World of Coffee Dublin Ends on a High

​Thousands Gather in Dublin for SCAE’s Flagship Event
 
Dublin, Ireland 25 June 2016 – They came in their thousands to follow the hugely successful World of Coffee to Dublin for the first time ever. Over 6,500 people met with more than 1,500 exhibitors at 250 stands over the 3-day event at the 10,000sqm RDS Simmonscourt venue.  The World Barista Champion and the World Brewers Cup Champion were both crowned, thousands of coffee professionals were educated and inspired and the parties will go down in World of Coffee history as some of the best nights in Dublin!

​Organised by the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE) and sponsored by BWT water+more, World of Coffee Dublin combined an interactive exhibition which even had a silent disco! There was also an expansive programme of educational seminars, talks and cuppings and the first ever Sustainability Forum which proved a very successful addition to the event. The SCAE Excellence Awards, sponsored by OikoCredit, the New Product of the Show Awards and the SCAE Photography Awards were all given to worthy winners and the second year of Re:co the Speciality Coffee Symposium, where delegates discussed innovation and strategic development within the industry, was another great success.
 
The Winner’s Enclosure!
Everyone cheered as the two new world champions were crowned after three days of intense competition:
 
World Barista Champion – Berg Wu of Taiwan
The runners up were – Yoshikazu Iwase (2nd) from Japan, Ben Put (3rd) from Canada, Lem Butler (4th) from USA, Charlotte Malaval (5th) from France and Lex Wenneker (6th) from The Netherlands.

World Brewers Cup Champion –Tetsu Kasuya of Japan 
The runners up were – Mikaela Wallgreen (2nd) from Finland, Chad Wang from Taiwan (3rd), Benny Wong from Hong Kong (4th), Todd Goldsworthy from USA (5th) and Odd-Steinar Tollefsen from Norway (6th).
 
SCAE Excellence Awards
Leaders in the SCAE Community were also celebrated at the event, when the SCAE Excellence Awards were announced on Friday 24th June.  Proudly sponsored by Oikocredit, the Awards are judged by the SCAE International Development Committee and honour members of the coffee community who have contributed to the success of the industry through education, innovation, sustainability and entrepreneurship. This year’s winners are:
 
Young Entrepreneur Award: Henry Wilson, Perfect Daily Grind, Passionate Educator Award: Chiara Bergonzi, independent trainer, Innovation Award: Pete Southern, Creator of the PUSH Tamper, Working Towards Sustainability: Benjamin Weiner, Gold Mountain Coffee Growers, The Ambassador’s Award – Tony Overbeak, Urnex, Lifetime Achievement Award: Edy Bieker @ Sandalj, head of the quality and training departments.
 
New Product of the Show Awards
The New Product of the Show Awards, were announced on Thursday 23rd June and recognised the most exciting new innovations to enter the market over the last 12 months. The winners were:
 
Best New Professional Espresso Machine
Slayer Steam and a special mention goes to Gruppo Cimbali SPA for the Faema E71
Best New Professional Small Equipment
Milk Mate by La Cultura del Caffe
Best New Food/Non-Coffee Beverage
Hazel Mountain Cacao Tea with a special mention to Coffee Cherry from Mare Terra Green Coffee
Best New Roasters Product
Coffee-tech Engineering Ltd with the Silon ZR-7
Best New Consumer Product
Beans Corp Ltd with the Cafflano Kompact
Best New IT & Technology Innovation
Artisan Coffee Group Ltd with the Open Cup
Best New Packaging
Ahlstrom with the Green Capsule Top Lid
 
SCAE Photography Awards
SCAE’s annual Photography Awards were another crowd pleaser at World of Coffee. The judges included Johan Damgaard, Johan & Nystrom, Chris Dobbs, Chris Dobbs Photography, Sarah Grennan, Café Europa and Ludovic Maillard, Maison Jobin
 
From Bean to Cup – Marcin Rzonca
The People and the Bean – Gavin Smart
The Artist's Way – Raul Perez
The Bean and the Farm – Victor Beis
 
Budapest 2017!
Dublin was the most successful yet and it’s now all eyes on Budapest when World of Coffee moves to the Hungarian capital in 2017.  Bookings for World of Coffee Budapest opened in Dublin and over two-thirds (71%) of the available stand space at the Hung Expo have already been booked so don’t miss out on being a part of this great event. www.worldofcoffee-budapest.com
 
Paul Stack, Operations Director with Marco Beverage Systems and President of SCAE commented; ‘There is a vibrancy and energy in the speciality coffee market and that is evident at what has been a hugely successful World of Coffee event. The market is growing exponentially and will continue to do so and on Pride Weekend in Dublin we are certainly very proud to have brought this event to this great city.’

According to David Veal, SCAE’s Executive Director; ‘I’m really pleased to be able report to total success of World of Coffee Dublin this year. I want to express my thanks and congratulations to everybody who has been involved – from all of the 6,500 visitors, through to the exhibitors, sponsors, and all of the volunteers who have made the show possible, including members of SCAE and especially the Irish chapter. This has been, without a doubt, the biggest and best World of Coffee in the history of the event and it has been a great testament to the strength and vibrancy of our community. But we move on and we are already looking forward to a fantastic event in Budapest next year.’
-ends-

NOTES TO EDITOR
For high-resolution imagery from the event please email Aisling Wynne, aisling@crimsoncommunications.ie
 
 
FURTHER INFORMATION
 
Media
Aisling Wynne
Crimson Media + Communications
M: +353 87 6686890
E: aisling@crimsoncommunications.ie
 
Event Director
Garret Buckley
EventHaus
T: +353 1 846 0020
M: +353 86 246 5093
E: garret.buckley@eventhaus.ie