Coffee Culture Days set to show off a growing coffee sector in February

Coffee Culture Days set to show off a growing coffee sector in February
23rd January 2010

Coffee Culture Days 2010 will bring together Lithuania’s best coffee people February 20-21 at the Akropolis Shopping and Entertainment mall in Vilnius, National Coordinator Vytautas Kratulis reports.

The event will include the Lithuanian Barista Championship, which has been running since 2002, and, for the first time, the Lithuanian Latte Art Championship, along with a coffee festival.

The festival will be open to the public, and the citizens of Lithuania’s capital will be able to watch the country’s most experienced baristas preparing their espressos, cappuccinos and signature beverages. Coffee will be available for free during the festival, which takes place at the city’s largest mall, Vilniaus Akropolis, (located at Ozo Str 25).

Attendees will not only be able to taste coffee, but also to participate in the Vie Ia Kava coffee auction, and they will be able to try steaming milk and making espressos themselves.

The participants in this year’s Barista Championship will be coffee people from the developing “coffee to go” industry in Lithuania. This year, the number of contestants taking part in the Championship has almost doubled, reflecting the past two years of success for the coffee shop sector’s bars and cafes, which are increasing in number all the time.

The Championship will take place under the World Barista Championship rules, as approved by the SCAE, with the judges evaluating coffee tastes, origins and, of course, barista skills and creativity. Because of the number of competitors this year, there will be two teams of judges and two different head judges. The winner of each of the Championships will be awarded a sponsored trip to London in June to represent Lithuania in the World Championships.

To register as a contestant for the sixth edition of the Lithuanian Barista Championship (by the deadline of February 15), send an email to this address; more details on the competitions and application forms for contestants are available by clicking here. All Championship contestants will receive details of a special seminar, which is now being organised especially for them.

The organisers, GMM Agency and the SCAE Lithuanian chapter Ypatingos Kavos Asociacija thank the sponsors Akropolis Center, Pellini, Sangaida, UAB Kavos Bankas, Paulig, Primulator (coffee machines), Mahlkönig (grinders), Marge (milk), as well as Kaleva Travel, the www.meniu.lt website, and roaster/retailers Sviezia Kava, Coffee Inn and Vero Café.