World Barista Champion Hidenori Izaki visits Manila for the Latte Art Throwdown

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World Barista Champion 2014 Hidenori Izaki recently visited the Philippines to judge the Latte Art Throwdown held at the Coffee Project in Macapagal Blvd, Pasay City. 

The Latte Art Throwdown Competition gathered baristas from all over the country showed their creativity and passion for coffee. The event was participated by different baristas from different coffee shops all over the country. This includes some baristas from Coffee Project, Starbucks, Figaro, Krispy Kreme, Toby's Estate and from others companies.

Hosted by TV personality and foodie Xandra Rocha,  and the panel of judges includes celebrity former MTV VJ and actress and now a food blogger Donita Rose, Chefs Jackie and Rolando Laudico and Silvester “Sly” Samonte and Hidenori Izaki will choose the winner in the final round. 

The winner for the Latte Art Throwdown is Andy Abergas Luyugoy of Toby's Estate Philippines bring home his very own Espresso machine and bunch of supplies from sponsors.

The Latte Art Throwdown was sponsored by Allegro Beverage, Victoria Arduino espresso machines, Jolly Cow Fresh Milk, Lotus Biscoff, and Coffee Project.

Before the competition started, the first ever Asian to win the premiere global barista competition from 60 countries, Hidenori shared his experiences and his journey how he became a barista! "I kept competing as I am completely obsessed with [barista] competitions and attracted to how beautiful the coffee community is,” he said.

Hidenori founded the ​Samurai Coffee Experience​, a global coffee consulting company where he travels more than 200 days a year all over the world to educate people about coffee, conduct consultancy, professional barista training, coffee roasting and product development. On top of that, he also serves as a technical consultant for an espresso machinery company.

As Hidenori started his coffee journey and honed his skills with Maruyama Coffee, a cafe chain and roasting company known worldwide for buying top auction lots of coffee, especially Cup of Excellence premium varieties. Maruyama is one of the most dominant coffee companies in the world, having won the Japanese Barista Championship for 5 straight years.

Before going into barista competitions, Hidenori had his fair share of ups and downs. He was in and out of school, he also studied in England when he finally realized that he would need a formal education to thrive. During his time abroad, he was able to learn the English language while interacting with people from different backgrounds. All his experiences both in Japan and abroad made him culturally-diverse, strong-willed and a passionate barista with an immeasurable thirst for coffee knowledge.

This made him confident to compete on the center stage of the barista world which requires not only coffee mastery but also great communication and rapport with the judges and the audience. “I was sure that I could communicate with people from different backgrounds and [it] helped me so much to get a more diverse point of view for who I am,” he shared while recounting how and why he decided to join the competition.

After two years of joining the said competition, he won and received the coveted World Barista Champion title in 2014 in Rimini, Italy.

“Hidenori opened the doors for many aspiring Asian baristas who compete in the global competitions. And that includes our very own Silvester Samonte who will compete later this year in Korea,” said Allegro Beverage Corporation president, Leo de Leon. Allegro is the preferred end-to-end coffee solutions provider in restaurants, hotel chains, and third wave coffee shops in the country. It is the exclusive distributor of world class espresso machines like the Victoria Arduino which is used during the World Barista Championships.

 Leo de Leon, Allegro Beverage Corporation president

In partnership with Nuova Simonelli, the leading manufacturer of espresso machines used in the competition, Fly Ace Corporation, the exclusive distributor of Lotus Biscoff biscuits and Jolly Cow Fresh Milk, and Coffee Project, the newest cozy coffee shop chain the country, Allegro put together this event to showcase the barista skills and passion of a true champion, facilitate and exchange of ideas, and educate the public about serving specialty coffee.

After all, de Leon said “Coffee is the nectar of the gods, the life blood of offices and a tonic drink for productivity.”

ALLEGRO BEVERAGE CORPORATION

Allegro Beverage Corporation (ABC) is the country’s leading provider of complete coffee solutions. It is the exclusive distributor of the finest espresso machines, brewers, coffee beans, syrups, sauces and teas from Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United States. Its products cater to hotels, casinos, culinary and educational institutions, restaurants, cafes, and franchise chains. www.allegrobeverage.com

FLY ACE CORPORATION

Fly Ace Corporation is one of the leading food and beverage consumer goods companies in the country today. Propelling limitless multiple-category growth by bringing the best of the world closer to Filipino consumers, Fly Ace Corporation’s portfolio of food and beverage products includes house brands and exclusively distributed brands.

JOLLY COW

The milk loved by the whole family for its deliciously creamy taste, is also a proud supporter of the coffee making industry in the country. JOLLY COW FRESH MILK is the official milk partner of the 2017 Philippine Barista Championships and 2017 Philippine National Latte Art Championship. Jolly Cow actively participates in latte art competitions in third wave coffee shops. Thick, creamy, and comes from the free-ranged “happy cows” of Europe, Jolly Cow Fresh Milk produces milk froth that is silky white and microfoam froth and it gives your coffee natural sweetness so that you can enjoy your coffee even without adding sugar that makes it highly recommended by every professional baristas in the country. Jolly Cow is exclusively distributed by Fly Ace Corporation in the Philippines. Follow Jolly Cow PH on Facebook for more information.​

LOTUS BISCOFF

The Lotus Biscoff coffee has been a favorite since 1932 among Europeans as the perfect coffee companion. The brand name itself “Biscoff” represents the marriage of biscuit and coffee. The unique caramelized taste of a Lotus Biscoff is formed during the baking process, resulting to typical aroma components, some of which are similar to the aroma components formed when roasting coffee. What is even more important than simply resembling each other is that together, Lotus Biscoff and coffee are complimentary. A Lotus Biscoff cookie creates an extra flavour experience that is in complete balance with coffee. The magic is that neither product ever tries to dominant the other, and that their individual character is maintained. Lotus Biscoff is exclusively distributed by Fly Ace Corporation in the Philippines. Follow Lotus Biscoff PH Official on Facebook for more information.

COFFEE PROJECT

Coffee Project aims to provide excellent coffee and gracious service creating memorable experience for people by serving good quality concoctions of espresso based drinks and mouth-watering food, and exceptional interior design. Every coffee outlet of Coffee Project is filled with flowers and greens to create a happy and vibrant mood among costumers. With this extraordinary concept, their valued customers consider Coffee Project as the Most Instagram-worthy coffee shop. To date, Coffee Project already has fourteen branches in Luzon and is planning to further expand to more locations in the coming months.

80 Years and Counting: Lotus Biscoff’s Sweet, Sweet History

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Before Lotus Biscoff biscuits traveled the world and became a favorite in-flight treat, it first made its rounds door to door in the Belgian town of Lembeke on a signature red truck. The Boone brothers, founders of the Lotus Bakeries, opened their first shop in 1932 and came up with a recipe that gives biscuits a unique caramelized flavor and crunchy texture. More than eight decades later, this recipe—which uses only the highest-quality ingredients—remains the same.

In the 1950s, Lotus popularized the pairing of their biscuits with a fresh cup of coffee (hence, “Biscoff”, from the combination of the words BIScuit and COFFee). What used to be a hometown specialty soon became the national coffee break tradition. The pairing became a part of the everyday Belgian’s routine and was served even in various coffee shops, restaurants, and hotels all across the country.

Lotus Biscoff’s caramel flavor and crunchy texture goes so well with coffee that it didn’t take long for its popularity to spread to Belgium’s neighboring countries. By the 1960s, cafés throughout Europe have also started serving the biscuits with their coffee, and Lotus Biscoff has earned the reputation of being “Europe’s Favorite Cookie with Coffee.”

In 1985, the United States first got a taste of Lotus Biscoff through in-flight samples. Whether they were flying out for business or coming home from a vacation, exhausted on a long trip or rushing through multiple connections, travelers have found an added comfort and sweetness in their flight in Lotus Biscoff. Europe’s favorite biscuit with coffee became America’s favorite biscuit with air travel, and three decades later, it is still being served on a majority of domestic airlines in and outside of the US.

The demand and excitement for Lotus Biscoff became worldwide, so it was made available to its fans outside of Europe, first through catalogues and mail orders in 1990 and then a decade later through Biscoff.com’s online store. In the succeeding years, Lotus Biscoff’s distribution continued to expand to major retailers across the world.

Lotus Biscoff’s product line also evolved to include the Lotus Biscoff Spread—an irresistible alternative to nut butters and chocolate spreads made with original Lotus Biscoff biscuits—that first appeared on Belgian television show “De Bedenkers (The Inventors).” Culinary enthusiast Els Scheppers created a recipe that transformed Lotus Biscoff biscuits into a sweet, creamy spread, which earned her a spot in the show’s finals, besting 2,000 other Bedenkers. The Boone family contacted and worked with Els to perfect her deliciously innovative creation. Lotus Biscoff Spread (or Lotus Biscoff Cookie Butter) sold out within three hours of its initial release in Belgium and a worldwide culinary phenomenon was born.

Today, Lotus Biscoff continues its mission of bringing a touch of delectable comfort to those enjoying their coffee break, flying miles and miles in the air, and savoring their Lotus Biscoff-infused snack. From its humble beginnings in Lembeke to 80 years and counting of crunchy, caramel magic in every bite, Lotus Biscoff is still making sweet, sweet history.

To know more about Lotus Biscoff, visit www.biscoff.com or join our Facebook community at www.facebook.com/LotusBiscoffPH.

Lotus Biscoff is exclusively distributed in the Philippines by Fly Ace Corporation and is available in all leading supermarkets. The biscuits are available in 125 g, 124 g, 156 g, and 250 g packets, while the spreads are available in Crunchy and Smooth variants.

Fly Ace Corporation is one of the leading food and beverage consumer goods companies in the country today. Propelling limitless multiple-category growth by bringing the best of the world closer to Filipino homes, Fly Ace Corporation’s portfolio of food and beverage products includes strong house brands,such as Jolly, Dona Elena, Goodlife, Al Dente Vermicelli, and Goodlife and leading global brands such as Happy Day, Old Orchard, Welch’s, May, Mott’s, Cocio, Gerolsteiner, Franzia Wines and , Concha Y Toro Wines. . Learn more at www.flyacecorp.com.