It was the fourth edition of the competition, the most important in the country, organized by Forum Café, a Spanish non-profit organization. It has been dedicated since 1997 to inform of the properties and virtues of coffee, its culture and its consumption to professionals in the sector, hotel schools and people who want to learn the most important aspects of this drink so historical, so consumed in the world, surrounded by so many rituals and perfume of so many conversations and encounters. Silvia beat the best specialists in Spain in the aeropress preparation modality. He did it at the Barcelona School of Hospitality and Tourism between the 5th and 8th of this month.
The participants of the Aeropress Forum Café National Championship had 8 minutes to do the extraction and present a 200 milliliter cup. They all used the same coffee and ground it. To choose the winner, the judging team blindly tasted the cups and assessed the best aroma, flavor, sweetness, acidity and aftertaste. The aeropress is a technique that was a great revolution in the world of coffee due to its rapid preparation and low acidity of the drink. It was created in 2005 by Alan Adler, an American engineer from NASA. It is actually a pressure coffee maker. The coffee is put into a compression chamber, hot water is poured in and a paper filter is put on, and then pressure is applied and the water passes through the filter and extracts all the essence of the roasted and ground beans.
Many years of preparation
Silvia Paola Pedroza got the title two years after being the champion of southern Spain with the same technique and after many months of preparation. Her hobby arose when her parents, who had come with her from Maracay (Venezuela) to Tenerife in search of a better life, set up a cafeteria on the island. They had to close the business but Silvia’s aunts set up another cafeteria in the shopping center Siam Mall de Adeje: Blend Coffee Roasters. Silvia works there and there her passion for coffee was consolidated. «It caught my attention, I began to inform myself and was surprised by everyone behind it: the many care that must be taken to obtain quality fruits, the amount of nuances of the coffee aroma, the various ways of preparing it, its history … As I expanded my knowledge my hobby grew. It was then that I started to train », says the young woman.
Its origins also had to do with being born in a country that is a neighbor of one of the largest producers of quality coffee in the world: Colombia. He has visited it and has been with the farmers and producers, following all the phases until he has obtained a perfect grain to take to the market. In 2018, he began signing up for online courses, especially those offered by the Specialty Coffee Association, a global organization dedicated to educating about coffee. In such a way that Silvia has specialized in roasting and filtering, as well as becoming a taster, hand in hand with some of the world’s greatest experts, such as Elisabet Sereno, a benchmark for baristas, as experts are called. in preparing, serving and tasting coffee.
Too She was encouraged by the growing love of this product in Spain. «In recent years there has been a great evolution. Spaniards and, in general, Europeans are increasingly interested in the rich coffee culture and even visit plantations in some of the main producers, such as Colombia, Brazil, Ethiopia or Vietnam. There are grains that are a real marvel and that with proper roasting and treatment give spectacular infusions, with aromas full of nuances ”, he assures.
There are many varieties but the two main ones are Arabica and Robusta. Silvia prefers Arabica, the most coveted among quality coffee lovers. The arabica bean contains more oils and sugars and less caffeine. This completely affects the taste. “Arabica is much more fruity and sweet than robusta, with a more bitter and intense flavor,” he details. «You have to bear in mind that the fruit, before roasting, has sweet flavors. That is why sugar should not be added to taste it properly. If the process is done well, the infusion preserves those sweet details of the fruit. In any case, each one takes it as they prefer ”, he clarifies.
Knowing how to make a good coffee and knowing the product is not only an enjoyment for the palate. It has many other advantages. The main one, for this champion resident in Tenerife, is that it helps a lot to the producers who maintain the traditional ways of cultivation. «If you know the world of coffee, you try to buy quality beans. With this you help to maintain all those plantations that achieve an extraordinary product based on a lot of effort and dedication. It is the best way to support those farmers who do such an important and self-sacrificing work. Because the farmer is vital to get good coffee. And the higher quality it has, the more nutritional properties it has. Coffee brings many more health benefits than many people imagine “, explains Silvia Paola Pedroza.
Better as an infusion
Without sugar, one hundred percent Arabica … And espresso? The Tenerife barista is not very in favor of espresso or concentrated coffee, although she starts from the basis that “you have to respect the tastes of each person.” “With espresso nuances are lost in smells and flavors. Those who know about this bet on making it as an infusion. It can even be done in a cauldron with hot water, with the appropriate measures of course, and pass it through the filter. It is the best way to capture all the essence.
2 billion cups of coffee are drunk every day in the world. An average person consumes 1.3 kilos of coffee per year. Hence, coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world after oil. Some 125 million people live from its cultivation, to which we must add those who live from the transformation and commercialization, from roasting to the places where it is served. The largest coffee producer in the world is Brazil, followed by Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Honduras, India, Uganda, Kenya, Peru and Mexico. Silvia keeps the one from Ethiopia and Colombia. In fact, among his plans is to travel to the African country to learn about its traditional ways of cultivation. For now, she will go to a plantation in Panama as a volunteer next month, just in the middle of the harvest season. “I want to continue dedicating myself professionally to this, expanding my knowledge,” concludes the one who has become one of the greatest coffee experts in Spain.
