In the world of coffee competition, equipment and tools are a crucial part of the arsenal you need to select carefully. They are as important as choosing the coffee itself because the right tools can elevate your brewing beyond imagination. Prior to the national competition, our team searched for the best equipment that would align with our concept, coffee, and brewing style. It took much time and numerous trials to test multiple devices including brewers, servers, and scales.
In competition, consistency is paramount for our coffee presentation as we need to ensure that all three judges taste the same coffee simultaneously. We experimented with ORIGAMI Air, Hario Plastic, Hario Switch, Lili Dripper, Fellow Stagg, Holzklotz Dripper, OREA V2, OREA V3, and OREA V4. Personally, our team favored center pour, so we eliminated many options to end up with only a few. We aimed to avoid drip assistance as it adds more workflow and time to our presentation. As many may know, we ultimately chose the OREA V3, which proved to be fast, consistent, and provided a well-balanced cup for our Ethiopia 74158.
Scales
Judges often evaluate the coffee experience based on a cup, mug, or even a cupping spoon. However, we aimed to provide a way for judges to assess all attributes in one place, leading us to search for the best cup for this purpose. We experimented with several options, from local brands to well-known ones like Origami. Yet, what caught our attention was a mug from one of the coffee masters, who also happened to be a head judge for the World Coffee Championship. We promptly ordered the product to give it a try and found that the mug also had a peak inside, similar to our Brewista server. We believed this feature would further enhance our coffee's flavor.
Initially, we intended to use our friend's coffee grinder from IAMNOTBARISTA - The MOMENTEM grinder, as it offered numerous variables to play with our competition coffee. This grinder, being the world's first two-burrs coffee grinder, provided us with the opportunity to dial in differently. However, the MOMENTEM's downside was its high retention when grinding, and considering our limited amount of competition coffee, we opted to revert to basics: the Comandante Grinder, the most popular hand grinder in the world. We found that the Comandante C40 yielded the best results with minimal retention during grinding.
Kettles
Water, the essential catalyst for unlocking the flavors of coffee, is a cornerstone of our brewing process. Throughout our journey, we have placed our trust in Fellow products, ranging from brewers to electric grinders, scales, and kettles. The Stagg EKG kettle, in particular, has been instrumental in our pursuit of brewing excellence. Its precise control over water flow empowers us to maintain consistency with each brew. From the outset, we have held steadfast belief in Fellow's craftsmanship and innovation, and this conviction has only strengthened over time.
Selecting the paper filter largely depends on how you want your coffee to look. You can achieve brightness and cleanliness or enhance body and complexity. We tried multiple papers from SIBARIST, OREA, Hario, Nana, April, and more, but our go-to choice is the OREA Circle General, which delivers the best results for our coffee. It is fast yet allows us to control the flow rate as we desire.
Selecting tools for competition can be costly, often leading to budget constraints, and sometimes, we seek sponsorship to alleviate the financial burden. However, more often than not, we end up funding our endeavors ourselves. So, if you ever have the chance to see the tools your competitors use, it's almost always true that they've selected the best tools available to them. We hope this article opens up more opportunities for you to try new tools when brewing, whether at home or in a café, as we never truly know what's best for us until we explore new possibilities.