The Danish Barista Championship 2010 finished on Sunday.
Let’s say it straight away: Søren Stiller won and AnneStine came in a close second.

It was a great competition to watch. AnneStine performed really well and the judges loved her coffee and especially her signature drink. She went 11 seconds overtime though and her shot times on the espresso were a bit long. Really, things just happen when you get on a stage that will throw off even the best baristas. But she didn’t shake, she made some killer drinks and said everything she wanted to say. You can’t ask for more.

She used our current espresso throughout the competition, where she served the four judges each an espresso, cappuccino and her signature drink. She talked about what coffee can be and not just what it is, showing this in her signature drink that played on contrast in both consistency and aromas. It’s a two part drink with a coffee cream and a coffee lemonade. She kept her ingredients to a minimum and had developed the drink to show off the aromas already present in the coffee. The coffee cream consisted of espresso, lemon peel, a honey and corn starch mix and rapeseed oil. It really coats your mouth in a thick and intense way. Then the second part acts as a cleanser. It’s made form a Chemex of our Kenyan Kiawamururu with a little bit of lemon juice “to really make it pop” and then infused with carbondioxide in a siphon. It’s light and sparkling, really refreshing and highlights those wonderful floral aromas of the Kiawamururu. It’s a really kick-ass signature drink, and we hope to sow it on the coffee shop before long.

A special thanks goes out to Eva Solo who were so kind to sponsor her with a whole lot of their awesome serving tools, including carafes, serving trays, pitchers and ice cube holders. As most competitors know these competitions can become quite expensive with all the things you need to bring.

In the end Søren Stiller – who has competed many times before achieving two second places in Denmark and 6th in the WBC – really showed how experienced he is. He was very calmed and composed and it was obvious he’s prepared for this for a very long time.

The event itself was really good this year. The Danish SCAE chapter had worked hard on pulling the competition away from the usual trade shows, where it just drowns in all the other activity. The had found a great location in Århus, Auktionshuset. A charming old building that was just big enough that there was room for all. It was a cozy and intimate atmosphere there with a bar in one corner giving out free coffees from different Danish micro-roasters.

We want to complement the Danish SCAE chapter (Thorey, Rune, Mikkel, Samuli and whoever else we might be forgetting – sorry!) on this years championship. They have not had an easy time with a certain vulcano keeping their head judge away and such. But this year championship was a great success due to these people and all their voluntary work.

The judges came in place just at the end and were: Maríanna Jónsdóttir, Thomas Valentin, Mikkel Pilgaard and Peter Dupont as sensory. Rune N. Rasmussen and Georg Lauridsen as technical. And Thomas Sigfred stepped in as Head Judge.

There were only 5 baristas competing in total this year. (And we really have to do something about that). So there were just one round – the final round. The five baristas were: Søren Stiller Markussen, AnneStine Bae, Thor (didn’t get his last name), August Crone and Adrian Kleist-Thomassen. We hope to see some of these compete again next year.

Congratulations to Søren and good luck for London!