NETHERLANDS 6th June 2010

Yakup Aydin, who in past years has been a runner-up, but never a winner of the Dutch Barista Championship, in late May won the top prize by showing the judges an almost perfect performance with an espresso, cappuccino and signature drink of very high quality, Dutch National Coordinator Annemarie Tiemes reports.

Sander Schat, last year’s champion, came in second and Coen van Sprang took third place in the championship, but won the new Louis Claus Trophy. (Pictured right by Maarten van de Jagt are trophy winner Coen van Sprang (l) with Barista Champion Yakup Aydin)

Yakup Aydin, who works for for Illy Coffee, will be competing for the Netherlands at the WBC in Colombia in 2011.

This year’s Championship took place in Amsterdam, in the trendy restaurant/event venue Hotel de Goudfazant. The judges for these finals were Nicole de Zeeuw and Bart Deprez for technical, Leigh McDonald, Liesbeth Sleijster, Annemarie Tiemes and Patrick Groenewold as sensory judges, and Michael McCauley as head judge.
                             
Liesbeth Sleijster, who in 2008 came in third at the WBC, said about Yakup Aydin’s performance: ”He was without a doubt the best. His taste references were perfect for his coffees, and I wish him all the best for the World Championships.” Annemarie Tiemes said: “Yakup’s presentation was full of enthusiasm and passion. The taste of the beverages was extraordinary." Patrick Groenewold called Yakup "a passionate barista and a deserving Champion."

Coen van Sprang, who came in third in the Championship, won the Louis Claus Trophy, being given for the first time, and presented to the most promising newcomer in the Barista Championship. It is named after Louis Claus, owner of the café “de Blonde Pater”, the creator of a lot of coffee-related activities, and the trainer of many Dutch champions and finalists.

The finals started with an official moment, announcing the merger between SCAE Netherlands and Dutch Coffee Promotion, and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (pictured above) by Annemarie Tiemes and Jeroen Veldkamp (chairman of Dutch Coffee Promotion). The new merged organisation will combine the enthusiasm, knowledge and infrastructure of DCP with the (international) experience, expertise and passion of the SCAE. We are looking forward to a positive future.

Special thanks have to go to all our volunteers, MC Jeroen Veldkamp (pictured right) (who wasn’t mentioned on the day itself, but did a great job), judges, competitors, the board of DCP and, of course, the audience of 350 people who came to enjoy this great event with us all.