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The first day of the WBC competition has been very interesting. The level has been high and all the baristas seems to be well prepared. This has resulted in some very different presentations. One of the most entertaining performances - at least in my mind - was from the Chinese Barista, Hua Wei. He is a very energic guy, talking all the way through his presentation - very fast and in Chinese, so I have no idea what he said. But his presentation was very entertaining. For his Signature drink, Hua Wei was combining Chinese tea and espresso. 
The Danish representative, Søren Stiller Markussen's presentation was completely different. It was a calm, confident presentation build on a Nordic theme culminating in a signature drink inspired by the old Nordic traditional dish "Øllebrød". One great detail of Sørens presentation was his use of music. The relaxing lounge'ish music helped to build up the excitement of the presentation and topped just as Søren served his signature drink. Very well composed. 
The barista from Iceland, Palmer Thor Hlodversson had a pretty dramatic finish of his presentation, where he prepared a sorbet on the stage. To freeze the sorbet he used liquid nitrogen, served it together with an espresso and stopped the time at exactly 15:00. This is something that can make the crowd go wild. 
Michael Yung from Canada used a siphon brew for his signature drink. I totally agree with James Hoffmann's comment that it's nice to see the baristas use several brewing methods. There is one thing that is a mystery for me. While Michael grinds coffee for his espresso, he says: "Because this grinder grinds acqurately the same amount of coffee everytime, I don't need to redistribute the coffee with my fingers". Does anyone understand this statement? It would be interesting to hear this in the comments. 
Last but not least it should be mentioned, that the reigning World Barista Champion who is emceeing this year's championship is doing a great job. It seems like he is trying all he can to make the competitors relax and feel home on the stage.
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