Turkey's impressive barista competition shows the sector's growth

19th December 2007

In mid-December at the hotEQ fair in Istanbul, the speciality coffee movement in Turkey really showed it muscle. Some might say it was about time--but keep in mind that it was the Turks that brought coffee to Europe. They may have been a bit quiet over the last few years, but we still have a lot to learn also from them and their coffee culture. Now, they are ambitious, and they want to move forward on a broad front.

During the five-day show, which also included a chefs' competition, the Turks put together demostrations, education, barista competitions, and developed the new Wonderful Coffee competition for Copenhagen featuring Ibrik/Cezhve coffees. This last effort saw close and friendly cooperation between the Turks and their Greek neighbours during the event.

Baristas from all over Turkey came either to take part in the competition, or just to watch it. The winner acctually had to travel 400 kilometres by car both ways just to be able to participate.

After an intense qualifying round, the best baristas met in the final. The winner was Engin Kasal, who, in spite of limited competition experience, stayed calm and gave an impressive performance. In fact, he appears to have all the makings of a future international champion, and he intends to use the upcoming six months to perfect his skills for Copenhagen. The runner-up was Seckin Sinanogul, and third place went to Istanbul's best barista, Nurullah Arslan.

During the next six months, the Turkish contingent intends to organise a team of competitors for all five championships set to be held in Copenhagen. There is indeed a lot of talent around and Turkey aims to be among the best nations when the results are announced in June.

Very impressive as well was the event's educational programme, which covered everything from
sensory evaluation to an historical overview of the influence of the Turkish coffee in Europe, both in ancient and in modern times. If we believe the saying that you won't know where to go before you know where you have been, then all baristas should know their coffee history. The Turks have a lot to teach us when it comes both to coffee rituals and human relations--and that last commodity at the moment really needs a renaissance.--Alf Kramer

You can see Alf Kramer's images from the event by clicking here.