April 17, 2012 - Seattle, WA - Coffeehouses to Battle for “America’s Best Coffeehouse 2012” Championship Title

Coffeehouse expertise will be on stage when eight semifinalists converge at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle this September, to compete for first place, $2,500 in cash, the championship trophy, and the America’s Best Coffeehouse Championship title.


A menu of espresso, cappuccino, latte, flavored latte, two manually brewed
coffee options, plus a daily special will be posted during Coffee Fest Seattle,
September 21-23, for the inaugural DaVinci Gourmet America’s Best Coffeehouse
competition.  Dueling coffeehouse teams of three employees each will be filling
roles such as barista, bar back, and greeter/cashier, who will serve attendees
and judges.  This is now the vehicle created for coffeehouses to be judged on
who serves the best coffee, has the best teamwork, customer service and poise
under pressure.

Beginning with preliminary qualification happening at the shop level on
each coffeehouse’s home turf, as many as 30 coffeehouses throughout the western
US and Canada will be selected.  Once named, the 30 preliminary round
competitors will begin a race against the calendar to see who can garner the
most support (votes) from their customers, friends and fans over the 90 day
preliminary period at www.coffeefest.com.  The competing coffeehouses will
evaluated by Coffee Fest and/or Secret Shopper judges who will evaluate and
grade each shop on customer service, drink quality, ambiance, cleanliness,
organization and efficiency to determine the eight that will advance to compete
in the finals on-site at Coffee Fest..

“This competition is designed to become a coveted crown of recognition to
coffeehouse owners coast-to-coast. This all encompassing competition is
designed to go beyond barista, brewers or latte art.  Having first produced
barista competitions beginning in 1992, and later evolving to today’s world
renowned Coffee Fest Latte Art Championships we are prepared to provide the
platform and venue for these coffeehouse owners to compete” says David
Heilbrunn, Coffee Fest president and show manager.

Applications may now be submitted by any coffeehouse in the Western
region for the competition at Coffee Fest Seattle in September.  Eastern region
coffeehouses may now apply for the competition at Coffee Fest New York  in
March 2013.  Central region coffeehouses may apply for the Central region
competition at Coffee Fest Chicago in June 2013.  To see more information,
apply to compete, and vote for your favorite coffeehouse please visit
www.coffeefest.com and plan to come see the eight finalists fight for the
championship for each region at Coffee Fest.

America’s Best Coffeehouse championships are made possible by the support
of the following companies.  DaVinci Gourmet is the proud presenting sponsor.
Design & Layout Services designed and fabricated the coffeehouse competition
venue. SelbySoft has provided the point-of-sale system and attendee judging
receipts and forms. Natvia the 100% natural sweetener is proud to support this
competition and coffeehouses across America.

Coffee Fest has been bringing the specialty coffee, gourmet tea and
alternative beverage industry professionals together since 1992, when the show
first got its start as a consumer coffee festival in Seattle. Since 1998,
Coffee Fest, “the little coffee show that could,” has gathered coffee
retailers, roasters, distributors and manufacturers together for over 64 trade
shows, three times each year, to help specialty coffee industry attendees build
and refine their businesses, have the first peek at new products, and remain
current with coffee and tea industry trends. The next Coffee Fest trade show
will be at Chicago’s Navy Pier, June 8-10, 2012. This competition debuts at
Coffee Fest Seattle in September in Seattle.  For more information about all
the shows, go to www.coffeefest.com.