The local coffee scene is very much alive as the annual Philippine Aeropress Championship once again brought together the brilliant baristas behind our favorite cafés last August 18 at the EDSA Beverage Design Group.
Eighty one baristas showed off their brewing and mixing prowess using Aeropress in front of eager coffee enthusiasts. They created one great coffee after the other as they vied for the honor of representing the Philippines at the World Aeropress Championships in Sydney this November.
The annual Philippine Aeropress Championship aims to gather home and commercial baristas alike to make the best-tasting coffee on the table. The constant variables in the competition are contestants use the same brewer—the Aeropress—and the same coffee beans. It is then up to each barista to adjust and explore various factors such as grind size, temperature, etc.
But even though, the prizes at stake are huge, the competition itself is anything but serious. In fact, PHAC wants everyone—baristas or spectators—to have fun and enjoy as this competition serves as a portal for the community to see the beauty of coffee. Each year, PHAC sees an exponential growth on the number of home brewers who are joining the competition—providing a healthy mix with professional baristas. It makes for an interesting competition, too.
At the end of the grueling yet entertaining coffee brewing battles, Yardstick‘s Aldrin Lumaban took first place, while Marika Desembrana of MA+D Manila, and Luis Berba took the second and third places, respectively. The atmosphere was beaming with excitement, and you could feel the intense energy from all the brilliant minds working to concoct the perfect mix.
Watch the video below for a recap of everything that went down.
Photos by Art Enriquez.
