International Coffee & Tea Festival 2014 opens to strong visitor response

November 12, 2014: H.E. Eng. Mohammed Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz Al Shehhi, Board Member, Meydan Hotel, along with H.E Hamad Buamim, Director General, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, inaugurated today (Wednesday, November 12, 2014), the 6th edition of International Coffee & Tea Festival (ICTF), the only dedicated trade event for the coffee and tea industry in the Middle East, to an overwhelming response from exhibitors and visitors at the Meydan Hotel Gallery in Dubai. The show, which will be held until November 14, 2014, showcased some excellent and entertaining features on the first day, which included the new ‘World Barista Championship ALL STARS.’

The ‘World Barista Championship ALL STARS’ drew a huge crowd at the opening day of the International Coffee & Tea Festival, where the world champion baristas, brewers and latte artists showcased excellent skills, techniques and coffee know-how. The World Champions interacted thoroughly with the audience in various entertaining head-to-head challenges, a pop-quiz and opportunities for autographs and photographs. These four award-winning baristas - Hidenori Izaki, Stefanos Domatiotis, Christos Loukakis, and Gwilym Davies - are globally renowned for their distinct talent in coffee making, having won several International Championships.

The National Level Barista, Latte Art and Ibrik Championships gathered the most skilled and professional baristas in the country who competed for the 6th UAE Barista Championship, 3rd UAE Latte Art Championship and 1st UAE Ibrik Championhip. Recognized and advocated by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) and licensed by World Coffee Events (WCE), the UAE Barista Championship is the only national coffee competition organized in the region. It also offers the winner the opportunity to represent the UAE at the World Barista Championship to be held in Seattle in 2015. Kushal Balami, last year’s winner of the National Level Barista Championship, competed at the World Barista Championship 2014, which took place in Rimini, Italy.

The opening day of the International Coffee & Tea Festival 2014 also hosted the region’s only SCAA-Certified Coffee Training. The enlightening sessions shared a wealth of knowledge, experience and cutting-edge techniques with participants as it integrated the broader topics of Coffee Preparation, Coffee Grading as well as Coffee Roasting, catering to everyone from seasoned professionals to amateurs. All workshops, over the three day period, will be conducted by instructor-certified industry professionals and administered by SCAA, to impart hands-on training to attendees who will receive a formal qualification and certification with worldwide acceptance upon completion.

Ryan Godinho, UAE’s National Body Liaison for World Coffee Events and Special Events Coordinator (Training & Championships), ICTF, said:  “We are extremely delighted to have received such a fantastic response for the 2014 International Coffee & Tea Festival. It has always been our endeavour to make the show more engaging and exciting for the visitors and our latest edition reflects this commitment. In line with our efforts to support the growth of the already bustling beverage industry in the Middle East, we have introduced the ‘World Barista Championship ALL STARS,’ where the visitors can taste amazing brews prepared by World Champions. In addition, the National Level Barista, Latte Art and Ibrik Championships attracted participation from the leading baristas in the region. Visitors also benefited from the coffee training and will be looking forward to more interactive sessions over the next two days.”