Posted by TheShot on 07 May 2008 | Tagged as: Barista, Consumer Trends, Local Brew, Quality Issues
We’re more than a bit late with the news here, but a hearty and well-deserved congratulations to Kyle Glanville of LA’s Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea for winning the 2008 U.S. Barista Championship (USBC): 2008 US Barista Champion « The Official 2008 SCAA Conference Blog.
Proving the West is Best, and giving us some minor trash-talking rights, [...]
Posted by TheShot on 01 May 2008 | Tagged as: Barista, Quality Issues, Starbucks
While I’ll be checking out Barista Coffee in India, Minneapolis will be hosting this year’s U.S. Barista Championship during the SCAA conference this weekend.
Yesterday, the host city’s hometown paper, the Star Tribune, published a rather lengthy article on the event: The great barista battle is brewing. It’s a story that’s been covered dozens, if not [...]
Posted by TheShot on 14 Aug 2007 | Tagged as: Beans, Foreign Brew, Roasting
Today’s Globe and Mail (Canada) reported on the arrival of the $15-a-cup (CAN$) Hacienda la Esmeralda Especial at Vancouver’s Caffè Artigiano: globeandmail.com: Pay up and smell the coffee. (Kopi luwak pretenders, take notice.)
The Panamanian coffee won the 2007 Roasters Guild Cupping competition at the 2007 SCAA annual conference. The coffee was sold in an online [...]
Posted by TheShot on 08 May 2007 | Tagged as: Barista
Many congratulations are in order for Heather Perry of Coffee Klatch in San Dimas, CA: Specialty Coffee Association of America Names 2007 United States Barista Champion. Heather entered the 2007 U.S. Barista Championship as a reigning three-peat winner of the Western Regional Barista Competition (or WRBC).
Yesterday at the 2007 SCAA conference, Heather beat out the [...]
Posted by TheShot on 27 Apr 2007 | Tagged as: Beans, Fair Trade, Quality Issues
The April 2007 issue of Coffee Talk primarily focused on the annual SCAA conference next month. The most interesting article comes from George Howell, president of Terroir Coffee Company, who wrote about the state of the world’s quality coffee supplies: Towards a segmented quality coffee market [PDF file, page 8].
With the growing public awareness of [...]
Posted by TheShot on 26 Mar 2007 | Tagged as: Machine, Quality Issues, Roasting
It’s no secret that I generally disdain superautomated espresso machines (myself and Howard Schultz apparently included) and the convenience-step-forward/quality-step-backwards home pod machines. So you may get the (false) impression that, when it comes to coffee, I am an anti-technology Luddite. While I have never placed PID temperature controllers on the group of my home machine [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 19 Mar 2007 | Tagged as: Barista
Congratulations again to Heather Perry of Coffee Klatch in San Dimas, CA. Over the weekend, she successfully defended her 2006 title at the 2007 WRBC: Western Regional Barista Competition March 16-18, 2007. Also placing were Kyle Glanville of Intelligentsia in Los Angeles (yes, you read that city correctly) and Chris Baca of SF’s own Ritual [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 14 Feb 2007 | Tagged as: Consumer Trends
Today’s Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported that “iced coffee is a hot commodity, surveys show”: Some like it iced. According to studies from the SCAA and NCA, iced coffee consumption is on the rise — accounting for 6 percent of weekly U.S. coffee consumers, as compared with 4 percent five years ago. The article also attributes the [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 08 Feb 2007 | Tagged as: Barista, Quality Issues
Speaking of Nick Cho recently…
Last Fall, Nick won the Southeast Regional Barista Competition (the press always wants to say “Championship”, but it’s “Competition” at the regionals). Congratulations, Nick. (No, seriously!) This means that Nick is headed down to Long Beach, CA to compete for the national title at the SCAA’s 19th Annual Conference & Exhibition [...]
Posted by TheShot on 23 Jan 2007 | Tagged as: Barista, Quality Issues
Today the press release mill churned out the announcement of the next SCAA conference: 10,000 Leaders Shape the Future of Specialty Coffee May 4 - 7, 2007 in Long Beach, Calif.
Yes, there will be the usual plethora of speakers, exhibitors, mixers, courses, workshops, and awards. Yes, there’s the circus entertainment of the U.S. Barista Championship. [...]