Hidenori Izaki of Japan Named 2014 World Barista Champion in Rimini

Hidenori_Izaki is the 2014 World Barista Champion. Photo courtesy of Maruyama Coffee Company.

A field of 54 national barista champions has been whittled down to one, as Japan’s Hidenori Izaki of Maruyama Coffee Company in Nagano earlier today was named 2014 World Barista Champion in Rimini, Italy. He is the first ever WBC champion from Asia, and becomes the 15th champion in the history of the competition, which has proven to be a life-altering career springboard for numerous past winners.

For his winning routine, Izaka used coffees from Costa Rica processed at Microbeneficio Monte Copey, a four-generation mill and green coffee supplier run by the Navarro family, which supports their La Bandera de Dota farm at 1,900-plus meters above seal level in the Tarrazu region. The WBC relationship is part of a huge year for the family, whose coffees won numerous awards, including the top Presidential Award, during the recent Costa Rica Cup of Excellence program and auction.

2014 World Brewers Cup

Photo courtesy of World Coffee Events.

In other world championship news, five-time Greek Barista Champion, two-time World Barista Championship finalist and globe-trotting trainer Stefanos Domatiotis was today named World Brewers Cup Champion, a title he nearly achieved at the first World Brewers Cup Championship in 2011. We’ll have more on Domatiotis and the coffees he used in his winning routine in the days to follow.