The 21st and 22nd October 2017 saw two important competitions in the cafe-world unfold at HOSTMilano 2017: “l’Espresso Italiano Champion 2017, an international event where baristi from all over the world go head to head, organized by the Istituto Nazionale Espresso Italiano (INEI), and the 5th annual Gran Premio della Caffetteria Italiana, hosted by AICAF Accademia Italiana Maestri del caffè and Altoga – Associazione Lombarda Torrefattori e Importatori di Caffè e Grossisti Alimentari.
Among the finalists of both competitions was Fabio, our instructor at l’Agust Coffee Academy.
Fabio was the only Italian to have succeeded in reaching the final round of l’Espresso Italiano Champion, which took place Sunday the 22nd of October at 3pm. In a mere 11 minutes, the competitors had to balance out and perfect ground coffee, and prepare four espressos and four cappuccino, all under the watchful eyes of both technical judges and “sensory” judges appointed by the Istituto Internazionale Assaggiatori Caffè, an official coffee taste-testing institute.
Supported by his proud Agust family, Fabio won in the finals of the Espresso Italiano Champion, earning the title of “World Champion of Italian Espresso.”
But the good news doesn’t end there. Fabio was also among the 15 finalists that competed in the 5th Annual Gran Premio della Caffetteria Italiana. At this event, each barista had 13 minutes to prepare 2 espressos, 2 cappuccinos with latte art, and 2 coffee-based drinks, and serve them to sensory judges along with a description of how they were made. At least one other Italian ingredient, besides espresso coffee, had to be included in the recipe.
With his “Panetùn”, Fabio brought home the silver medal, becoming national runner-up in the Caffetteria Italiana competition.
