World of Coffee – Athens 2023

World of Coffee is arguably the biggest annual celebration of all coffee enthusiasts.

This year, some of the Java Republic team were delighted to attend the event in Athens. The Greeks have a reputation for outstanding hospitality and in this case, they certainly did not disappoint.

Athens itself is a vibrant city full of contrasts and you will meet people from all walks of life. It’s a perfect mix of chaos and beauty as well as history and traditions. Their coffee culture, as well as their cocktail and mixology scene, is arguably a lot more developed and exciting that of other European capitals, and that’s why World of Coffee 2023 was always going to be something special.

Attending the event on behalf of Java Republic were Jolanta Turowska (Quality & Sustainability Manager) and Coffee Quality Consultants Milena Bardyn, Luis Alvarez and Aisling Alexander. Aisling was also a proud volunteer at the event, helping out behind the scenes and in particular, assisting with large batch cuppings.

At an event such as World of Coffee, there are always many things to be learned and fantastic insights to be gained. Here are just some of the stand-out takeaways from the Java Republic team:

Alternative Coffee Drinks

“Cold brew coffee was of course present at the event. It struck us that new suppliers who are releasing cold brew for the first time are quite often selling it in cans. Cold brew syrup and tea bags were also present at the event. The best product award went to a Marco Cold Brew system, while a new innovation called Hard Tank demonstrated how they can create cold brew in just 45 minutes”.

“It appears that infused (or co-fermented) coffee is finding a way into the market. This is coffee which during the processing is mixed with fruits to enhance some of the flavours. During CATEX 2023 we saw some ‘peach infused/peach fermented’ coffees, with accentuated peach undertones, and in the case of WOC 2023, a highlight was a ‘Colombian Grape Co-Fermented’ coffee from Onyx Coffee Lab (Arkansas, USA). The aroma of this coffee was of grape soda, with a very distinctive almost wine-like flavour profile”.

Automation

“Alternative brewing methods for filtered coffee like V60 or Chemex are moving more and more towards automation. There was a lot of new equipment for coffee shops that allows you to automatically brew filtered coffees like V60 or Chemex (several coffees at the same time, high repeatability)”.

Equipment

“In terms of equipment, a winner from the event is the new collaboration between two fused companies: Fiorenzato and Pietro. They released Pietro Grinders, which is an attempt to revolutionise the world of hand grinders by using vertical full size Fiorenzato grinder blades. The product is fantastic that is definitely worth keeping an eye on”.

“In the brewing department, Brewista was really focused on promoting their new award-winning ‘Brewista Tornado Glass Dripper’ which has an innovative design intended to improve coffee extraction. They had a couple of previous barista champions showcasing the brewing method, among them Manos Mamakis, previous Greek Coffee in Good Spirits Champion”.

“Also interesting to note was the fact that each brand of classic coffee machines has created and launched a ‘mini’ model, a one-group machine for the home”.

What was your favourite part of World of Coffee?

Aisling: My favourite part was volunteering and meeting new people, as well as being able to try new innovations with my colleagues. The competitions were also intriguing. Attending events like this helps to grow my confidence in the industry, as well as giving me the opportunity to learn and be inspired.

Milena: My favourite and most exciting part of WOC is always the World Championship finals. As a judge, it always fills me with pride and admiration to watch the competitors whom a few months earlier I had the honour of judging at national competitions. Attending WOC is primarily about people. Meeting with like-minded professionals, having conversations, catching up with friends from different countries, and forging new relationships.

Luis: Reconnecting with people from countries of origin was one of my favourite parts of this event. It is important to be able to understand their difficulties taking into consideration the fluctuations of the market and climate change. I also enjoyed tasting new and innovative coffees such as co-fermented ones, as well as taking part in improvised tastings and competitions.

Jolanta: For me, the most exciting part was getting to try out new, modern roasters. Electric coffee roasters and other new technologies are really coming to the fore as a way of saving energy in the long-term. It was great to meet with the people behind these new technologies and learn more about how we could potentially incorporate these into our working processes in the future.

In the end, it was worth the wait for World of Coffee to be hosted in Athens, home of the Parthenon, Greek coffee, Souvlaki and some of the most welcoming people in Europe. During the trip our team also got the opportunity to reconnect with coffee producers from Costa Rica who we met during our origin trip in 2020; Jonathan and Ruben from Coope Agri in the region of Perez Zeledon, and Fabian from Coope Tarrazu in the Tarrazu region of Costa Rica.

We excited and buzzing after the trip and already looking forward to Copenhagen 2024!