"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 20XX World Barista Championship, I am the master of ceremonies ...... this time"

After the emcee in the venue gave an opening speech in English, the Korean master of ceremonies in the venue gave an introduction to most of the audience in Korean. As the two introduced this year's event to the audience one after another, Lin Xiuyi's emotions couldn't help but become nervous.

……

"In order to give the contestants more freedom to play, the World Coffee Association has made some slight adjustments to the rules of the competition this year, and the most important of them is that the contestants can be allowed to instruct the judges to drink the coffee they make, please note that this is a very important rule change......

Just when everyone thought that the opening remarks of the emcee were just to liven up the atmosphere, the emcee suddenly announced a shocking news in public. What does it mean that a barista can instruct a judge to quote his own coffee, which means that the coffee you make is likely to leave a different taste experience for the judge depending on the time of day. This was absolutely unthinkable in the past, after all, in previous events, all the judges had picked up the coffee and tasted it as soon as it was made. And this change in the rules means that baristas who know more about what they make will have an advantage.

On the first day of the competition, winners from more than 50 World Coffee Association certified regions from around the world gathered. There are 12 spots in the competition to advance to the semi-final stage. It was destined to be a brutal game. All the baristas who have made it this far are the best baristas in the world. Because the World Barista Championship does not limit the number of entries that can be entered. Therefore, among the players on the field, there are also veterans who have challenged the World Barista Competition many times. Among them, there is a barista contestant from the United Kingdom, who not only has a Ph.D. in food science and engineering from a well-known university, but has also entered the final stage of the World Barista Championship for nine consecutive years, and this experience alone can be called a legend of the World Barista Competition.

……

When the master of ceremonies read out the relevant rules of the competition, 50 players from all over the world began to appear one after another. According to the rules of the competition, each competitor can arrange the operator station to their liking without changing the height of the operator's station, and the mill can choose one of the three models offered by sponsor Mahlkonig: Peak, EK43 and EK43(S).

As the master of ceremonies announced the official start of the competition, all the players present immediately became busy. The judges, who were looking forward to what the players would bring, waited quietly in front of the players until the opponent finished the first part of the game and made a cup of mellow Espresso.

Maybe it's because Sakurako's face is too dazzling, and the photographers on the field frequently give the lens to Sakurako's side, only to see her bow her head and carefully complete the steps of grinding, plucking powder, and pressing powder. When Sakurako expertly installed the four handles of Geisha in the forest on the steam coffee machine, a few wisps of black-brown liquid flowed out of the holes in the handles as the machine started, and then slowly filled the coffee cup below.

"Four cups of Espresso, Miss Sakurako Takudai from Sakurano Coffee in Japan was the first to finish the part of the Espresso, so ...... What will the judges say about this cup of coffee?"

"Whew...... Can you tell us about the beans you use?"

"Absolutely, this is the coffee beans that our Sakura-no-Sato Coffee House picks from an eco-farm in Ethiopia, and I call them Geisha in the Forest!"

"Geisha in the woods? Is this a new bean seed? No wonder I think this cup of coffee tastes so special......"

The referee who asked the question heard Sakurako's answer, and immediately took another sip of his coffee cup, and then he turned his head to look at his colleague next to him. It seemed to be curious about the reaction of several other referees.

"May I ask you about your roasting skills for this coffee, and how do you do with these beans?"

"Uh...... It's a tough question to answer, but I did roast it in the opposite way of making most espresso coffees. In order to maximize the floral and fruity aromas of Geisha in the forest, I use a very light roast, which lasts for two minutes, then raises the temperature by 8 degrees, and then raises the temperature by 8 degrees Celsius after the first burst, and then develops an attractive floral aroma and fruit-like acidity......

"It's complicated!"

"yes, if I'm not mistaken, this is probably the best quality coffee bean I've ever seen. ”

"I agree, I really hope to see this coffee bean at this year's Esmeralda Special Auction, Ethiopia has not had such a high-quality bean variety in Ethiopia for many years, may I ask this lady, will you sell this coffee from this bean in the market in the future?"

……

After the four judges on the field drank Sakurako's coffee, almost all of them were fascinated by the rich taste experience contained in the forest Geisha. All of a sudden, the judges forgot about grading Sakurako. It wasn't until the emcee on the field noticed that the results had not been judged for a long time that everyone realized that this was the scene of the World Barista Competition.

"Haha...... It seems that several of the judges are very interested in Miss Sakurako's coffee, what kind of coffee makes the four judges on the field so fascinated? Let's see...... Forehead...... Native to western Ethiopia, Geisha in the forest of Sakura-no-Sato Ecological Farm is an incredible species that has never been seen in the World Barista Championship. I really didn't expect that after many years, varieties from Ethiopia, the homeland of coffee, finally appeared on the stage of the World Barista Championship again. What kind of coffee is this? Now...... Let's wait and see......"

As a burst of tense music sounded, many players' names and scores began to appear on the big screen in the venue, and when the results came out, there were those who were happy, disappointed and frustrated, until everyone's scores were displayed on the screen, and the 12 players with the highest scores finally appeared at the top of the scoring list. ”

"Let's see...... After the first round, the top scorer for the time being was ...... Congratulations to Sakurako from Sakurano Cafe in Japan, and we look forward to your next performance. ”