We’ve just returned home after a great trip out to Berlin, for the annual World of Coffee (WoC) – one of the biggest events in the international coffee calendar.
We’ve visited WoC before, and having learned so much in Amsterdam in 2018, we decided that this year we’d learn a lot if the whole team took the trip to Berlin, to see what’s new in the coffee industry. Our goals were simple: meet as many people as we could (roasters, importers, farmers, famous coffee folk), and learn as much as possible!
We had two days to fill at the gigantic Messe Berlin convention centre, and started out by chatting to a few folks from the Roasters Village. We tried some brilliant coffees, and picked up a few interesting ideas on roasting – then it was off to catch up with Falcon Specialty, to see what’s on the horizon for us to secure in the coming months.
In the midst of all this, we were lucky enough to bump into Gilberto Baraona – his name will probably be familiar to you if you enjoyed the Los Pirineos we secured last year, after visiting his farm in El Salvador. He’s a bit of a rockstar in the coffee world, but incredibly humble, and genuinely pleased to meet every single person who flocked to him at the cupping table.
Cupping coffees was the next main aim during our time at WoC (so much so that Tom bought himself a rather fetching cupping spoon as a memento), and we tasted some brilliant lots. The coming weeks and months are now very exciting, as we wait for some of these coffees to land at The Granary. As always, we’ll let you know as/when these land so you can get your hands on them before anyone else!
Of course, we managed to spend a good chunk of time exploring the city, and Burts filmed the whole thing! Make sure you keep an eye out on our social media feeds (and our YouTube channel) for when the full vlogs are posted.
Until then, we’re going to make our way through the suitcase full of coffees that we brought back with us, and make full use of that new shiny cupping spoon. Auf wiedersehen!
– The Rounton Coffee Team