World Brewer's Cup 2017 Champion
Down To The Cup
The World's Greatest Cup of Coffee (part 3)
“A good barista doesn’t just make good coffee - we sense and we connect...We remind ourselves why coffee is life.” - Chad Wang, Taiwan.
There is plenty to learn from Chad Wang, winner of the 2017 World’s Brewers Cup. Take a look below at his award winning recipe, as well as his process.
2017 World Brewer's Cup Championship Round:
Preparation
“First I warm cups for my guests with warm water.”
Although this isn’t directly related to the brewing process, the temperature and the construction of your tasting cup can directly affect the taste of your brew.
Chad’s Tasting Menu for the Judges
He uses Gesha cherries from Panama, grown in an estate that was “hot in the day due to high altitude and cold at night from the mist of the Pacific Ocean, producing superior cherries.”
“The Purple Geisha Cherries from 227 were handpicked in January, fermented in a glass box under constant low temperature in a dark room, and dried over a single layer, slowly over 21 days in the blue room - [a new] cold fermentation method of processing which produces acidity with a delicate and sweet quality [more appealing than regular fermentation].”
Why is this relevant?
“Picking uniform colored cherries ensures a clean cup - fermentation - breaking down sugar to produce lactic acid and aromatic compounds that will be tasted as pineapple acidity.” According to Chad, “information is important to guest if the barista can help relate the guest to the cup served.”
The beans were roasted right here in Budapest, the location of the competition, 3 days ago. Profile is honey-like sweetness and complexity for the cup.
Coffee Grinding Tip
“I seal my ground coffee in this glass bottle to reduce oxidation of light and air exposure."
“Fine grind to increase viscosity of body.”
Recipe
- 15 grams of fine grind coffee
- 250mL of water
End Result: To brew 220 mL of beverage
Chad On His Water
I also brought own water - filtered to remove impurities and added Magnesium for natural sweetness. 80TDS, pH 6.8, and it gives my brew a soft mouth feel and a clean finish.
Kettle is set at 93°C (199.4°F) degrees - that means the pouring is 92°C (197.6°F) for optimum density and kinetics.
First Round of Pouring
I pre-infuse for 30 seconds to enhance the sweet acidity.
Second Round of Pouring
And after pre-infusion I pour [the rest of the water] steadily down the center (no circles) to avoid any unnecessary turbulence with fine grinds.
Total brewing time (drain & completion) will be 2:00 per cup.
Aromas, Flavors, & Afteraste
When hot, you will find aromas such as melon, followed by peach, apricot, sweet butterscotch, and floral hibiscus in the end. The flavor is overwhelming with melon, followed by white peach, fresh orange blossom, and sweet dark caramel finish. And aftertaste: exotic kiwi, which turns to banana liquor, and pink grapefruit finish.
How This Complex Coffee Changes Flavor With Time
When the coffee is warm, you will find more tropical fruits like mango. The aftertaste more sweet citrus fruits, like blood orange. Acidity is medium to high in intensity, sweet like peach first, and turns bright to vibrant pineapple. Body, medium in intensity, syrupy in texture.
This coffee is very well balanced with sweetness and acidity, and overall, is a very sophisticated cup. Fruity, rich when hot, clean, transparent when warm.
The Championship Brewing Experience: At Home
As you can see, there are many factors in the pour over process, which all directly contribute to the final flavor of your cup.
To serve a delicious, refined cup like Chad, try our Double Wall Tasting Glass Cup - an elegant cup worthy for the ultimate coffee tasting experience.
Until next time,
- Ovalware
More on Chad Wang
Chad Wang grew up surrounded by the fragrance of coffee, as his father operated coffee company Jascaffe. At the age of 12 Chad moved to the UK to study, going on to achieve a master’s degree in food nutrition, before setting out for Japan and Africa to gain coffee-related knowledge and skills.
He received guidance from Yoshikazu Iwase and Stefanos Domatiotis, two world barista champions. In just a few years he earned himself a place in a number of coffee competitions due to his deep interest and constant study.
In 2012, he won the Taiwan Brewers Cup and came third in the World Brewers Cup. In 2017, he took home the World Brewers Cup for his consummate skills and excellent foreign language abilities, which is the best result that any Taiwanese has achieved in this competition.
In October 2018, he set up his first brand concept store, VWI by Chad Wang, in the Eastern District of Taipei.
References:
https://www.instagram.com/chadbws/?hl=en
https://www.astylealike.com/single-post/FOOD-VWI-by-ChadWang-Taipei-Cafe
https://www.instagram.com/vwibychadwang/?hl=en
https://www.facebook.com/VWIBYCHADWANG/
https://www.baristamagazine.com/10-minutes-chad-wang/
https://sprudgelive.com/chad-wang-taiwan-wins-2017-world-brewers-cup/
https://longandshort.london/chad-wang-2017-brewers-cup-champion-recipe/
https://hkccea.org/2017/08/12/2017world-brewers-cup2/