Credit: copagov / Flickr

The Brazil World Coffee Championships are getting closer! There’s still some time before competitors begin packing their bags—make sure to check out some answers to Brazil competitor FAQs on the competition experience, rules, and more. We have also put together some hospitality information here, including some important information on transport, visas, and vaccinations. If you have a question you would like included, please email compinfo@wce2.flywheelsites.com.

General Competition Logistics

A: The Brazil World Coffee Championships are hosted by Brazil International Coffee Week | Semana International do Café, which takes place at Expominas from 7-9 November. The street address is as below:

Expominas
Avenida Amazonas, 6.030 Gameleira
Belo Horizonte (MG)
CEP: 30510–000
Brazil

A: The area around the show is well serviced by public transport — the Estação Gameleira metro station is close by, and there are several bus routes that stop near Expominas.

These include routes 2104, 1502, and 9205 from the city center, and routes 2151, and 2104 from the Savassi area.

If you plan on taking a taxi, it is highly advisable to pre-book rather than hailing from the street. You can use Uber, Cabify, and the 99 Taxis apps, however Lyft does not operate in Brazil.

A: The overview schedule for competitors is available here. The first item that all competitors should plan on attending is Competitor Orientation. This is mandatory, and competitors who do not attend will be disqualified. The timings for each vary by competition, but will all take place at the show venue.

WLAC
Tuesday, November 6th  – 9:30 to 10:30 AM
Location: WLAC/WCIGS Stage

WBrC
Tuesday, November 6th – 10:30 to 11:30 AM
Location: WBrC Stage

WCIGS
Tuesday, November 6th – 2:30 to 3:30 PM
Location: WLAC/WCIGS Stage

WCTC
Wednesday, June 7th – 11:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
Location: WCTC Stage

A: The overview schedule has been released, with more information on performance times and social events to be confirmed closer to the event.

A: You can find information on the provided Qualified Equipment in each of the championship rule sections below. Further information on sponsored equipment, and ingredients will be available closer to the event.

A: Most countries do not require a visa, however there are some notable exceptions including the US, Australia, Canada, China, and Japan. If you do require a visa, we recommend that you begin the application process as soon as possible. You can find more information about the application process at the Brazil Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

A: WCE can provide visa letters for competitors and their coaches. If you require one, please email compinfo@wce2.flywheelsites.com with the following info:

  • Competition and national body you represent
  • The city and country/region where you will apply for the visa
  • Complete schedule of activities you are participating in outside of the competitions in Brazil
  • Scan/photo of your passport page

Beyond competitors and their coaches, additional visa letters can be arranged by emailing our show host at contact@internationalcoffeeweek.com.br

A: Each competitor will be able to collect a pre-registered badge for show entry on-site. If you provided a coach name when you registered, your coach’s badge will also be available at the show entry. Additional badges can be purchased online.

A: Backstage access is for the competitor, coach, and one helper/translator. Each team will be allowed a total of three people (including competitor) backstage. Any teams found in violation of this may be subject to disqualification.

The Competition Experience

A: The competition water standards are detailed here, and will be provided on-site by Pentair/Everpure.

A: Yes—San Remo will be organising the pre-practice area at Atilla Roaster Lab, which will be available to WLAC and WCIGS competitors from November 3-5. All registered of those competitions will be offered a slot in advance. Inquiries about bookings can be made directly with the organiser by contacting pre-practice@sanremomachines.com.

A: The Supermercardos Vardemar chain and Mercado Central de Belo Horizonte stock ingredients along with more general accessories.

Supermercados Verdemar (chain)
http://www.superverdemar.com.br/

Av. Augusto de Lima, 744 – Centro, Belo Horizonte

A: You can find coffee accessories at Oficina do Espresso , and more general restaurant/bar items in Limão Distribuidora. Mercado Central de Belo Horizonte and Supermercados Verde mar are good options for finding accessories.

Limão Distribuidora
R. do Ouro, 1100 – Serra, Belo Horizonte

Oficina do Espresso
Rua Monte Alegre, 582 bairro Serra – Belo Horizonte

Supermercados Verdemar (chain)
http://www.superverdemar.com.br/

Av. Augusto de Lima, 744 – Centro, Belo Horizonte

A: Oficina Do Gelo supply dry ice from their website, which is in Portuguese.

R. Curitiba, 1510 – Lourdes, Belo Horizonte

A: The official voltage in Belo Horizonte and most south westerly states is 127V @ 60Hz. Some commercial facilities such as hotels also offer 220V @ 60 Hz. You can find the lower voltage in white sockets, with 220V in red sockets. The official socket is type N, but you might also come across type C. The details around provided power at the competition are as follows:

• all supplied grinders (and grinder plugs) will be 220v
• each competition station (practice and stage) will have a 220v and a 120v socket, marked differently so that competitors can choose which one to use.

WLAC Rules Questions

A: WLAC Qualified Equipment includes the San Remo Café Racer, Anfim SP-II Special Performance, Urnex Cafiza® Espresso Machine Cleaning Powder and Puro® Espresso Machine Cleaning Powder. Water filtration will be provided by Pentair/Everpure.

Provided Products & Ingredients:

  • Dairy: Itambé Natural Milk, a 3.5% milk-fat UHT milk that comes from one of the best farms in Brazil
  • Espresso: Café 3 Corações RITUAIS espresso blend
  • Ceramics: Loveramics Egg – 300ml and 80ml.

A: The provided milk will be Natural Milk from Itambé, a whole UHT milk from the Sekita farm. From milking to bottling, the production process takes 24 hours, which guarantees more freshness without using stabilisers.

Ingredients: Whole UHT milk

Nutrients per 200ml
Energy: 129 kcal (542 kJ)
Carbohydrate: 9.7g
Protein: 6.7g
Total Fat: 7g
Saturated Fat: 4.7g
Trans Fat: 0g
Fiber: 0g
Sodium: 106mg
Calcium: 246mg

A: Competitors must used the provided milk, which will be whole cow’s milk.

A: Competition machines will have 20g VST baskets.

A: The official WLAC latte cup is the 300ml Loveramics Egg model, with an 80ml cup provided for espresso macchiato. These will be distributed to competitors at Orientation.

WCIGS Rules Questions

A: WCIGS Qualified Equipment includes the San Remo Café Racer, Mahlkönig PEAK & EK43, Urnex Cafiza® Espresso Machine Cleaning Powder and Puro® Espresso Machine Cleaning Powder. Water filtration will be provided by Pentair/Everpure.

Provided Ingredients:

  • Whiskey: Chivas Regal 12 Year Blended Scotch Whiskey
  • Gin: Beefeater London Dry Gin
  • Cachaça: GouveiaBrasil 44 Cachaça
  • DaVinci Gourmet Syrups:
    • Sugar Cane
    • Amaretto
    • Banana
    • Caramel
    • Irish Cream
    • Macadamia
    • Vanilla
    • Green apple
    • Lemon
    • Mandarin Orange
    • Red Passion Fruit
    • Raspberry
    • Cucumber
    • Ginger
    • Grenadine
    • Hibiscus
    • Lychee
    • Mojito
    • Roses
    • Triple Sec

A: The WCIGS Spirit Bar round will be held at a different venue from the main championships—at Café 104, in the center of Belo Horizonte. The round will take place from 18:00-22:00 on Wednesday November 7th .

Full address:

Café 104
Praça Ruy Barbosa, 104 – Centro
Belo Horizonte – MG

A: The provided Irish Coffee glasses are the Imperial Plus line from Schipper Brazil and the line is Imperial Plus. Dimensions are as below:

Volume: 240ml
Diameter: 7cm
Height: 17.5cm

A: You can find the round-by-round breakdown below.

Spirit Bar: The available spirits are: Chivas Regal 12 year Blended Scotch Whiskey, Beefeater London Dry Gin, or Gouveia Brasil 44  Cachaça. Each competitor will roll a dice, to randomly select one of the three alcohols above for their drinks at the Spirit  Bar. (See rule 3.2 for more details). The competitor must also incorporate a DaVinci syrup of their choice into their beverage. A full list of syrups is available above.

Stage Performance: The competitor must use Gouveia Brasil 44 Cachaça in both the hot and cold drinks in this round.

Final Round: All competitors must use Chivas 12 for the Irish Coffee. The second alcohol-based beverage does not have a sponsored alcohol requirement this year.

WBrC Rules Questions

A: WBrC Qualified Equipment includes the Ditting 804 LAB SWEET, Urnex Cafiza® Espresso Machine Cleaning Powder and Puro® Espresso Machine Cleaning Powder. Water filtration will be provided by Pentair/Everpure.

WCTC Rules Questions

A: The WCTC Qualified Equipment is the Technivorm Moccamaster, Urnex Cafiza® Espresso Machine Cleaning Powder and Puro® Espresso Machine Cleaning Powder. Water filtration will be provided by Pentair/Everpure.