The Basel team made a strong impression at the Swiss Coffee Championships. Two second-place finishes, two third-place finishes, one fourth-place finish, and one fifth and tenth place finish – that's our team's record. Even though we didn't win a title this year, we are extremely proud of this achievement. We look forward to adding more medals to our collection.
We had three participants in the finals in the Barista category . Felix Hohlmann (right) sensationally took second place, ahead of Michel Aeschbacher (second from right) in third. Benjamin Hohlmann (third from right) finished fifth. This year, 12 excellent baristas participated. An extremely strong field. So, just making it to the finals is a great achievement! And then two podium finishes on top of that. Amazing!
Three of our participants also made it to the finals of the Brewers Cup . Benjamin Hohlmann secured second place (together with Kai Keong Ng), ahead of Florian Wicki (left) in third place and Gonzalo de los Reyes (center) in fourth place.
In the Latte Art discipline, Demian Annaheim (2nd from left) took 10th place in his first competition. There's still room for improvement, and we're looking forward to what's to come.
We only achieved mid-table finishes in the Cup Tasting this year. Unfortunately, Benjamin Hohlmann and Gonzalo de los Reyes couldn't match their brilliant performances from last year (both reached the finals).
Then there's the all-around competition . As the only competitor with three disciplines, Benjamin Hohlmann defended his title here. However, we've been told that the all-around competition won't be held again next year.
We are very satisfied and proud of the work we've accomplished. Thanks go to our friends, trainers, and roasters: Reto Häner (3rd from left) from Haenowitz & Page, Philipp Henauer and Henauer Kaffee, Filip Bartelak and Elżbieta Citak from Coffee Proficiency, Claude Stahl and Black & Blaze, and Machhörndl Kaffee. Many thanks also to everyone who supported us with our daily training at the Coffee Maker Academy! Thanks also to Ditting for sponsoring!
We would like to thank André Kissling and his team at Kialoa for the championship, which, as always, was brilliantly organized. The same goes for Micha Schranz from LatteArt.ch. Reto Häner and Philipp Henauer hosted the championship smartly and expertly, making it a truly successful event. A huge thank you to all the helpers who worked hard over the days, whether at the SCAE bar, as timekeepers, or as clearers. Thanks also to Adrian Huber, who once again captured the championship so well on film. Gloria Pedroza and Philipp Meier assembled an international jury that finally elevated our Swiss Championship to the absolute highest level. That was top-notch and a quantum leap – thank you for that! Thanks also to all the judges, namely Gwilym Davies, Petra Davies Veselá, Anita Bertok, Björn Dietrich, Luzia Taschler, Thomas Schweiger, Cem Korkmaz, Lukasz Jura, Błażej Walczykiewicz, Vlad Buda, Nina Rimpl, Micha Schranz, Michal Pivrnec, André Strittmatter, Martin Stock, and Roger Bähler. Thanks also to Blaser Café for hosting the Cup Tasting Championship.
