Taiwan’s Chad Wang wins 2017 World Brewers Cup

The World of Coffee has come to an end with the crowning of four new world coffee champions in Budapest, Hungary. Chad Wang of Jascaffe China in Taiwan was crowned the 2017 World Brewers Cup Champion, and Australia’s Sam of Ona Coffee finished runner up in his first world championship. Australia’s Sam Corra of Ona Coffee placed second, ahead of Stathis Koremtas of Taf Coffee in Greece who placed third; Michael Manhart, an independent roaster from Austria was in fourth place; Constantin Hoppenz of Bonanza Coffee in Germany in fifth place, and Petra Strelecka of Industa Coffee in the Czech Republic placed sixth. “I’m very honoured and humbled to be the 2017 World Brewers Cup Champion, I know there were a lot of skilled baristas who have competed over the past two days, and I too have worked very hard for these championship,” Wang told the audience. “Taiwan has been well acknowledged for its [specialty coffee] with Berg Wu winning the 2016 World Barista Championship, and I will also try to uphold this same standard as the new Brewers Cup Champion.” For his routine, Chad used a natural-processed Geisha from Ninety Plus Geisha Estates in Boquete, Panama (number 277 out of 300 coffees he tried), which was roasted in Budapest three days before the competition. Wang used a ceramic V60 pour over for “temperature stability” with 15 grams of coffee to 250 millilitres of his own water at 92°C to create 220 millilitres of beverage. He began with a 30-second pre-infusion before pouring the remaining water into the centre of his V60s for a two-minute total brew time. His hot cup profile was described as melon, mixed stone fruits like peach and apricot, sweet butterscotch caramel and hibiscus. As it cooled, Chad told the judges to expect more melon flavours like white peach, fresh orange blossom and sweet dark caramel. It finished with an after taste of “exotic kiwi fruit” which turned into banana liquor and pink grapefruit. World Latte Art Championship Arnon Thitiprasert of Rostr8to in Thailand is the 2017 World Latte Art Champion. Having dedicated his life to latte art, Thitiprasert impressed the judges with a new pouring technique and his playful story about a rabbit who took a journey through the woods under moonlight. As such, for his free pour latte Thitiprasert poured a Jumping Rabbit on a Tree design. For his second free pour latte he poured a Deer Looking back design, and for his free pour macchiato a Walking Fox with etching. “I did 85 to 90 per cent of what I could. I’m proud I could finish with no big mistakes,” Thitiprasert said after his final routine. Thitiprasert used his new technique to create a realistic-looking rabbit eye without etching. “This is taking free pour latte to the next level,” he said. “It’s fairy difficult [to do] and takes lots of belief.” World Coffee in Good Spirits Over in the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship (CIGS), Martin Hudak of Slovakia achieved a seven-year competition dream, having represented Slovakia in the CIGS Finals for the past four years and placing second twice. Last night, he finally claimed the top prize and the title of 2017 CIGS Champion. “I came here to share my message that no matter how many times you fall down, you need to stand and compete again,” he told the crowd. The London-based bartender at American Bar at the Savoy Hotel used climate change and a theme of respect for Mother Nature, to connect his presentation to the judges. For his Irish Coffee, Hudak used a Panama Geisha lot #5 from Los Lajones Estate, a naturally processed coffee, which he roasted five days prior in London. “Although it’s from last year’s crop, the hard work of farmers and the final taste in cup is much more important than considering what is old versus new,” Hudak told the judges. He built his Irish Coffee using a V60 pour over with a 1:45 minutes brew time, to which he added the milk of a single jersey cow, milked just seven days prior for an end product higher protein and fat content. For his warm signature drink Hudak used the same Geisha to demonstrate that with different brew ratios and technique, the same coffee can achieve a very different result. He used 55 grams of coffee to 370 millilitres of water and brewed his coffee for three minutes in a Clever Coffee Dripper to achieve fruity notes, harmony and balance. He also added 35 millimetres of dark forest honey and sugarcane syrup for sweetness, and 35 millimetres of 12-year-old single malt bourbon whisky followed by a touch of sherry to complement the Geisha. World Cup Tasters Championship Lok Chan of Craft Coffee Roaster in Hong Kong is the 2017 World Cup Tasters Champion. Amano Satsuki of Japan was runner up, Freda Yuan from the United Kingdom was third, and Hsuan Chuang from Taiwan was fourth place. The WCTC awards the professional coffee cupper who demonstrates speed, skill, and accuracy in distinguishing the taste differences in specialty coffees. In this competition format the objective is for the cupper to discriminate between the different coffees. Three cups are placed in a triangle, with two cups being identical coffees, and one cup being a different coffee. Using skills of smell, taste, attention and experience, the cupper identifies the odd cup in the triangle as quickly as they can. This was Chan’s first attempt at the world title. He scored 8/8 in the Finals round and placed second fastest after the UK’s Yuan, but his accuracy got him over the line. Cezve/Ibrik World Championship Karthikeyan Rajendram of the United Arab Emirates has won the 2017 Cezve/Ibrik Championship. Dionsis Moustis of Greece was runner up, and Marina Khyuppenen of Russia was third. For more information visit www.worldcoffeeevents.org/budapest/ Images: World of Coffee