The Nordic countries are the leading consumers of coffee in the world – five of the top six coffee drinking countries are in the region, with the average person in Finland drinking more than four cups of coffee per day.
But all that caffeine consumption hasn’t translated into success in the World Barista Championship – there hasn’t been a top six finalist in the WBC from a Nordic country since 2010.
With the Nordic Showcase, which took place from September 8-10, Swedish Barista Champion and Urnex Ambassador Steven Moloney wants to change the Nordic fortune at the big event. He organized the event with the purpose of providing barista champions from the region with a platform to rehearse their routines in a simulation of the WBC and to receive valuable feedback from a group of highly experienced judges and coffee professionals. The WBC will commence this November in Seoul, South Korea.
- Steven Moloney won the Swedish Barista Championship in 2016 and 2017. He founded the Barista League, which organizes events and competitions for baristas that break down barriers to participation and foster connections within the coffee industry.
- Jarno Päräkyla is a two-time Finnish Barista champion, and currently works as the head barista and barista trainer at Caffi in Helsinki.
- Rory Rosenberg is the reigning Norwegian Barista Champion who is developing his own cold brew coffee and tea company. He will be representing Collaborative Coffee Source and Kaffa Oslo in the WBC.
The baristas each formally presented their routines on the last day of the event to a group of European judges and coffee professionals, including 2016 Dutch Barista Champion and Urnex Ambassador, Lex Wenneker, and WBC accredited judges Nora Smahelova, Blazej Walczykiewicz and Lukasz Jura.
