. They will be allowed to use steam and hot water, but no other cooking facilities, and the two drinks are to be served in paper cups. Teams will be judged on their ability to use as many ingredients as possible, and their success or failure at developing a drink that actually tastes good!

Anders left the teams with one hint: “When I go out for a drink, sometimes I get a little snack with that, so you can work with that.”

At least that might take care of the ham.

---Sarah Allen

In a brainstorming session held toward the end of the day and lead by Martin Hildebrant, attendees were asked to suggest any resources they thought might be helpful for the rest of the group to further develop their skills as baristas, coffee professionals and entrepreneurs. The following sources were suggested by the group:
Ted.com
Coffeed.com
Tastescience.org
Waitly.com
Fatduck.co.uk
Robbins.com
David Schwartz – The Magic of Thinking Big
Harold McGee – On Food and Cooking
Jimrohn.com
Skype.com
Vardskapet.se
Lesley Rea – Cohan Page
Guykawasaki.com
“Why We Buy”
“Blue Ocean Theory”
HarveyMckey.com
David Schomer
Big-rick.com/coffee/waterfaq.html
Dale Carnegie – How to Talk Upfront of People and Influence Them

As informative as the day’s educational sessions were, all attendees and baristas looked forward to the chance to head outdoors in the late afternoon for a boat tour of Copenhagen. Walking down the pier from the event space, attendees saw a bar set up from which they were handed glasses of champagne. Toasts were made, and then everyone clambered onto the pontoon boat. The tour guides could not have been more perfect: Fritz Storm (2002 WBC Champion) and Troels Overdal Poulsen (2005 WBC Champion) regaled the crowd with funny stories of Copenhagen’s history, as well as interesting facts about the city only a few are lucky enough to call home.

---Sarah Allen

Team Norway prepares for sailing in traditional Sandinavian syle.

Guido and Andreas take moment to reflect on maritime traditions.

When two cultures meet, what do you say but Skål!

One of you tour guides, Fritz Storm.

Ship of fool? No, a ship of baristas!

The most beautiful thing in all of Denmark according to Troels and Fritz.

After a short break following the scenic hour-long boat tour, attendees and teams regrouped at Noma for dinner. Drinks made with buttermilk meant to inspire teams in their creation of special drinks for Saturday’s ingredient competition were served to all before they headed into a large dining room and found their seats.

A five-course dinner, generously sponsored by Arla Sweden, was served with complementary wines, beers and barley wines, proving to all exactly why Noma has earned its impeccable reputation. Prior to the cheese course, Tim Wendelboe and the judges gathered at the front of the room to make the exciting announcement of the first day’s winner.

But first, Tim announced that four of the competitors had scored all of the El Salvador Cup of Excellence coffees in the day’s cupping correctly and in the right rank, an impressive feat. They were: Elfa Dröfn Stefánsdóttir of Iceland, Ingibjörg Jóna Sigurðardótti of Iceland, Halvard Amble of Norway, and Ulrika Hannula of Finland.

Tim went on to announce the ranking of the highest individual scores of the day:
3rd Place: Elfa Dröfn Stefánsdóttir of Iceland
2nd Place: Pekka Heinonen of Finland
1st Place: Anne Lunell of Sweden
Anne won the competition with an incredible score: she was only 10 points away from a perfect score of 400.

And then it was time for Tim to announce the winning team of the day! He told the group that the judges were challenged in scoring objectively while having such a good time – a good challenge to have. “It’s actually getting quite hard!” he said.

And then he shouted, “The winner of the first day is Norway!” and then crowd went crazy. But in a turn of events unlike any other in the Nordic Barista Cup history, Tim announced that there had actually been a tie! The Swedish Barista Team shared top honors with Norway.

Thanks to the talented staff (chefs and knowledgeable waiters included), last night’s festivities left a few (er, make that more than a few) a bit bleary-eyed this morning. The combination of superb cuisine and spectacular wines and beers, plus leisurely service and long, pleasant conversations and revelry, was a lot to digest after such a full day of activities. But at the Nordic Barista Cup, some sort of strange energy comes over everyone, giving us all the capability to reenergize almost magically.

Perhaps it is because we know that the activities to come will be just as good if not better than the ones before. Teams drifted through the doors to the event space around 8 a.m., ready for a lesson from Zander Nosler about the history of the Clover, which has been quite a focus of attention since the NBC began yesterday. Attendees were noticeably absent, most likely catching up on some sleep!

First things first: Barista teams were directed to a special informational session with the judges, where they were briefed on what would take place over the course of the day: Informative discussions and tastings of sugar from Mr. Lars Bo Jorgensen of Danisco to follow the Clover session.

Remember how we told you yesterday about the goodie bags all teams and competitors received upon registration at the beginning of the event? NBC Organizer Jens Norgaard relieved the barista teams’ curiosity about the jump rope included in the bag by asking team members to take it out and look at the counter (each rope is equipped with a counter to track the number of “skips” on each rope). Then he walked through the room and recorded the number of skips on each rope. As most of the baristas had yet to even take the ropes out of the packaging, the scores for number of skips were low (except for Icelandic team coach Ragga, who had been getting some exercise and thus earned victory for the Icelanders).

Some of you may remember the lovely Polish barista and café owner Joanna (Asia) Grzybowska who graced the cover of the February/March 2006 issue of Barista Magazine. Joanna has spent the last few months working as a barista at Kaffitar in Iceland, and is sincerely one of the most enthusiastic coffee professionals around.

But she’s a tough customer. She expects a lot from her coffee and equipment, and she approached Zander’s Clover (the revolutionary by-the-cup brewing machine developed by Seattle-based Coffee Equipment Company) presentation with high expectations. And at the conclusion, she was anything but disappointed.

“He presented the story of the Clover with such personal elements, such stories that I could relate to,” Joanna said. She was referring to the earnest intensity Zander cannot help but communicate when he discusses his engineering background which he has focused on the equipment, the extensive market research that the Coffee Equipment Company engaged in while developing the popular brewing machine, and the passion for coffee – for really, really great coffee – he and his colleagues at Coffee Equipment Company have.

“We wanted to come to (the Nordic Barista Cup) because from what we had heard, it would have a high density of very serious coffee people, and so far, that’s been very true,” Zander said. “The educational opportunities for them and for us are just incredible. You miss all that at (larger) conventions and trade shows. It’s harder to maintain the educational focus. But here, the opposite it true.”

Why would terribly serious baristas who prefer their espresso with hardly any accoutrements care to learn about sugar? It’s quite simple actually: they can’t call themselves professionals unless they truly understand not only the science behind each and every ingredient that comes into contact with their beloved brew, but they must also understand the desires of their customers, as well – and we all know how common consumers’ use of sugar and syrup is in their coffee and espresso drinks.

After a presentation on the roasting process by Probat’s Arno Schwenk and his associate Daniella on the colorette machine and process (where the darkness of roast is examined through a detailed carefully calibrated instrument, it was time for the national teams to prove they had paid close attention.

Each team was given a number of samples of coffee grounds, and using only their eyes, they were assigned the task of evaluating the roast by assigning the number they thought the colorette machine would assign to each one. A very dark roast for example would normally be evaluated as a 60 where a very light roast would come up as a 160. The samples would likely fall somewhere in between. It was up to the teams to determine exactly where.

If you think it might be odd for a company that builds roasters to be a major sponsor of a barista event, Arno says otherwise. “We want to be in the process,” he says. “We want (baristas) to know what we are doing, but on the other hand, we are learning to. When we have (interactions) like this with baristas, we know more about the whole process and we can improve our machines. If we know the barista and the green coffee people, we know the process from the seed to the cup. The barista’s product is also our product.”

As for who won the competition, we don’t know yet, but whichever team proves itself most adept at performing as a human colorette machine will certainly improve its chances at winning the day.

-- Kenneth R Olson

Leave it to the organizers of the Nordic Barista Cup to put together the dream auction for a true coffee nerd. On the block were a variety of incredible products ranging from the small to the insanely big. Top prizes eager bidders kept their eye on included a new variety of portafilter with a Teflon coating, a trip to El Salvador to accompany the yet-to-be-announced 2006 NBC winning team at the first-ever El Salvador Barista Championship, a training session with former WBC champs Troels Overdal Poulsen and one with Fritz Storm, a session at the celebrated Danish restaurant, Noma, with the executive chef—the list of incredible items up for bid went on and on and on.

But there was one prize unlike any other, a prize we’ve been talking about ‘round the world since the conclusion of the WBC last May in Bern. It’s a goat. Yes, a goat. It’s 2006 World Barista Champion Klaus Thomsen’s goat (his trophy for winning), to be specific.

Klaus was generous and creative enough to donate his first place trophy to this auction raising money for the NBC Foundation, and many had their eye on the little wooden wooly from the start. Bidding began at 300 Euro and quickly rose to 600 Euro, a battle especially fierce between David Latourell of Clover and Jens Norgaard of Café Europa.

Though it was a silent auction, the bidding was so intense between these two that Martin Hildebrandt decided to up the ante and make it live. The crowd gathered at 3 p.m., the official end time for the auction, and bidding between David and Jens began at 600 Euro. On and on it went, until finally Jens proved the victor with a winning bid of 1000 Euro.

After yet another terrific buffet-style meal (with a tiramisu desert that is simply out of this world) the attendees and teams take their seats in front of the stage and screen. The Norwegian national barista team is presenting slide show from their trip to Brazil, the grand prize for winning last year’s NBC.

It’s almost the end of day two and the teams have gathered to hear the announcement of today’s winner. It’s a little odd that the winner will be announced before the final competition of the evening, but the teams don’t seem to mind. I think they’re feeling like it will take a little pressure off of them if they already know who has won the day. (And apparently it did as the day’s winner was smoked in the last competition of the evening. See post above for more detail.)

Unlike Day 1, there is no tie for first place. After the water tasting competition, which the winner excelled in, it was simple for the judges to choose the day’s victor. They do note, however, that though the team excelled in the formal competition aspect of the day’s event, what really makes the day’s winner stand out was the respect, humor and good spirit they showed to each other and as a team. They really have the team spirit. “They work so well together, it’s like they’re not working at all,” the judges’ spokesman, Tim Wendleboe quipped.

The teams, all anxious, huddle around each other, as Wendleboe performs his own drum roll, and the winner is: a long, long pause – Denmark! The home country team jumps for joy and exchanges hugs all around.

Congratulations, Denmark!

--Kenneth R Olson

It’s the thinking baristas’ favorite game show: Jeopardy! And the stakes couldn’t be higher (well, unless the national teams were playing for real money anyway.) The host, Alexander, bounds to the stage and welcomes all six teams to the final event on Friday night, a coffee-themed game show where the answers are given and the contestants have to supply the questions. And yes, we did say six teams not five because for this competition, the indefatigable volunteers of the Estonia national barista team are invited to participate fully in the fun.

As the scores and questions are tallied on the big screen behind the stage, the teams seem to struggle a little through the first round. Clearly knowing the second round is on the way, where the values are doubled and the scores can really change is weighing heavily on the contestants’ minds. When the round draws to a close, only a few hundred points separate first from fifth place, though Iceland who insists on betting big when they hit the “Joker” question, a strategy which worked well for them last year when they won this event, has not come through so far and now trails badly.

Still the second round doubles the number of points available, and anything’s possible. Furiously, the teams shake their noisemakers, and submit their questions to answer after answer. “The number of chromosomes in Arabica coffee,” Alexander says, and the Danish team is quick to respond with, “What is 44?” “Correct!” And they climb back into it, but still the onslaught from the Norwegians and Swedes is too much, and by the end of the second round, the three teams with negative amounts of points, Denmark, Iceland, and Finland are eliminated, leaving Sweden, Norway and upstatt Estonia to duke it out for the victory.

The teams make their wagers, and then chemical symbol for caffeine is flashed on the screen. Estonia and Norway both have the correct answer, but only one has enough points to win: Norway claims the Jeopardy! title and the team embraces and jumps for joy. Now that’s a game show and a great high note to close out the second day of the Nordic Barista Cup.

Tomorrow we meet in Nytorv in a public square to start the third and final day of competition. Let’s hope the weather holds and the rain won’t be a factor. Certainly, however, fun will be.

--Kenneth R Olson

It rained earlier, and the ground is still wet, but the clouds are beginning to break up, and it looks like we may have some nice weather for the rest of the event, the outdoor section at least. The crew was here in Nytorv early, setting up a giant tent full of La Marzoccos, Clovers and even a Probatino.

While the attendees are invited to take a tour of Copenhagen’s renowned coffee shops, where they’ll be treated to free coffee with a flash of their NBC badge, the teams will be working the streets, trying to sell coffee to whomever they can in an effort to raise money for a health care project in El Salvador. The teams will roast coffee on the Probatino, then set up stations around town to hawk their goods and collect cold hard cash to be sent to help out in El Salvador. It sounds like a fun time in the benefit of a good cause, just like most things here at the NBC.

After that, there will be a number of other competitions for the teams and for the attendees and the public to watch them show their stuff. No one, other than the organizers, however, knows just what exactly those competitions will be, so watch this space to find out.

--Kenneth R Olson

The clouds continued to hold off the rain here in the public square of Nytorv while the barista teams hit the pavement with coffee in one hand a pail in the other. They were looking to make a deal with whomever they could find. Whatever you were willing to pay (and hopefully just a little bit more!) they’d take, and in exchange you’d get a cup of coffee or a latte or even whole bean.

Meanwhile, the teams took turns at the Probatino, roasting up fresh batches of coffee (which will be used later in another competition) with Probat’s roastmaster Arno Schweck.

--Kenneth R Olson

You recall, of course, the box full of an odd combination of ingredients which barista teams were given by Anders Selmer, the chef of Denmark’s celebrated restaurant, Noma, right? Today was the day they put them all to use, from the beer brewed with Jamaican Blue Mountain beer, to a Norwegian ham, to an exotic herb from the Icelandic forest called Woodruf—and espresso, of course!

On the square under the tents,. Baristas were given five minutes to prepare two drinks and snacks for the special judges: Anders along with Claus Meyer, a very famous Danish chef who has, as Jens Norgaard says, been incredibly successful at developing Nordic cuisine. Claus is part owner of both Noma and Estate Coffee. (Learn more about him at www.meyersmadhus.dk)

Finland got the ball rolling, taking the “stage” first by serving judges a snack made from ham rolled with the crème fresh, Woodruf and mustard. Espresso was prepared in a halved-out apple. Iceland was also original, making an effort to combine at least one ingredient from all five countries in the snack. Norway announced to the judges that they had written a manifesto about their approach to the competition. They aimed” to break the barrier between food and drink,” and to served the ingredients “horizontally rather than all on top of each other.”

The winning team of this unique competition will be revealed at tonight’s Gala dinner (which, by the way did we mention, has an eighties theme? Get out your legwarmers!)

Was it a world record? I’m not sure, but it certainly was entertaining. In two five-minute sessions, each team poured as many works as latte art as they possibly could. Under the watchful eyes of the judges who carefully made notes about acceptable and unacceptable pours, and as even the temperature of each drink was measured to make sure it stayed within established parameters, The crowd swelled, and cheers sounded boisterously for each team. Flags waved and the baristas began their best efforts.

After the first round Team Suomi (or Finland to folks like me) held a commanding lead over the rest of the teams. Norway, Sweden and Denmark had seven pours each. Iceland had 11, while the Finnish baristas had a whopping 16 successful pours.

With the pressure on, the teams regrouped to discuss strategy for the second round, and whatever they said, it must have worked. Storming out of the gate to another round of wild applause, each team turned up their efforts and the judges agreed. Finland stayed in the double digits with 12 lattes. Norway had 15. Iceland had 16, Denmark 17 and Sweden an amazing 19 quality latte art pours.

--Kenneth R Olson

Any lingering questions competitors and attendees might have had about the Clover brewing machine were put to rest with a competition pitting the five Nordic Barista teams (joined by the Estonian team!) against each other brewing the El Salvadoran beans each had roasted that very morning on the Probatino.

Way, way too much hot pink, leg warmers, braided headbands, and other objects best left behind to the Jazzercize era reared their heads at an eighties theme party to end what has been one of the best Nordic Barista Cup events to date!

A particularly large amount off effort went into David Latourell from Clover’s outfit. He got inspiration, it seemed, from eighties icons far and wide including MC Hammer and the Go Go’s.

After yet another fantastic dinner and of course lots of champagne, the winner of the three-day long competition was finally revealed. Besides bragging rights, this winning team earned the spectacular prize of a trip to El Salvador to visit coffee farms, meet baristas and assist in executing the very first El Salvador Barista Championship.

And the winner is…. NORWAY!

At the Nordic Barista Cup, everyone is a winner. Though one team is determined the winner at the close of the event, the other four teams all share the title of runner up, and such esteemed recognition was well deserved for each barista competing.

Thank you, Copenhagen and the Nordic Barista Cup organizers for 2006! It has been an event we will never forget. Next year, we will gather again to learn and share once again, this time in Gothenburg, Sweden. See you there!

--Sarah Allen & Kenneth R Olson