LONDON COFFEE FESTIVAL 2019
After 4 days of intense competition, The Netherlands’ Rob Clarijs has been named this year’s Coffee Masters Champion at The London Coffee Festival 2019!
Over 29,000 visitors descended on The Old Truman Brewery this year (12,310 trade and 17,154 consumer), where they cheered Rob and the other incredible baristas on in a series of head-to-head challenges across the four day competition.
In total, 16 baristas from around the world took to the stage where they were tasked with showcasing their skills, creativity and knowledge. Rob dazzled judges over the eight key disciplines, which included; The Cupping, The Brewing, The Latte Art, The Order, The Signature Drink, The Espresso Blend, The Origin and The Mystery Round.
Rob has competed in the Coffee Masters four times, making it to the final last year when Agnieszka Rojewska pipped him to the post. This year he wowed judges across all eight disciplines, including his signature drink – a milk-clarified coffee with Bobby’s Dry gin and a lemon zest twist; which scored a perfect 30/30 in the final. What’s more, this year the competition was closer than ever, with the UK’s Jimmy Dimitrov from Clifton Coffee placing second.
The judging panel was made up of nine top industry experts, including, Agnieszka, the 2018 Coffee Masters Champion. It was headed up by Anne Lunell, a Swedish Barista and Brewers champion, and the visionary behind Koppi.
Speaking about his triumph, Rob said: “This was my fourth time entering the Coffee Masters, so to win feels absolutely incredible. Each year it’s a really fun process and I’ve always had a fantastic time taking part, but making it to the final takes a lot of hard work – there are a lot of brilliant baristas out there!”
THE SIGNATURE DRINKS
Here’s a quick look back at all the talented baristas who competed for the Coffee Masters 2019 title at The London Coffee Festival from 28-31 March. Check out their signature drinks below.
NAME: Sam Boniface
REPRESENTING: Bloc Cafe – Be Speciality
FROM: New Zealand
NAME: Natanael Charis
REPRESENTING: Morning Glory Coffee
FROM: Indonesia
NAME: Rob Clarijs
REPRESENTING: Dasawe Coffee
FROM: The Netherlands
NAME: Jimmy Dimitrov
REPRESENTING: Clifton Coffee
FROM: UK
NAME: Jonas Gehl
REPRESENTING: Prolog Coffee
FROM: Denmark
NAME: Kasey Headley
REPRESENTING: Trinity Street Coffee Bar
FROM: USA
NAME: Ben Lewis
EPRESENTING: Coffee Lab
FROM: UK
NAME: Mridul Manandhar
REPRESENTING: V69 Coffee
FROM: Nepal
NAME: Janis Podins
REPRESENTING: The Coffee Collective
FROM: Latvia
NAME: Varvara Stukalo
REPRESENTING: Coffeemania
FROM: Russia
NAME: Dhan Tamang
REPRESENTING: DT Coffee School & Roastery
FROM: Nepal
NAME: Ceiran Trigg
REPRESENTING: Ancestors Coffee
FROM: UK
NAME: Dagne Vaskopa
REPRESENTING: Rocket Bean Roastery
FROM: Latvia
NAME: Lisa Laura Verhoest
REPRESENTING: Climpson & Sons
FROM: UK
English (UK) 
Italiano