Kazakhstan Barista Contest

Already a hub of central Asian commerce, Almaty is now keen to prove that it’s no cultural backwater. Kazakhstan’s largest city embraces the pretensions of the Starbucks set by hosting this national challenge, part of the WorldFood Kazakhstan trade show. A five-person international jury will judge twenty-five baristas on time, performance, taste, creativity, and innovative design. No word yet on whether last year’s champion, Dmitriy Korolyov of the Gorny restaurant in Almaty’s Tau-Dastarkhan leisure complex, will seek to defend his title as the nation’s “Coffee Magic Maestro.”