Why Is Luckin Sending a Champion on a Panama Geisha Bean Hunt?
On February 20 Luckin Coffee announced that Anthony Douglas, the 2022 WBC World Barista Champion, joined its Luckin WBC Champion Team. From March he leads a sourcing team into Ethiopia and Panama to take part in green bean procurement. It is Luckin's fifth WBC champion collaboration.
Douglas won the title using freeze-drying technology to concentrate milk, and previously served as a La Marzocco global ambassador, coming up through Axil Coffee Roasters in Melbourne. His addition strengthens Luckin's specialty coffee line, and there is speculation about whether a Panama Geisha will appear in the Little Black Cup series.
Luckin Coffee once again demonstrated its "champion harvester" nature, officially announcing on February 20th the signing of Anthony Douglas, the 2022 WBC World Barista Champion, into its "Luckin WBC Champion Team." Starting in March, Anthony will lead a bean-sourcing team deep into the two renowned producing regions of Ethiopia and Panama to participate in green bean procurement. This marks Luckin's fifth WBC champion collaboration, following Izaki Hidenori, Andrea Lattuada, Pan Zhimin, and Agnieszka Rojewska. Anthony won the championship with his innovative method of concentrating milk using freeze-drying technology, and previously served as a La Marzocco global ambassador. Having come up through Axil Coffee Roasters in Melbourne, his addition will inject new vitality into Luckin's specialty coffee line. Whether the "Little Black Cup" series will welcome a Panama Geisha in the future is worth looking forward to. For more specialty coffee news, welcome to follow Front Street Coffee.
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When people mention Luckin Coffee, many think of its other interesting label — the champion harvester. Hidenori Izaki, the 2014 WBC World Coffee Championship winner; Gu Ailing, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics freestyle skiing champion; EDG, the 2021 League of Legends World Championship winner... Now, another name has been added to this champion list.
On the morning of February 20th, Luckin Coffee announced through multiple platforms that Anthony Douglas, the 2022 WBC World Barista Champion, has officially joined the "Luckin WBC Champion Team." Starting in March this year, Anthony will lead Luckin's bean-sourcing team to the two world-renowned coffee-producing regions of Ethiopia and Panama.
This is the fifth WBC champion figure Luckin Coffee has invited, following 2014 overall champion Hidenori Izaki, 2003 Italian champion Andrea Lattuada, 2017 Chinese champion Pan Zhimin, and 2018 World Barista Championship winner Agnieszka Rojewska.
Coffee Workshop previously wrote an article introducing this champion competitor, who brought his laboratory onto the barista competition stage with quite a hardcore approach. At the time, he used "cryodesiccation" technology to concentrate milk into "milk powder," then blended it back into milk liquid, achieving a doubling effect on milk flavor and fat content.
Anthony combined this "concentrated milk" with anaerobically natural-process Sidra coffee beans from Huila El Diviso, Colombia, to create a cappuccino with an extremely rich taste, and the milk foam shape was maintained even longer. This unique blending method left a deep impression on the judges, and he ultimately successfully claimed the 2022 World Barista Championship (WBC) title.
The halo of being a WBC World Barista Champion brought Anthony more attention in the industry. Just last month, top espresso machine brand La Marzocco announced through social media that Anthony would serve as the brand's official global ambassador.
Anthony was born in Australia and is a true-blue Melburnian. At the age of 18, he went alone to Sydney to make a living, working at a Spanish restaurant, and it was precisely there that he developed a strong interest in coffee. The following year, he decided to return to Melbourne and formally embark on the path of a barista.
In 2015, with his passion and dedication to coffee, Anthony joined the Melbourne local coffee brand Axil. Under the guidance of founder Dave Makin, he continuously honed his coffee-related skills. Over seven years, from local competitions to Australian regional competitions, Anthony always pursued the ultimate expression of a good cup of coffee, and this championship title also confirmed his years of focus and accumulation. After winning the World Barista Championship, Anthony transferred from training manager at Axil Coffee Roasters to the R&D department, hoping to explore specialty coffee more deeply.
Looking back at Luckin's layout in the specialty coffee field over the past few years, it has been expanding stores at high speed while continuously launching innovative drinks that trend across major social platforms. This time, it has once again invited the "freshly crowned" champion Anthony Douglas, who will also lead a team to the places of origin in Ethiopia and Panama, deeply intervening in the green bean procurement process.
It can be foreseen that Luckin may soon launch classic single-origin beans beyond Yirgacheffe and Huakui as new products in the "Little Black Cup" series. Could there be a Panama Geisha
Let's wait and see!
Image source: Internet
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
