Caffè Vergnano 1882 selects top three baristas in Singapore

Source: Caffè Vergnano 1882. From left: third place winner Rudel Rivera, first place winner Joseph Bringcula, and second placer Stephen Wong.

Caffè Vergnano 1882's inaugural Barista Challenge at South Beach saw three out of 16 baristas setting the bar for future competitions.

Source: Caffè Vergnano 1882. The winning latte art from Bringcula.

Competitors were tested on basic skills involving preparation of espresso-based drinks, from the optimal extraction of espresso to the texturing of milk to bring out its flavour.

Clinching the top position at this high-performance latte art competition was Joseph Bringcula from Google Singapore, followed by Stephen Wong from The Coffee Belt who displayed great skill in coffee extraction. Third place went to Rudel Rivera from D’Good Cafe.

"I think it was a breath of fresh air. I like the community to see that these baristas are not just very good milk pourers and latte artists; if given a chance, they will make very good non-alcohol mixologists,“ said Tony Tan, GM of Coffex, one of the sponsors of the event.

Caffè Vergnano, Italy’s oldest family-owned coffee roasters, serves its own coffee at Caffè Vergnano 1882. Caffè Vergnano 1882 does distribute its coffee to the hotels, restaurants and cafes (HORECA) sector, although that is not an emphasis of their business. Baristas can approach them to carry the Caffè Vergnano range of coffees in their cafes.

Just as if it were made by a barista: Wilfa Precision

Experiencing the perfect cup of barista-standard coffee every morning at the office is now possible. Wilfa Precision, an automatic coffee brewer, is now available in Singapore and Malaysia from Papa Palheta, an independent coffee boutique specialising in roasting and purveying specialty coffee in Singapore and Malaysia. 

Source: Papa Palheta. The aluminium
version of the Wilfa Precision.

Norway's Wilfa collaborated with Tim Wendelboe, a World Barista Champion, to distill the best drip-style coffee experience into a simple coffee brewer. By ensuring the elements of fresh water, flow, brewing time and temperature are precisely controlled and optimised, Wilfa Precision brews coffee with consistent success.

The coffee-to-water ratio and water temperature are important for great coffee. The Wilfa Precision has a unique removable water tank that indicates the appropriate water volumes, and a patented heating system gets the brewing water to the ideal temperature of between 94 and 96 degrees Celsius within seconds. A flow control aperture allows the flow of the drip to be adjusted for preferred coffee aroma and taste. The aperture can be closed completely when brewing is done for easy removal of the carafe and filter for cleaning.

The Wilfa Precision is now available from Papa Palheta in black for a suggested retail price (SRP) of S$399* and aluminum (SRP S$499*). 

*Includes GST.