Cafe Asia 2014 at Marina Bay Sands Singapore

March 12, 2014

Cafe Asia 2014 at Marina Bay Sands Singapore

Last week, I was invited to Cafe Asia 2014- Southeast Asia’s Largest Gathering of the Tea, Coffee and Bakery Industries (6-8 March 2014) held at Marina Bay Sands Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Hall E.

Singapore took center stage as the host for Café Asia 2014 and International Coffee & Tea Industry Expo 2014 (ICT Expo 2014). This year also marked the launch of Sweets & Bakes Asia 2014. The concurrent shows marked the largest gathering of the tea, coffee and bakery industry players in Southeast Asia with 98 exhibitors from 20 countries and regions.

Event Highlights:

Café Asia / International Coffee & Tea Industry Expo / Sweets & Bakery Asia 2014 Demonstration Programme
Café Asia / International Coffee & Tea Industry Expo / Sweets & Bakery Asia 2014 Technical Presentation Programme
Café Asia Siphon Competition 2014
SCAA Coffee Certification by Bettr Barista Coffee Academy
Singapore Coffee and Bake Friends Charity Drive
Singapore National Bakery & Confectionery Championships 2014
Singapore National Barista Championship 2014
Singapore National Latte Art Championship 2014

ICT Expo 2014 serves as a springboard for local and international industry players to tap into Asia’s huge market potential, allowing them to gain an in-depth insight of the up-to-date market trends and developments. It is also the perfect platform for them to raise their brand awareness and forge strategic business contacts with key global suppliers, industry buyers and exhibitors.

Concurrently, Café Asia 2014 marks Southeast Asia’s trade and consumer event dedicated to the region’s café and teahouse communities. It brings together the café and teashop owners and managers, importers and exporters, distributors and suppliers of machinery, equipment, and raw materials. It serves as a dynamic B2B platform for key decision makers to source for buying needs, and explore new collaborations and opportunities.

Sweets & Bakes Asia 2014 will showcase all components of the baking and confectionery industry's supply chain, from machinery and equipment, to ingredients and packaging. Sweets & Bakes Asia 2014 is the one-stop hub for baking and confectionery industry professionals to source for suppliers and vendors, to explore business opportunities as well as to stay up-to-date with the latest innovations and developments in the industry.

The recent years have seen many Asian countries propel to the top of the coffee and tea industries. For example, of the top 10 countries that produce Robusta coffee beans, 4 of them, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are from Southeast Asia. On the other hand, Sri Lanka (21.5%), China (12.4%), and India (11%) make up almost half of the world’s tea exports. The import figures have also demonstrated astounding growth across the region: The import of coffee beans in Singapore alone has increased from SGD1.1b to SGD1.4b from 2008 to 2011. At the same time, the F&B industry in Singapore has also increased to SGD6 billion dollars from over 6,000 establishments.

The 3-day exhibition had teemed with networking events and the Global Coffee Review Coffee Leaders Symposium. Anthony Cottan, the head of Indonesia’s Starbucks operations, will be headlining the event, speaking about the US-coffee giant’s success in the thriving South-East Asian nation. Nespresso coffee capsule inventor Eric Favre will also be present at the event, as he receives a lifetime achievement award for his ground-breaking invention that has revolutionised the consumption of coffee around the world. The Summit will examine issues and concerns in sustainable practices of the coffee industry.

We also witnessed the crème de la crème baristas battle it out at the Singapore National Barista Championship 2014, the Singapore National Latte Art Championship 2014, the inaugural Cafe Asia Siphon Competition and the Singapore National Bakery & Confectionery Championships 2014.

The Singapore National Barista Championships is an annual competition held by the Singapore Coffee Association to identify the best talents in the art of the Barista. The winner will represent Singapore at the annual World Barista Championships. The Singapore Latte Art Championships is held annually by the Singapore Coffee

Association to identify the best talents in creating latte art. The Café Asia Siphon Competition is the first in Singapore to be held to identify the best talents in Singapore and Malaysia in the art of coffee-brewing using the siphon method. The winner will represent Singapore at the World Siphon Championships which will be held in September 2014 in Japan.

There were also exclusive workshops, classes and demonstrations of the latest technologies, trends and techniques pertaining coffee, tea and baking. Visitors will also witness the SCAA Coffee Certification Course by Bettr Barista School. Cupping is the Specialty Coffee Industry’s standard for coffee evaluation. The SCAA Cupping Form and Peer Calibration will present the SCAA Cupping Form which was developed specifically to score quality coffees. In addition, there will be various tasting sessions that are nothing short of a feast for the senses. The brew bar provides the ideal opportunity for coffee lovers and visitors to sample coffee brewed by the many various coffee companies at the show.

The shows, organised by Conference and Exhibitions Management Services (CEMS) and supported by IE Singapore, was expected to attract some 10,000 visitors. Café Asia 2014 was hosted by Singapore Coffee Association and supported by ASEAN Coffee

Federation, Singapore Food Manufacturers’ Association, Specialty Coffee Association of Indonesia, Philippine Coffee Board, Barista Association of Thailand, Laos Coffee Association, Malaysia Coffee Association, Sri Lanka Tea Board and Familia Café de Colombia.

Sweets & Bakes Asia 2014 is hosted by Singapore Bakery and Confectionery Trade

Association (SBCTA) and supported by International Federation of Chinese Bakery & Confectionery Association (IFCBCA), Singapore Food Manufacturers’ Association and All China Bakery Association (ACBA).

Some photo taken at the event: