July, 2007, Oregon, USA. The First ever Indian Espresso Blend Challenge was hosted by Karnataka Plantation Coffees with top scoring coffee roasters located in the Midwest, Northwest and even Canada!
The four winners in alphabetical order are Paradise Roasters from Ramsey, Minnesota, Stanton Coffee Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, The Ultimate Bean from Georgetown, Ontario, Canada and World Cup Coffee of Portland, Oregon. "The scores of the top four were within points of each other we felt it was only fair to credit all 4 top participants", according to Michael Branham, Vice President, Karnataka Plantation Coffees. Coffee roasters from across the USA and Canada developed and roasted their unique blend of coffees to embody a new Indian Coffee based espresso blend.
Karnataka Plantation Coffee provided each contestant with four Indian coffees from Dewan Estate, Mallali Estate, Thogarihunkal Estate and Sethuraman Estate, with the requirement that the final blend consist of at least 70% Indian coffees and the roaster was free to use any other coffee choices to complete the blend.
Tasting and evaluation protocol extended to re-bagging each roasted sample as it arrived ensuring that no particular roaster identity would be known during the tasting. Each entry was tasted served in preheated barware, following standards for international Barista Challenges® & championships for preparation guidelines with each shot at 20 - 30 seconds, group head flushed each time and ground to order.
Coffees were evaluated with a strict protocol, first as a perfectly prepared espresso, and then a Macchiato ensuring the espresso would be complemented by whole organic milk.
The panel of judges consisted of Don Jensen from Bridgetown Coffee, David Kobos of Kobos Coffee and Sherri Johns, President of WholeCup Coffee Consulting. Head judge Sherri Johns says, "I am very pleased and surprised at the turn out of the Karnataka espresso blending challenge. Roasters took it to heart and had fun with their entries. There was an amazing variety within entries and many more than expected. Roast degrees were as varied and the blends themselves expressing the diversity of not just the talented roasters but of Indian Coffees as well".
The trend to feature Indian beans as an integral component of espresso blends is becoming main stream in the USA and with the support of Karnataka Plantation Coffees roasters are now aware the diverse flavor profile options available to them through India. Ujwala Ranade-Malvi, President, Karnataka Plantation Coffees, "Our judges were keen on tasting all coffees and very impressed, as was I with the quality and thoughtfulness behind every blend submitted. It was a fun way to introduce roasters to fine Indian coffees. We hope to see this kind of enthusiasm for this event year after year".
POSTED: Sunday, July 15, 2007