On the 22nd of June 2012, Taf organizes and presents the 2nd Athens Out of the Box of La Marzocco, at the Technopolis in Gkazi!
This is a one day event with particular interest for coffee people…that will include presentations of issues related to the Greek as well as the global specialty coffee market!
Visitors will have the opportunity to watch the Pressure Profiling Competition in which barista teams will participate! Visitors will be able to learn more about the technology behind the La Marzocco machines and more specifically the Strada model and the pressure profiling!

During the Out of the box visitors will enjoy unique specialty coffees from the Taf Specialty Project!

The day will end with a party….
12.00pm
Building D4 “Angelos Sikelianos”

To participate at the Pressure Profiling Competition please phone (210-6218172) or email info@cafetaf.gr
Pressure Profiling Competition – Rules

The Pressure Profiling competition is a challenge designed by La Marzocco taking place during the Out of the Box event.

Participants

Participants should be baristas with or without professional experience. Participants will form teams of 2, depending on their level of knowledge and their skills. Therefore, there will be teams of beginners and teams of advanced baristas.

Machine and equipment

The machine that will be used during the Pressure Profiling Competition is the Strada EP 2 groups. This machine allows the barista to create his/her own pressure profiles by controlling the pump speed. The grinders used during the competition will be the Anfim Super Caimano. Nevertheless, each team has the option to use its own grinder as long as the team will inform the competition organizers.

Place and location

The competition will take place at the Technopolis in Gkazi (Pireos 100, Athens), building D4 “Agelos Sikelianos”. The OOTB as well as the pressure profiling competition will take place on the 22nd of June 2012.

Competition Part

The competition part will include 3 stages, the practice, the preparation stage and the presentation stage.

1. Practice
The practice time for each team is 20 minutes. During this time teams will have to train with the machine and the coffee grinder and create the pressure profiles that will be used during the preparation stage.

2. Preparation time

The preparation time for each team is 20 minutes. During this time teams will have to prepare 10 espressos and 10 macchiatos for the audience that will evaluate them based on the evaluation criteria included in the evaluation form.

3. Presentation time

The presentation time for each team is 20 minutes. During this time teams will have to present the coffee beverages that they have prepared to the audience that will evaluate them, to talk about the coffee characteristics as well as the pressure profiles that they have created and the reason why the have selected them.  Competition area set-up The competition area will have the shape of a Π formed with stainless steel stands. The machine as well as the grinder will be placed at the open space of the Π shape.

Competition cups

The cups for the competition will be as follows: espresso cup – macchiato cup

Evaluation form – criteria

The evaluation form for both the beverages as well as the general image of the presentation will include criteria based on which the teams will be scored from the audience.

-The criteria regarding the espresso and macchiato beverages (flavor characteristics) are as follows:

• Crema texture and persistency
• Body balance
• Taste

-The criteria regarding the presentation are as follows:

• Beverage description/ presentation
• Service
• Cleaning

-The criteria regarding the pressure profiling are as follows:

• Description
• Reasons of selection – utility
• Theories behind the creation of a profile

Pressure profiling competition Evaluation Score Sheet
Evaluation range 0-6*

1. Espresso Evaluation
-Crema texture and persistency
-Body balance (0 water – 6 syrup)
-Taste

2. Macchiato Evaluation
-Milk quantity  -Milk texture
-Milk temperature
-Milk visual (foam thickness)
-Taste / balance

3. Presentation Evaluation
-Beverage description/Presentation
-Service
-Cleanliness  (station/coffee machines & execution/operator)

4. Pressure Profiling Evaluation
-Description
-Reasons of selection – utility
-Theories behind the creation of a profile

*0= Unacceptable, 1= Acceptable, 2= Average, 3= Good, 4= Very good, 5= Excellent, 6= Exceptional