We shared our 10 years anniversary with partners and friends over many cups of fragrant specialty coffees
At the beginning of October, DABOV Specialty Coffee turned 10 and celebrated this important for all of our team date with a special event at our roastery in Trebich. We have presented ourselves with one whole day in the company of some of the most important people for us – our partners in Bulgaria who have helped us grow and distribute the culture of specialty coffee in Bulgaria. Of course, this special celebration would not have been possible without the participation of other very important people – the farmers, who have been sharing with us the fruits of those past 10 crops, and since geographically it was not possible for them to be in Trebich, they were present on our birthday with their inspiring and unique coffees. And as we are sharing this news with you, we would like you to join us—you, our loyal customers–because without you and your support during these first 10 years, we haven’t given up and continue finding, roasting and delivering the best coffees in the world.
What happened on DABOV Specialty Coffee’s birthday
We celebrated our birthday they way we do everything – busy working but with a sense of celebration because we love what we do every day, week after week, month after month and year after year. Our founder Jordan Dabov demonstrated how we roast the specialty coffees in our Probat roasting machine so that our guests could learn more about the world of coffee and the steps coffee takes until it reaches your cup. What better than exploring the taste of freshly roasted specialty coffee? We followed roasting with a presentation of filtration methods and tasting of different coffees from our catalog.
It was a great pleasure and joy to receive the biggest gift from our partners, apart from their desire to continue working together – their opinion. Here’s what some of them shared and wished us:
Elitsa and Ivan, owners of Take a Cake
Take a Cake and Dabov Specialty Coffee in search of real value for the connoisseurs of high-quality pastries and real, delicious coffee.
Dabov Specialty Coffee walk off the beaten path. They search for, taste and buy unique green coffees and roast them with professionalism and imagination. The result is impressive and is all there in your cup – a coffee drink to fall in love with.
Take a Cake strongly recommends Dabov Specialty Coffee for your establishment and home.
Maria from Fabrika Duga
DABOV Specialty Coffee helped Maria understand that coffee is not a drink with just a bitter taste and there are many interesting methods to extract coffee, not even a bit less tasty than espresso. Five years ago she tried DABOV’s coffee and refused to drink anything else, especially in Bulgaria.
– Why do you work with us?
Because we believe DABOV Specialty Coffee sells the best coffee in Bulgaria, roasts it in the best possible way, and the distribution is on the high level that we expect. We trust their professional opinion to choose the best coffee equipment for us and we know we can rely on them for assistance if we need it.
– How have we proven ourselves in time?
You have proven to be good partners in raising coffee culture in Bulgaria into a higher level; you are people who approach their products with great attention; your job is your passion, and this is quite obvious.
– What do you think about the company?
DABOV Specialty Coffee has become a recognizable brand among fans of caffeinated beverages. Brand, which is a symbol of quality and special attitude to every bean that travels thousands of kilometers before arriving at their roastery. All this because of their team that is absolutely committed to its work.
Ivaylo Atanasov – By the Way
Dear friends,
I would like to cordially wish you the next 10 years to pass with the ease with which you brew wonderful coffee every day, and the aroma and aftertaste to be always with a touch of sweetness. The same sweetness that remains with us as we work together as partners. Continue to be as fresh and wide awake as the effect that your coffee has on us.
It is a pleasure and a privilege for us to be partners and to feel this every morning in the best possible way.
With tremendous respect for you and your work,
Ivailo Atanasov
Yana Petkova, a wine taster and journalist with WSET diploma, founder of “Bulgarian Wine Academy“, member of the team of the Bulgarian wine media DiVino.
My serious and conscious relationship with coffee dates back to that with wine: it started approximately in 1994. And so did the frustration that I can not find a good coffee in our country. My then job required that I travel constantly, and names such as Yirgacheffe and Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee were better known to me than Bordeaux, Côtes du Rhône or Napa Valley, and there was always a package of good coffee in my suitcase. I always find key people and places for me on the internet – where I found the coffees and the philosophy of Jordan Dabov, which in 2010 was called “My Gourmet World”. Jordan Dabov saved me from the demeaning task of asking friends to bring me coffee when traveling abroad and helped me realize that the coffees of a world-famous American chain are not some of the best.
More importantly, he has helped me form my coffee quality criterion, making me rethink my own taste and he helped me reaffirm what I have always known about myself, namely that espresso is a method, and filtration and French press – attitude.
(I still haven’t given up the taste of brown sugar in the coffee, but maybe one day I will.)
I have never wasted time in wondering whether our Grape Central wine bar would offer Dabov’s coffee because I always knew it would. Good wine, good food, and good coffee are the three pillars of a full and happy life.
Today, my work is related to the cultivation of taste in another equally sensible, deep and multilayered matter as coffee and I know how important the right quality criterion is. I still have to travel a lot on business and unchanging points of my program in a city are no longer just visits to certain wine bars and restaurants but also to Specialty Coffee places. Jordan Dabov’s skill in selecting quality coffee blends is at the same level as this of the most innovative and educated coffee shop owners in Paris, Copenhagen, Barcelona, London, and the Baltic region. His participation as a member of the international jury of eight Cup of Excellence editions – the most prestigious competition and coffee auction in the world – is not only a recognition for his personal qualities as a cupper and coffee seller but also for our country.
Red Devil Catering
Mr. Dabov is the avant-garde who has remodeled the coffee perception in Bulgaria. Thanks to him and his team, the attitude towards this drink has acquired different dimensions, and different depths because they demonstrate its vast nature step by step. He is also an inspiration for many other professionals who want to provide their clients with a quality product. I do not think there is another name as synonymous to coffee culture as his in Bulgaria.
Congratulations! Good luck! Hats off to your boldness!
One of the most exciting events for the coffee lovers and professionals in Europe is approaching and we will definitely be part of it.
Europe’s best-loved coffee event, World of Coffee, heads to Amsterdam in 2018. Our DABOV Specialty Coffee’s team is going to join the Specialty Coffee Association at World of Coffee from 21 till 23 June and reach thousands of coffee industry buyers and influencers within a unique mix of a trade show, education program, social events, and most importantly, the 2018 World Barista Championships. We can’t wait!
Europe’s Fastest-Growing Coffee Show
Traveling to a different European city each June, World of Coffee is the essential event for coffee professionals on our continent – drawing a loyal audience from the global specialty coffee community, more than 80% of whom return year-on-year. Brought to you by the Specialty Coffee Association, the event has more than doubled in size and stature over the last five years, growing from 3,000 visitors and 45 exhibitors to 6,800 visitors and 240 exhibitors in just 5 years. These results are impressive, aren’t they!
World of Coffee is a festival of innovation, entertainment & knowledge
The backbone of World of Coffee is the dynamic 5000 sq.m. exhibition featuring over 250 of the world’s leading coffee and Horeca industry suppliers. But Europe’s top coffee event is more than a trade show, it is a festival of innovation and learning comprising of several distinctive panels. Check out which they are so that you can make your programme and don’t miss anything important:
- World Barista Championships
- The SCA’s cutting-edge lecture series
- Two busy cupping rooms
- A week-long social programme of parties and networking events
- The ever-popular Roasters’ Village
- The Sustainability Forum
- The SCA Guilds Area
- The highly competitive World of Coffee New Product of the Show Awards
- The SCA Shop
We are thrilled to share with you that this year we are going to be straight into the eye of the specialty coffee storm during the World Barista Championship!
The 2018 World Barista Championship is fast approaching – in just under few weeks, from 20th to 23rd June, over sixty competitors will take to the stage in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, at the World of Coffee show. With regional competitions well under way, qualified competitors will have started planning their preliminary round performance – preparing three espresso-based courses in fifteen minutes to a panel of judges and the audience. Alongside the preliminary round on day one and two, competitors will also collaborate in groups of teams, as part of the WBC Teams Competition.
The Netherlands’ coffee industry is thriving, and what’s more, sustainability is of high importance to Dutch consumers – last year, the CBI went as far as to describe the country as “the epicenter of sustainability initiatives within the coffee sector”.
SCA has also announced a new round of Qualified Sponsorships
The Specialty Coffee Association has also announced a new round of Qualified Sponsorships for World Coffee Competitions starting in 2018 – affecting what equipment can be used for in the championships. At the moment, Simonelli and Mahhlkoenig are the espresso machine and grinder sponsors respectively. Other sponsors include Ally Coffee, Swiss Water, and more. Information about Qualified Testing for the sponsor position will be announced soon.
Over the last eighteen years, it’s been clear to see that behind every barista, there is a strong support network—from coaches to producers, to roasters. The World Barista Championship Teams competition is designed to foster and encourage that same spirit of mutual support amongst competitors. Participating competitors are grouped into ten teams, equally weighted based on historical performance of their National Body. Competitors continue to give the standard on-stage performance to the audience and a panel of judge, while working with and supporting their teammates behind the scenes. Each team also works a shift on the Team Bar, where competitors will work together to decide on a menu, equipment, and service.
Here are some of the baristas, that are going to participate this year:
The overall winner of the Teams competition will be determined by combining each team member’s individual score from the WBC preliminary round. The team with the highest combined score win the WBC Teams Competition, and some great prizes, including the chance to participate in a future WCE All-Stars event. The highest ranking member of the winning team who is not already qualified into semi finals will win a spot as the sixteenth semi-finalist, and continue in the World Barista Championship. In 2017 the WBC Teams competition was won by Team Tamper, which included Canada, China, Italy, Kenya, and Romania. Kenya’s Martin Shabaya qualified into semi-finals, and also joined the WCE All-Stars event at Hotelex Shanghai—keep your eyes peeled for more of the 2017 Team Tamper at upcoming All-Stars features!
Stay tuned for some more freshly roasted info, photos, and videos, straight from the event!
Sources:
https://www.worldofcoffee.org/
https://www.perfectdailygrind.com/2017/01/world-barista-championship-2018-amsterdam/
https://worldbaristachampionship.org/announcing-2018-world-barista-championship-teams/
We are thrilled to share with you that one of the most significant events in the world of Specialty Coffee is currently underway – Best of Panama 2018!
Founded in 1996 by the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama (SCAP), the competition is now held for a 22 time! This event gives the world the opportunity to get closer to some of the most exclusive cafes such as Geisha for example! Thanks to SCAP’s members who have developed and established cultivation systems and processing methods that aim to create an outstanding product: „Our coffees have been ranked by experts as some of the best in the world in many international competitions, and our production is highly prized by the most demanding and discerning in the industry. We strive to promote a culture that is friendly with the environment: We understand that our water sources, forests, and wildlife are not only a key part of the success and uniqueness of our coffees, but also the most important asset to our communities,” said the locals.
Currently, SCAP has more than 50 active members that export its varieties of Specialty Coffees around the world and that are winners of prizes and recognition in different international taste competitions.
Also, the best of Panama represents the opportunity for local estates to promote the quality of their harvests, as this competition is overseen and judged by national and international experts in the specialty coffee industry. „For us coffee growers, the Best of Panama is a very important event, as it continuously raises the bar for the quality we strive to offer in our product,” said the producers.
This year, Best of Panama 2018 will take place in Valle Escondido Resort & Spa on May 22-26th. The event will host more than 15 preliminary local judges, 18 international judges from USA, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Australia, EUA and Japan and more than 25 International Guest Cuppers from Asia, USA, and Europe.
We are so proud to announce that our coffee hunter Jordan Dаbov was invited to be a part of the international jury in Best Of Panama. This honour is granted to cuppers from USA, Asia and Australia with high experience in cupping quality coffees. For years a European judge has not been a part of this event.
Follow us for more up-to-date information about the event and the results!
Our team had the pleasure to attend a training at La Marzocco factory, a leader in the professionals’ coffee equipment around the world.
The company La Marzocco was founded in 1927 by Giuseppe and Bruno Bambi and has its origins in Florence, Italy, the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. Even today highly specialized staff controls every manufacturing stage of each machine, which handmade for each customer.
This was our first visit, leaving us with a lot of useful information. Training in a company with almost 100-year history has allowed us not only to see the process of constructing coffee machines but also to get closer to the history and experience of a major international company.
We thank La Marzocco’s team for the wonderful two days at their factory.