La Marzocco is excited to announce Iuri Grandini as the winner of the 2018 Italian Aeropress Championship. Iuri was judged by a jury of experts and professionals in the field: Michela Becchi (journalist at Gambero Rosso), Alex Gable (Coffee Education Expert), Veronica Fossa (specialist of Food Experience Design and founder of WE Factory), Elisabetta Paviglianiti (head-barista at Cofficina), Enrico Wurm (Product Improvement Manager at La Marzocco) and Carlos Zavala (SCA member Spain & Spanish AeroPress Championship organizer).

38 contestants ranging from baristas and roasters to coffee enthusiasts competed in the one-day event held on Friday, June 1st at Deus Café Milano – an international creative hub for motorbike, cycling and surf enthusiasts, as well as innovators in our field.

Up for grabs, a trip to Sydney, Australia where the winner will compete at the finale of the World Aeropress Championship this November, alongside 50 international participants, marking the first stand-alone WAC event in its history.
Iuri Grandini shares his journey in the world of coffee and his winning Aeropress recipe:

From an early age I grew up in restaurants and cafeterias. I was born into a family who owned bars as well as community centers, later moving into the restaurant business. So, my interest and passion has been cultivated for years. I first studied mixology, working as a bartender. Then in 2009 my curiosity drove me into the world of specialty coffee. It was love at first sight, my training started at 9bar and over the years I had the opportunity to shadow several national and world champions in the sector. I had the chance to work as a trainer for 4 years at a famous Italian roastery. Now you can catch me roasting at Gardelli Specialty Coffee. Coffee is definitely a passion, so much so that you want to discover it from its origin, visiting different plantations, and experiment with various brewing methods that can better express the qualities of a particular blend or single-origin. For the AeroPress competition I chose this method of preparation:

Grind 40 gr. of extra fine coffee;
Use 130 ml. of water at room temperature;
Pour and mix for 2 minutes, using a paper filter;
Press;
60 gr. of coffee obtained with 160 ml bypass of water at 97 ° Celsius

 

La Marzocco and World Aeropress officially launched their partnership in 2014, continuing to collaborate internationally to promote coffee culture, highlighting the importance of networking and competition as a tool to bring greater awareness to the coffee industry.

Pics by Fabiola Malinverno

… and courtesy album of Koffi Besana