Rock star baristas from around the globe will return to Moscow this September for a second consecutive year to demonstrate their coffee-making skills on Red Square during the annual Spasskaya Tower international military tattoo and music festival.
The Spasskaya Tower festival is a multi-day concert and fireworks celebration featuring military, cultural and musical performances from a dozen nations set against the striking backdrop of the Russian Federation’s national capitol. This year’s event will include a feature area called the “Specialty Coffee Show Starring Barista Champions,” an interactive gallery where champion baristas will serve world-class espresso drinks and speak with the public each night of the sight and sound spectacle.
In 2011, the same festival hosted 7 champion baristas on Red Square, including 2011 World Barista Champion Alejandro Mendez, who collectively served approximately 17,000 espresso shots to a crowd more than 46,000 concertgoers in 5 days, including high ranking VIPs, celebrities and diplomats. A larger audience is expected for the 2012 event.
“Last year’s event was an outstanding success, so we’re coming back even bigger,” boasts Soyuz Coffee Roasting Managing Director Drago Lakic. “For 2012 we will host 10 baristas in multiple teams over the expanded 8-day festival schedule to reach an even larger audience as ambassadors of good coffee.”
This year’s festival coincides with the 200th anniversary of the Russian Empire’s victory over Napoleonic forces in the Patriotic War of 1812, which is expected to be a prominent theme of the festival.