I was warmly greeted by the bitter-sweet scent of roasted coffee beans as I entered the convention hall. And there’s the excitement of the baristas crafting cups of coffee behind using the voluminous and bulky coffee machines. The crowds gathered to grab free cups of freshly-brewed coffee and started making small talks with each other about the addictive caffeinated-beans that wakes people up every morning. Where am I? I’m at Cafe Asia and International Coffee and Tea Industry Expo which was held at Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre.
This year, Sweet and Bakes Asia 2014 is also held in conjunction with both of these two major exhibits, where baking ingredients, machineries and equipment were showcased to industry professionals. Thus I not only get to sample different varieties of coffee but also get to enjoy the delicious spread of confectioneries.
The coffee culture in Singapore is definitely growing with the increase in number of people drinking and appreciating coffee. Cafe-hopping is a favourite past-time activity among most Singaporeans where we would chill at cafes for a good cup of coffee, tea, cakes or delicious brunch meals. Thus I am not surprise by the huge turnout of coffee and tea-lovers on the third day of the event which was open to the public.
The highlights of the event includes Singapore National Barista Championship 2014, the Singapore National Latte Art Championship 2014, the inaugural Cafe Asia Siphon Competition and the Singapore National Bakery and Confectionery Championship 2014. It would be cool if they could film and broadcast it on television since it can be quite intriguing to watch barista at work. Because the actual actual stage area was a little confine and it can be pretty tiring to watch numerous baristas working one at a time. Yes, the competition lasted for hours…
Singapore National Barista Championship 2014
There were also coffee certification courses by Specialty Coffee Association America (SCAA) conducted during the exhibition itself. It would be cool if there are more of such hands-on barista courses made available to the public so that Singaporeans like myself would know how to brew a cup of coffee using the high-powered coffee machines. Perhaps, a latte art workshop? I will definitely be looking forward to next year’s expo!
Singapore National Bakery and Confectionery Championships 2014
Barbie! My all-time favourite childhood doll.
More decorative cakes!
I couldn’t imagine how much sugar was being used to make all these colourful icing! Nice to look at but it may not be a good idea to feed yourself all so much sugar!
