Dalla Corte USA and Whole Latte Love coffee experts Todd Salzman, Tracy Schafer, and AJ Pow joined forces with Dalla Corte Coffee Pro and multi-time winner of the Mexico Barista Championship, Fabrizio Sención Ramírez, to play an important role in Coffee Fest San Antonio 2021, one of the biggest coffee events of the year.
Thanks in large part to the hard work of Salzman, Schafer, Ramírez and Pow, Coffee Fest San Antonio 2021 was a success. With Dalla Corte USA as a key sponsor, the event, which took place at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas on Friday, June 18 and Saturday, June 19, exclusively featured Dalla Corte machines for the Latte Art and Barista Skill training classes offered.
In addition, Coffee Fest San Antonio 2021 also served as the North American debut of the all-new Dalla Corte Zero Barista espresso machine.
“It was fun to show off and see the reaction to the Zero Barista and it's 'Zero Limits' technology,” said Salzman, who is in charge of Product Development at Dalla Corte USA. “People first loved the look — which drew them to our booth — as well as the user interface when we showed them its capabilities."
For those who may not know, Coffee Fest is the specialty coffee B2B event that attracts owners, operators, and those interested in growing their specialty coffee and tea business career. Resources offered at Coffee Fest events include educational workshops, networking opportunities and the opportunity to discover new products and services.
The City of San Antonio, Texas
After arriving early on Wednesday, June 16 and gathering their bearings, the team began their Texas-sized adventure by taking part in a coffee tour of San Antonio to get a feel for the coffee scene and make some local connections.
Salzman, Schafer, Pow, and Ramírez made the most of any down time they had to enjoy the attractions and eateries San Antonio has to offer.
As part of the tour, the group visited What's Brewing Coffee Roasters, Revolución Coffee + Juice, Local Coffee Founders, and Merit Coffee Co. and began to get a feel for the local scene in San Antonio, as well as a preview of some of the faces they might see at Coffee Fest.
The group visited a number of local coffee shops while out and about, including What's Brewing Coffee Roasters, Revolución Coffee + Juice, Local Coffee Founders, and Merit Coffee Co.
“San Antonio is a beautiful city,” said Schafer, the Director of Marketing at Dalla Corte USA. “I was excited to see the coffee scene was robust and growing at a fast pace.”
Pow, Ramírez and Schafer (from left to right) pose in front of the Dalla Corte USA banner after getting it set up on Thursday.
Thursday was spent setting up the machines for the Dalla Corte USA booth, as well as the machines for all of the training classes. The machines featured at the booth were the Dalla Corte Evo2, Dalla Corte XT, and the all-new Dalla Corte Zero Barista.
"All of our machines are multi-boiler machines," said Salzman. "Paolo Dalla Corte invented the mutli-boiler machine back in 2001 and has never built a Dalla Corte heat exchanger machine. In 2015, he introduced Flow Control in the Mina and once again showed the world a new way to make a great espresso. We now have flow control in the XT and the Zero Barista."
The Dalla Corte USA booth on Thursday after the group finished setting it up. Machines pictured include the Dalla Corte XT, Zero Barista, and Evo2.
As for the training classes — which took place on both Friday and Saturday — one room included Evo2 and and Zero Barista for use with the workshops "Introduction to Free Pour Latte Art Workshop" and "Train the Trainer: Barista Skills,” while the other room utilized an XT and Zero Barista for the workshops "Milk Science: Understanding Key Components" and "The Why Behind the How: Hands-On Barista Training".
Dalla Corte machines were also featured in the various workshops offered at Coffee Fest San Antonio 2021.
Coffee Fest San Antonio 2021
Friday marked the start of Coffee Fest San Antonio 2021. Day one had an excellent turnout, as a nearly constant stream of curious and intrigued passersby visited the Dalla Corte USA booth with inquiries about the machines on display.
The Dalla Corte USA booth experienced an excellent turnout, as a nearly constant stream of curious and intrigued passersby inquired about the machines on display.
“The reception from the coffee community was everything I had hoped for and thought it would be,” said Salzman. “There was excitement about opening up and getting back to business and there was a very diverse group of people.”
Away from the Dalla Corte USA booth, Ramírez, who was a finalist in the World Barista Championship in 2012, as well as a co-founder of Café Estelar, a roaster in Guadalajara, and palReal, a restaurant and café, headlined a seminar titled "Temperature and Flow: Perfecting Extractions for Roast and Origin,” where he educated people about the power and applications of flow control and brewing temperature.
Ramírez also delivered a seminar titled "Temperature and Flow: Perfecting Extractions for Roast and Origin,” where he educated people about the power and applications of flow control and brewing temperature.
After the conclusion of day one, the team wrapped things up and began to prepare for day two.
Saturday was the second and final day of Coffee Fest San Antonio 2021, and was once again a busy affair. Many people flocked the Dalla Corte USA booth to learn about the various Dalla Corte machines featured.
Another drawing attraction was the mere presence of Salzman and Ramírez at the booth, as attendees took advantage of the opportunity to pick the brains of the two coffee experts.
Those who visited the Dalla Corte USA booth were able to consult with coffee experts like Ramírez and Salzman.
"I had a lot of fun helping people pick out the right machine for their environment and needs," said Salzman. "I had a great conversation with a woman who needed a machine that could better keep up with her business' increased volume. We reviewed her options and decided that the Evo2 three-group with a Milk Control system was a perfect way to go. The Evo2 is a workhorse with great temperature control due to its multi-boiler system."
For more information on Coffee Fest, click here or visit coffeefest.com. Information on how to attend or how to become an exhibitor at an upcoming Coffee Fest event is also available. To learn more about everything else coffee and espresso, we recommend checking out Whole Latte Love’s blog catalog, video library and support center.
