Estonia’s best barista is Nele Mangulis
31st March 2008
Nele Mangulis was named best barista at the 4th Estonian Barista Championship, held March 18-19. Nele (pictured below) of Radisson SAS, was only a few points ahead of last year’s number two Astrid Väälma (of Tallink SPA), while third place went to Taavi Rajur (of Vendor Estonia).
The competition’s head judge, Jose Arreola of Mexico, stated that rivalry was very tight. “The scores of first three differed only by 5 points. That is a clear sign of the consistently high level of Estonia’s top-baristas,” he said.
The Estonian champion will compete for the World Barista Champion title in Copenhagen, June 19-22. Previously, Kati Kljukina managed to rank 9th and 14th at the WBC, and Helger Aava achieved 22nd place.
In addition to the Barista Championship, the Coffee in Good Spirits, Cup Tasting and Latte Art Championships all took place as well.
The winner of the Coffee in Good Spirits competition was Marta Piigli (of Vendor Estonia), who was also named the best cupper for the second consecutive year. Helger Aava (of the restaurant C’est la Vie) won the Latte Art contest. Helger is the reigning World Champion of Coffee in Good Spirits, so he and Marta will also compete in Copenhagen for the world championship titles.
On March 17th, the traditional Coffee Conference took place, where highly esteemed speciality coffee professionals from all over the world ran presentations and workshops. The SCAE Barista Certification (for levels 1 and 2) took place too, as well as CoffeeFair, with coffee related companies exhibiting their products.
For audience entertainment, a demonstration cupping competition took place, were four teams, each consisting of four competitors—baristas, barmen, barista judges and sommeliers—cupped coffees and alcoholic drinks; the barista team was victorious.
Thanks to the main sponsors of EBC 2008: Vendor, Dansukker, Lavazza and Paulig.—Silver Rits, Estonian National Coordinator
Many photos from the Estonian Championships can be seen by clicking here.