Amsterdam Coffee Festival, a few impressions

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Today the 2016 edition of the Amsterdam Coffee Festival opened and a few friends and I went to see it. In two beautiful halls close to one another, many but not too many companies have presentations. A beehive of new and familiar faces, fames and small brands, classic machines, recent machines and some of the latest technology on display and word of the upcoming machinery from those who are developing it.

Wouter Strietman was there as well, but not manning his own booth this time. His ES3 and CT1 machines are well published and selling to such an international crowd that it makes less sense to present it locally.

We visited the BOCCA booth where Yakup Aydin was energetically hosting and introducing many folks to one another, handing out the most delicious samples of espresso, inviting visitors to compare the taste of washed and unwashed Ethiopian, organizing a brief demonstration by a colleague of him who made the most unbelievable latte art masterpieces. One was so incredible, no one dared pick it up and drink it.

At the COMPAK booth, we met Montse Ibern from the Spanish Head Quarters, who worked with Dutch retailer Sebastiaan van Pommeren to present a wide range of the newest COMPAK grinders. We were briefed about burr design, with examples of a burr that was cut in a way to deliver optimal taste at lowest noise levels with a relatively slow delivery, and same sized burrs with a more aggressive bite that also produce excellent grinds but at a much higher speed, also due to the special coating of the heavier steel.

We also noticed a new and beautiful "Single / Small Dosing" funnel for COMPAK grinders. Easy to take out with the sliding stopper near the bottom. Load a handful, a cup of beans or one single dose. We expect to be testing one soon.

There was lots more of course and others will post their impression as well in their own spaces.

Some pictures:

Yakup Aydin and colleagues
Mahlkönig EK43 with the new "Versalab" style dosing slider

COMPAK display illustrating burr cutting edge design variation

COMPAK display showing the Red Speed Lucidate coating

One HUGE flat burr by COMPAK

New upcoming "Single Dosing" funnel for the COMPAK

 easy to take out

showing the swivel-stopper

Montse Ibern (c) of COMPAK Spain 

Sebastiaan van Pommeren, Wouter Strietman, Tije de Jong, Jan van der Weel admiring a tiny Slayer

Jan van der Weel, Tije de Jong, Wouter Strietman taking off

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