Special event in Korea
On Tuesday 26 March five superstar baristas recounted the RS1 in a Seoul coffee roaster
Five superstar baristas, an iconic Specialty Coffee location in Seoul, the Rancilio Coffee Competence team, an exceptional partner such as ENR International and the sort of public only a great event can draw, not to mention an endless stream of coffee. These were the ingredients of an event organized to celebrate the official market launch of the Rancilio Specialty RS1 in Korea, which took place on 26 March on the premises of Ora/Und Café. The day got off to a start with a warm welcome from Andrea Mascetti, Commercial Director of Rancilio Group, and proceeded with a show by Pietro Vannelli, Italian Latte Art Champion, who demonstrated the full potential of the new RS1 steam lever with two adjustable levels of power, while providing ample proof of his talent with delicious cappuccino and some incredible artistic creations. Vannelli also introduced the topic of Advanced Temperature Profiling, which was then examined more in detail in the ambit of a dedicated workshop. From the coffee bean to the cup of coffee, Carles Gonzalez of the Coffee Competence team explained the advantages offered to baristas by this Rancilio-patented technology, a high precision tool enabling them to control water temperature dynamically during the extraction process and, consequently, to adjust the taste and aroma of each coffee. Contemporarily, four Korean baristas came on stage to recount their personal experience of working with the Rancilio Specialty RS1, from various angles.
Park Dea-hoon – an ambassador for Italian espresso coffee in Korea and champion of the 2018 International Coffee Tasting competition – held a lesson on tasting and demonstrated how and to what extent temperature variations during the extraction phase can impact the end result, as he guided the public through a series of tasting experiences.
He was followed by Lee Kang-bin – a judge at the most important Latte Art competitions in China and Korea – who focused on the innovative steam lever. Lee used cappuccinos and other milk-based beverages to play with the different steam powers and demonstrate that the RS1 makes an ideal coffee machine for professional baristas, latte art champions and even baristas who are new to the job.
Meanwhile, yet another table was focused on the RS1, under the guidance of Kang Min-seo – Korean Champion of Coffee in Good Spirits – who offered coffee-based cocktails and recounted the latest world trends in his particular field of specialization, while demonstrating the extent to which coffee, with its predominance of acidic notes, may enhance fruit-based drinks. Song In-ho – an SCA trainer and multiple finalist at the Korean Baristas Championship – explained how a cafeteria menu is drawn up for WBC competitions.
In the late afternoon, the various workstations were placed at the disposal of the roasters who had an opportunity to try their hand at extracting their own coffee using the avant-garde extraction technology of RS1, with the continued support of the ENR International baristas and the Rancilio Specialty team.
