The Milan Coffee Festival to host first CMx competition

Italy's fashion capital is set to host The Milan Coffee Festival from 30 November to 2 December om Spazio Pelota in Milan.  For the first time, the festival will celebrate local coffee communities by hosting La Marzocco’s True Artisan Café. Independent and specialty coffee shops from all over Italy will take over the rotating pop-up coffee shop to create espresso-based signature drinks. The idea behind the shop is to showcase the artisans on a one-on-one basis. Each drink will need to involved espresso and be atypical of their style and taste, with cocktails encouraged. This year’s line-up includes some of Italy’s best, including Cafezal, Tipografia Alimentare, Taglio, and Orso Nero, with more to be soon announced. Applications are now open for CMx, the first regional Coffee Masters competition. Coffee Masters – Italia aims to test each barista’s coffee knowledge, skill, talent and showmanship over a three-day challenge.  In order to win, the 16 successful baristas will need to impress a panel of industry figureheads and prove their abilities in knowledge, talent and showmanship. The winner will take home €1000, plus a spot at Coffee Masters – London in 2019. To apply, applicants must be based in Italy and create a signature drink inspired by Milan. For more information and to enter, click here. Nine single origin coffees will be supplied by three different roasters for the CMx competition. Two of the roasters to be announced include Ditta Artigianale and His Majesty the Coffee. Ditta Artigianale is a micro-roastery with three coffee bars in the centre of Florence. Its coffees are served with a roasting of less than a month, with careful processing to provide a unique and quality taste experience. His Majesty the Coffee is a micro-roastery that was one of the first companies in Italy that only deals in specialty coffee. It was founded by Paolo Scimone in 2013 after 10 years of experience in the industry. The Milan Coffee Festival will also host live DJs while visitors can sample, watch and party. There will be no charge for the drinks but donations to charity organisation Project Waterfall will be encouraged. For more information, click here.