ITALY 26th November 2010

As part of an Italian tour, the 2010 World Barista Champion and four London finalists in late November visited the headquarters of WBC sponsor and espresso machine manufacturer Nuova Simonelli.

Accompanied by WBC Executive Director Cindy Chang, WBC Champion Michael Phillips of the US, along with Raul Rodas of Guatemala, Scottie Callaghan from Australia, Denmark's Søren Stiller Markussen and Stefanos Domatiotis of Greece toured Nuova Simonelli's training centre, saw a display of the company's coffee machines and learned about the research and development that goes into creating a machine that meets baristas' needs.

The tour included a visit to Nuova Simonelli's anechoic chamber, an insulated room designed to stop reflections of either sound or electromagnetic waves, and a wind tunnel, both used in the development of the company's machines.

Australian barista champion Scottie Callaghan said "I was really excited about the strong investment in research. The study of several issues, which we bartenders give great importance to, is certainly a great help in disseminating coffee culture around in the world, which is the main goal of the WBC."

Both Denmark's champion Søren Stiller Markussen and Stefanos Domatiotis, barista champion of Greece praised Nuova Simonelli's staff for their support and assistance during the London WBC.

Besides the visit to Nuova Simonelli's headquarters at Belforte del Chiente in the Marche region, the Italian tour for the WBC finalists also took in WBC sponsor FAC's plant in Liguria, to discover the intricacies of the manufacture of coffee cups.

The 2011 World Barista Championship takes place in Bogota, Colombia, June 2 - 5. For details, click the WBC link at the bottom of the home page.