Russian Barista Days—New Champions Crowned

Russian Championships in Barista, Brewers, Coffee In Good Spirits, Roasting, Cup Tasters, and Latte Art Yield a New Slate of Champions at Russian Barista Days

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SOYUZ COFFEE ROASTING UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

Spring in Moscow couldn’t be more worthy of a celebration, and the great Russian Baristas Days—three days with six national championships involved—was well suited to the task. Hundreds of coffee professionals and enthusiasts alike turned out to see who would win the prestigious titles of Russian Barista Champion, Russian Latte Art Champion, Russian Coffee In Good Spirits Champion, Russian Cup Tasters Champion, Russian Brewers Cup Champion, and Russian Roasting Champion.

The Russian Barista Championship

Thirty-five baristas from different Russian cities battled for the title and a chance to go to Dublin, Ireland, to represent Russia at the World Barista Championship in June. Six finalists each proved worthy of the championship, but Segrey Mitrofanov of Double B Coffee & Tea in Moscow was the best of the best. Sergey, an experienced barista and competitor, chose Colombian Geisha for his espresso, milk beverage, and signature drink. His goal was to show how the chemical processes during roasting could influence coffee taste. Espresso is enzymes with its citrus, green apple, and kiwi fruit flavor. Cappuccino is caramelization with its praline and lemongrass notes. In the end of his presentation Sergey prepared a cold signature drink based on espresso with lemongrass and jasmine tea.

Sergey Mitrofanov, winner of the 2016 Russian Barista Championship.

Konstantin Khramov of OMNI Coffee in Krasnodar was runner-up of the Russian Barista Championship, with a beautiful Geisha from Hacienda Esmeralda in Panama. fHe described his espresso as very sweet with orange, peach, and coriander flavor. Konstantin worked hard on his signature drink, testing different ingredients and preparation styles, and determined that saffron was key. His signature drink based on espresso with saffron, honey water, strawberry juice, and orange peel, was served cold.

Konstantin Khramov was the runner-up in the Russian Barista Championship.

The Russian Brewers Cup

Six very experienced baristas competed in the final round for the title of national Brewers Cup champion, bringing some extraordinary coffees to the table, including two Geisha varieties, three Kenyans, and a red Colombian Caturra. In the end, Dmitry Boroday of Double B Coffee & Tea in Moscow, with his Caturra which he carried back in his suitcase from a sourcing trip to Colombia, was the big winner. Dmitry brewed with an Immersion Wilfa Pour Over, using 20 grams of coffee and 314.5 grams of water to get a sweet, clean and juicy beverage. He used soft water 15 ppm controlling precisely its proportions to the coffee. Dmitry poured 310 grams of water in 15 seconds, adding 4.5 grams with a syringe in the end of the process. “The water loses 4.5 grams while on contact with coffee and I need accuracy,” he told the judges. Cup descriptors included red tea, raspberry, mango and papaya, white chocolate and sweet carrot. Dmitry looks forward to representing Russia at the World Brewers Cup in Dublin, Ireland, in June.

Dmitry Boroday is the 2016 Russian Brewers Cup Champion. Photo by Dmitry Loginov

Dmitry Koriukin of OMNI Coffee in Krasnodar placed second in the Russian Brewers Cup. Dmitry used Geisha from Esmeralda to make Hario V60 pourovers. His brew profile was 15 grams of coffee and 250 grams of water, 30 seconds of preinfusion, and about 3.5 minutes of the total brewing time. He described his coffee to the judges as having a sweet and clean cup with orange, coriander, mango, and sweet apple flavor, and black tea with bergamot in the finish.

Dmitry Koriukin placed second in the Russian Brewers Cup event.

Latte Art

The popular Moscow-based coffee bar chain Coffeemania celebrated a victory in the Russian Latte Art Championship when barista Vitaliy Veretilnik—a four-year veteran of the competition—took first place. Vitality looks forward to traveling to Shanghai in late March to represent Russia at the World Latte Art Championship.

Vitaliy Veretilnik is the 2016 Russian Latte Art Champion.

Coffee in Good Spirits

Ekaterina Vereshchagina of Lebedev Café won the Russian Coffee in Good Spirits Championship with an electrifying performance that included a classic Irish coffee made with Kenya Muteka Mutuani and 14-year-old single malt Scotch. The main components in her signature drink were espresso, Riga Balsam Currant, and birch sap.

Ekaterina Vereshchagina is Russia’s new Coffee In Good Spirits Champion. Photo by Elena Kupriianova

Coffee Roasting Championship

The national coffee roasting competition began one day before the main event started, in order to give competitors time to properly roast and rest their coffees. The championship lasted four days ending with the final cupping to determine the winner being held late at night. The 2016 Russian Roasting Champion is Renata Ekshikeeva of Double B Coffee & Tea in Moscow, who will travel to Shanghai in late March to represent Russia at the World Roasting Championship.

Cup Tasters Championship

In the Russian Cup Tasting Championship, Victoria Sharkova of Coffeemania bested 62 competitors, naming six out of six cups correctly. Victoria will take her skills to Shanghai in March to represent Russia at the World Cup Tasters Championship.

Viktoria Sharkova is Russia’s new Cup Tasters Champion.

The Judges

The head judges during the event were Teija Marika Lublinkhof (WCE Representative, Barista Competition, Coffee in Good Spirits), Gloria Pedroza (Brewers Cup, Coffee Roasting Competition), Alexander Tsibaev (Barista Competition), Polina Notik (Latte Art Championship).

The organizer of the event was Coffee and Tea Magazine in Russia supported by SCAE and WCE.  

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