Colter to Germany!

Canada is developing into one of the world’s more competitive coffee nations, consistently placing in the top ten (or seven) of the world ranked baristas.   We recently appointed our first cupping champion in Barrett Jones, and many of us baristas recently received an email advising that the World Latte Art Championships approach at the end of June, and Canada is currently unrepresented.  We didn’t have a formal championship to determine a competitor, and truthfully the resources required to ascertain appropriate representation are probably beyond our means at this point.  I was interested in vying for the role in some sort of  pared down online competition, but realistically this year’s winner will end up being appointed in lieu of battling it out.

Enter Colter Jones of 49th Parallel.

Multiple-time Millrock finalist, past National Barista Champion, nerves of steel and smile of gold; I can think of no better person to steward the mantle of Latte Art Champion until potential inaugural competitions are held for next year’s championship.  I know I’ve lost readership with infrequent updates, but if you know a Canadian barista I’d appreciate this mini-campaign being forwarded.  Cafe Myriade supports Colter Jones, who else is on board?

Canadian Regionals

It appears as though, just like last year, Canadian Regionals will begin in June-ish and run through August leading up to the Nationals in Vancouver.  So who’s in?  Count on two Myriaders, if they let us.

Competing in General

First, congratulations to Mike Phillips for winning the United States Barista Championship.  I worked through the weekend so unfortunately missed seeing the events unfold live, but plan to revisit the videos of the finalists to see if I can’t pick up a few new tricks.

I was pointed to an insightful post by James Hoffmann about the cost of competing, and within it he raises a great deal of valid points.  The cost of competing can get expensive quickly, there’s no debating that.  I’ve been fortunate enough in the past to have various expenditures taken care of for me, most notably my espresso and cappuccino cups provided by Terra Keramik, but by and large I’ve financed my own competitions on a students’ budget.  The point of raising this is to at least offer that hope to those working for cafes and companies unable to invest the money and time into training and preparing for a barista competition.  I’ve never had formal competition training before, and actually prepared wholly for the 2007 Canadian Nationals by watching videos of James Hoffmann and Colter Jones.  I had a great deal of good fortune in that competition that allowed me to place as high as I did, but still feel I proved to any aspiring competitor that you don’t need a giant behind you to succeed in competition.  In Canada especially, our national champions have all come from Cafe Artigiano, leading many to assume the economical advantages of working for a big company stack the odds in favour of their baristas.   What many also fail to realize, however, is the extraordinary work ethic of Sammy Piccolo, Colter Jones, and Mike Yung.  Regardless of whom these baristas worked for or with, they would have won their respective competitions.

Since I started, the climate of competing (at least in Canada) has shifted considerably.  The calibre and talent level has increased to a stunning degree, which is exactly what we want to see.  The aforementioned work ethic is contagious;  more baristas are interested and I expect this year that all four regional competitions will be filled to capacity.  Going back to some of what James was commenting on, I think a lot of the costs associated with these events have been inflated by baristas looking for an edge.  The feeling of being forced to “keep up,” so to speak, is compelling and nobody wants to be done in by appearances.  At the last regional, I was outraged that one of the judges commented that my signature drink glassware was boring.  I was shooting for a classic look, and it irked me that in my mind, I had been misjudged.  I, like James, lamented that competitions would soon price themselves out of range for the average skilled entrant, thus disqualifying many qualified potential champions from even throwing their hat into the ring.  And that’s even before travel and accommodation costs factor into any budget.

I was given a fresh perspective at this year’s nationals.  George from Crema competed with about what the average person could fit into a carry-on bag.  His pared down routine fell just short of the finals, but in no way did he appear less polished than any other competitor based on his aesthetic setup.  I very much encourage any prospective competitor with budgetary concerns to watch his video to see how far you can get on just a little.  Of course, you have to consider George’s “awesome” factor, which charts approximately 67% higher than the average barista.  I think it’s his bone structure.

In summary, don’t be afraid to compete based on cost.  There are affordable options for all the essential equipment, and a minimalist approach when done effectively can be extremely refreshing.

Regional date announcements for the Canadian Championship should be announced soon.  Let’s see if I can actually win one this year.

Intelly Sweeps US WRBC

Congratulations to Nick Griffith, Devin Pedde, and Ryan Wilbur who came first through third respectively this past weekend at the Western Regional Barista Championship for the US.  Intelligentsia (besides from being one of my more common blogging subjects of late) is the dominant force in North American specialty coffee.  Aside from being one of the best roasters, they have the most resources and the farthest reach of any other one company, and as such I would argue that their competitors should be sweeping competitions like this.  Considering that competitions are still in their infancy, parity or a lack thereof shouldn’t be a concern until there’s general satisfaction that the championship serves it’s main purpose; first and foremost to promote specialty coffee and secondarily to discern who the best barista is.  That said, I’ll always still root for the underdogs and cinderella stories.  Probably comes from being a Vancouver Canucks fan.

Speaking of competitions, I suppose it’s time to start thinking about this year’s Canadian comp.  Geographic transplants make the regionals that much more interesting this year.  I’m also interested in doing an out-of-region run somewhere if they’ll let me, after all I haven’t been to Alberta since I was nine.

Finally, it’s -25 degrees in Montreal today.  My lips almost froze together during my five minute walk, and I’m working the bar in a zip-up.  This isn’t right, somebody send me a care package and teach me how to wear a scarf.