NERBC fallout

Post NERBC there was a bit of local press coverage from the Globe that really stayed neutral and got quotes from a lot of people there. The globe also did a sidebar piece on Luminaire as well. The Hario brew bar had two of their beta Lb-1 water delivery systems running continuous duty during the 3 days of the event. It was a great field test for their new concept and got them vital feedback from area barista/roasters. We are currently using one in shop right now and there is talk of one at Hi-Rise on Brattle St. as well as Pavement Coffee Bar when it opens. The brew bar and 4th machine were hugely successful and busy during the entire competition. Turnout during all three days was steady but the 4th machine and per cup bars were jam packed consistently.

Anne and Neil of Tamp Tamp ran the espresso machine offering up drinks using a range of the sponsors and roasters who had contributed to the event. Likewise, the Hario and Luminaire per cup bar also rotated drip offerings by featuring two roasters at any one time changing throughout the day.

Both Somerville papers got in on the coverage. Between those articles, there were a few items that seemed a bit off, like '30,000 viewers online' and quoting how we at barismo had hosted competitions for years. We have organized and hosted many events over the years but this was our first barista competition.

As for competitors, we had a very specific goal this year. We did not want anyone to compete from our company but Jamie Lynn decided it would be great for her after the positive experience she had last year supporting a competitor that I felt burned us later. Her goal was to get on stage and complete a routine that represented her and the shop she works at even if that meant taking hits on the score cards or doing things that don't fit in with the stage show. I am happy about how she handled the whole situation because her confidence as a barista has increased as well as the quality of her skill set. I look forward to her article in Barista magazine about the differing experiences. Her role was a specifically unique situation where she took that same attitude of training (not marketing) toward supporting the growth of the barista we sponsored by helping prep them with rule sheets and outlines. Ironic, if only because she fully intended to challenge the rules in her own routine.

In the weeks after competition, I have seen the confidence and attention put in by barista in the community and I have been really proud of the leap in training made by the barista who took the time to use the preparation aspect of competition for personal growth. I am particularly proud of both Alison and Nathaniel at Simon's who had previously had quite bad experiences at competition in the past. It took a lot of courage and dedication to get past those traumatic experiences and turn in good performances this year.

Congratulations to Danielle who took first and to all the other competitors who got up there and put themselves up for critique. We wish her good luck representing the NE even if she is a New Yorker now! It takes a lot to get on stage and handle that pressure. Congratulations to Matt from Matt's wood roasted coffee who took home the NE Regional Cup Taster's prize and is a nice guy to boot. A lot of area barista are looking forward to next year.

NERBC 2010 Competitor list is up

The competitor schedule is online for a quick browse. Notable on the list is our own roaster Jamie Lynn Waltz and first time competitor who is up Saturday. Come cheer her on in the afternoon. Chris and Ethan are both judging others so you can cheer them on also if you see them.

Ben Wilkinson shows up on the list repping Blue State Coffee and should be a solid contender to do well. All around great guy and BGA rep for obvious reasons. Noticed Danielle Glasky (formerly ATL) is showing up for Stumptown. I don`t remember Stumptown being big into competitions in the past but Danielle is cool and we wish her well. There are several familiar names from last years NERBC which is a good sign but even better is that there are a lot of first timers.

Of the main host sponsors, there is a lot of representation locally. We at barismo clock in with 4 competitors using our espresso (not including our dear roaster). Judson from Hi Rise, Markus from ERC by BU, Nathaniel and Alison from Simon`s (Check out Simon`s spiffy new Robur next time you are in there). Jamie, Jud, and Markus are first time competitors while Nathaniel and Alison had competed before for 1369. Both Alison and Nathaniel have put in a lot of work the last few weeks and I am pretty damn proud of how far they have come regardless of the final results. New Harvest clocks in with several representatives from Blue State Coffee, Seven Stars Bakery and others. GHCC brings their own Nikolas Krankl, with Jared Mancini and company from SIP also competing.

I am glad to see turnout from the NY crowd as well, but more important is that the list of local roasters and their accounts such as Flat Black and Equal Exchange is large. Competitions are a good focal point for our coffee community that can change the local dynamic a lot. It should be a huge competition and we hope everything runs smoothly and that everyone gains something from the competitions.

During the three days of competitions, there will also be a Hario brew bar serving cups of coffee using Lb-1 prototypes and the 4th machine serving espresso drinks to the attending public, competitors, volunteers, and even judges (if they could drink more coffee after judging). The service will be free and coffees from the main three sponsors as well as several other regional roasters will be offered up at different time slots during the weekend.

See you there-

NERBC 2010 Mass Ave Cafe Crawl: Sat Mar 20th

For the NERBC, we helped organize a cafe crawl with Peace River Coffee that will start at our shop with a v60/Syphon service and then move on to the following shops:

Diesel Cafe 257 Elm St. in Davis Sq. for Chemex Service

Simon's near Porter Sq. 1736 Mass Ave for v60 service or shots of Competitors Espresso

Hi-Rise on 56 Brattle St. Harvard Sq. for Syphon/Woodneck/Competitors espresso

*Cafe Crema on 27 Brattle St. Harvard Sq. for a special coffee service

*1369 Coffee House on Mass Ave in Central Sq. for a special coffee service

Toscanini's at 899 Main St. in Central Sq. for a special ice cream coffee service

ERC at 286 Newbury St. for Competitor's Espresso Service

NOTE: Cafes with a * are expected to participate but not enough information on actual service was available at time of publishing. I will update it as it becomes available.

Attendees will need to pick up a map at the Somerville Armory Fri or sat before participating in the cafe crawl.

There are other cafes in the area that will want to participate and there will be an expanded map posted closer to time of competition in an online form with mentions of other cafes outside of the Mass Ave Cafe Crawl.

NERBC 2010

The dates on the NERBC are the 19th through 21st of March. If you want to sign up to volunteer or to compete, visit http://www.usbaristachampionship.org/northeast/ and register.

If you are visiting from out of town we recommend getting a hotel here:
Homewood Suites by Hilton® Cambridge-Arlington
1 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington, Massachusetts, United States 02474
Tel: 1-781-643-7258 Fax: 1-781-643-7298

Ask about the special rates for the barista competitions and remember these are massive suites which are nicely furnished and did I mention, big!

Events and special offerings available for people in town will be posted next week.

barismo Shop hours next week...

Our normal hours are 12-6pm Wed through Sun. This coming week though, Ben K. (watch him clench the clipboard all next week!) will be off Judging the United States Barista Competition in Portland. As for myself, I am headed off to Seattle for a few days then will catch up with him later in the week in Portland to watch the stage show. Nik from Taste will be flying out to participate using our espresso in the United States Barista Championship. While Nik has not had a lot of time practicing (because he is busy working a thriving bar), after his recent run in the North East Regional Barista Competition, he had to go for the experience. Coming out of Newton (which is not known as a coffee mecca) with mismatched cups, a tenacious competitive streak, an amazing espresso, and no experience beyond our training, to runner up at the NERBC has been quite the experience (which he will detail someday soon...).

Needless to say, there will be a bare bones staff at the barismo lab next week so the hours will be as follow:
Mar 4th Wed 12-6
Mar 5th Thurs 12-4
Mar 6th Fri 12-6
Mar 7th Sat 12-5
Mar 8th Sun 12-3

Remind Mr. Krankl when you see Nik at Taste to wipe his grinder down then tell him to refill the judge's water (I'd appreciate it if you made the effort, loyal readers, to burn it into his head!). Oh, and tell him good luck!

Nik Krankl takes second in North East Regional Barista Competition

Nik runs Taste Coffee House in Newton and I have been working to coach him as a first time competitor in this year. It was a field of 46, 16 being from the North East of which Nik was participating in.

For those of you who don't know, Nik has spent a lot of time at the lab building up his espresso blend with us at barismo, probably as much as he spent training for the NERBC, but it's something both of us are very proud of. A combo of a Guatemala Atitlan and a Kenya Nyeri, both vacuum sealed at origin and both were given an extra sort at the dry mill. The espresso got good scores in the first round but Nik fell victim to surfing the temps in the second round and we are somewhat at a loss with working on a Synesso/GB5 then going to a heat exchanger. I think his conservative flushing routine was not getting the shots hot enough to get the coloration and intensity but it's all left to a what if discussion at this point.

Nik's cappuccino in the second round looked pretty solid and that's always a mixed bag as some judges want the espresso to really cut through and yet others want it to be balanced. So I am told anyway, but the point is he executed them well.

The Signature drink scored very high in both rounds. I think Hong and Nik's aunt should take a big piece of credit for helping build that with Nik. I won't go into it's details but if you want one, you just have to ask Nik.

I will take some time to digest the trip, post some photos and tell the ballad of 'Cotton Mouth' Krankl soon. Truth is that nobody sees the hard work behind the stage, the help people from our North East crowd which showed up and represented this year who then went into support mode when Nik made finals. Nobody sees the long car rides late at night or the frantic scramble to find dry ice last minute. A big thank you to those who came out and supported but I will take the time to detail some names and give credit where it's due in the next few days.

Congratulations to Nik

Big congratulations to Nik of Taste Coffee House for winning 2nd place in the NERBC! A great achievement for a first-time competitor!

Everything in it's place

I spent a lot of time today with a mix of good personalities in shop. Saturdays in the lab are often like this and that was a big part of why we wanted to be open to the public. A&E is confirmed(and registered) as sending Ethan down to compete in the NERBC and the other more barismo specific news is that we will have some representation in Harvard Sq. soon. That last bit is for another day though and represents a lot more hard work to do before we can pat ourselves on the back just yet.

Later in the day I was pulling our L. St. blend at competition specs trying to get my head wrapped around exactly how robust that espresso is. A lot of home users have been consistently getting shots of this shorter and at hotter temps than we have been pulling it in shop and I decided to put this to the test. I ran the gamut of temps and then I found myself actually enjoying the punch of a shorter but hotter shot. Interesting, though I will keep tuning it at our stock temps. Simon's has this as a guest but ask for Simon if you are having a shot(and ask for it ristretto!).

Current incarnations of this blend have been more friendly to milk and for what it's worth, I have been happy that it was coming out well in a cappuccino. By no means should that be the measure of a good espresso though. Poker Face comes out particularly robustly in milk but that is a different animal entirely and yet it's prowess is still in it's complexity as a straight shot. In my biased opinion, it's consistently the best shot in town regardless of the milk. I think that's how it should be, a focus on the coffees and not the dairy.

For chuckles today, I was playing around with pouring latte art in the 5.5oz cups to see if I could keep the portions right and still get the ring of crema judges tend to look for. Moderate success at best with some old Garelick milk. It's not quite as easy as you would think to pull off without any milk waste AND pull off two cups in a row. It's something that I am thinking about as we head off to competitions.

I am not personally very found of the dark ring around a cappuccino any more than I am one of those who decries the existence of the decorated cappa. My personal opinion is that the more layered the surface is, the smoother the experience is. Folding the milk into the cup in such a way that the crema is textured into the surface in expanding layers always seemed more pleasant than the intense burst of reddened foam at the ring of the cup. Maybe I am contradicting the larger coffee community who may desire a bit more contrast in the cappa but that's how I feel.

After the competition gigs are over, we will resume hosting popular events. From this point on though, we will have more formal sessions and avoid the general open house situations. We are open to the public 5 days a week so we think it's time to have more brewing focused classes. If good coffee ended with perfect green or a fabulous roast, we could all enjoy coffee easily but it doesn't come bottled like wine so we have to put in a little more effort when we get the coffee home. That's where the classes will be focused. New sessions begin after February 9th so stay tuned.

NERBC

Nik is getting ready, another practice session today, for competition. We are putting together the support to get him in a good position to deal with his first venture into competition. We are doing our best to give him the worst so when he gets on stage, it will be a bit easier.

Our friends at A&E Roasters may be sending representatives and I think there are more entries we aren't aware of going this year but we will have to wait until the day of competition. barismo may be supporting one more local barista but more on that when it's firm as we have to keep it under wraps because it involves a new account. Simon's is confirmed to not have any competitors and it remains to be seen if other cafes like bloc 11 are going to respond to the influx of area barista this year(yes, I know they read and that's why I asked the question). Even 1369 will be fielding a few competitors so I wonder what the reasons not to show up are?

Competitions are something strange to behold. A stage show you only can experience by competing. On the outside, it looks much more mundane than the boiler it feels like during your fifteen minutes. It may not be for the purists who want to sit around and cup coffee all day, but I will tell you it takes mettle to get up there and I respect those who do. This year, it's good to be new as all the old faces seem to be out f the competition mix this time around. I think that's a good thing because what the competitions need is fresh new faces.

Having been in both the latte art contest and a last minute invite to the USBC a few years ago, I don't revel in competing. The pressure you can put on yourself is intense but worth every bit of stress. Of course, I wasn't saying this after the first round of the USBC, I was cursing the very existence of the thing praying not to make it to the next round. It was afterward, the lessons I learned, and the simple experience of putting myself out there to be judged that I saw a different angle of what it was to compete. You grow up a bit as a professional and that's a good thing. So many of the cafes in our area suffer one simple problem, insulation. They have no larger view than their shop vs another shop down the street set up as some kind of straw man to beat down. A simple illustration of this fact is that some longtime successful cafe owners have finally discovered that single origin and estate coffees do exist.

We all talk about how serious we are about coffee, but the good cafes will find a way of proving it. It might be the mix of coffees served or the flare in serving them, it might be on the competition stage, and it could be by pressing the issue and creating a new coffee bar concept in your region. More on that last teaser soon...

FREE espresso and competitions

The free shots are over here on the 10th. This reminds me to mention that Taste is fielding competitors for the Northeast Regional Barista Competition. It takes a lot of personal investment and time so please support them in this endeavor. Oh yeah, did I mention free espresso...