Breaking: Speakers for Nordic Barista Cup Announced

US_Champ_Sarah — Yours truly with Michael Phillips in 2009, just after he won the United States Barista Championship for the first time. I'm presenting Michael with a certificate for free registration to the 2009 NBC on behalf of the NBC as a gift to him.

One of Barista Magazine‘s oldest and dearest friends, BjÃ¶rg Brend, emailed us the other day with the top secret list of the speakers scheduled to appear at the 2013 Nordic Barista Cup, which will take place in Oslo, Norway, September 5 “7. And it’s finally the hour she said we could break the news!

This is the location for the 2013 Nordic Barista Cup in Oslo, Norway: Scenebygget, next to the new food market, Mathallen, which opened in October 2012.

But first, a bit about the Nordic Barista Cup: it first took place in 2003 as a fun, zany contest between barista teams from Denmark and Norway. The baristas were charged with completing challenges that tested not only their coffee and bar know-how, but their ability to work well as a team.

The event was a hit, and other Nordic countries wanted in on the action. So the Nordic Barista Cup Board was formed and included representatives from Sweden, Iceland, and Finland, in addition to Norway and Denmark. And in 2004, the first 5-team Nordic Barista Cup took place in Iceland.

2004: Troels Poulsen would go on to win the World Barista Championship in 2005; Klaus Thomsen (right) was the reigning WBC Champ); and Peter Dupont (with back to the camera) was still working for Estate Coffee with Klaus. The two would go on to open one of the most celebrated coffee companies in the world, The Coffee Collective. Also pictures: Lene and Stine, still two amazing coffee professionals.

That’s Sigga Dora! Before she and Klaus were a couple! She’s proudly standing with her Icelandic Barista Team.

Tone Liavaag, who can be credited with making things like the World Barista Championship and the Nordic Barista Cup happen in the first place.

That was a special thing for us at Barista Magazine personally, because I attended that event in order to get to know the Nordic baristas better and also to let some of the industry’s most important leaders ”Sonja Grant of Iceland, Tone Liavaag of Norway, Jose Arreola of Mexico, Tim Wendelboe of Norway ”about Ken’s and my plans to launch Barista Magazine. Did they think it was a good idea? Did they think we should take a plunge?

Simply put: they did. They were amazingly supportive and encouraging, so when I returned from the Nordic Barista Cup that cold November in 2004, Ken and I got to work on Issue 1 of Barista Magazine, which we would launch at the World Barista Championship and SCAA show in Seattle in 2005.

Every year after that, Ken or I, or sometimes both of us, attended the Nordic Barista Cup. For a while, we worked in partnership with the NBC organizers, and did all the blogging and media for the event. Barista Magazine continued to grow, and through our coverage, the Nordic Barista Cup got better known around the world.

A couple of years ago, the NBC decided to have in-house press, in the form of the outstanding and charming Brian Jone of Dear Coffee I Love You, and Tim Styles, a fantastic journalist in his own right. Be sure to follow the NBC this year in September, and Tim and Brian will be updating the NBC blog frequently during the event.

So you can see why we at Barista Magazine have an especially soft spot in our heart for the NBC.

Onward! The 2013 NBC details…

The theme of this year’s Nordic Barista Cup is Science, Sustainability, Service. And the speakers who have been drafted to address these topics are…

¢ Alex Bernson of Sweetleaf and Sprudge, who will discuss service in coffee shops

¢ Christer SÃ¶derberg of Open World Foundation, who will tackle the topic of sustainable thinking

¢ Christian Nedergaard of the Danish wine bar, Ved Stranden 10, who will talk about the success his company has enjoyed through their approach to service

¢ Cynthia Sandberg from Love Apple Farms, scheduled to discuss biodynamic farming

¢ Emma Bladyka who is the SCAA’s staff scientist, will discuss how producing countries who focus on science become leaders

¢ Felipe Croce of Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza will discuss organic farming

¢ Francisca Listov-Saabye, who does research for the NBC, will discuss grinding and how it affects taste

¢ Pontus DahlstrÃ¶m of the restaurant, Maaemo**, will talk about his company’s approach to service

¢ Randy Pope of BUNN will join Francisca for the grinding seminar

¢ René Redzepi of Copenhagen’s esteemed restaurant, Noma, will discuss his company’s coffee program

¢ Scott Guglielmino of La Marzocco will talk about water, the main ingredient in coffee

Learn more about the NBC and register HERE.