Anyone who's been to Portland must know of the famous Powell's bookstore. Well, The Fresh Pot is a little coffee spot plopped inside one of the few Powell's. One of their baristas, Alex Pond, won the Northwest Regional Barista Competition and went on to compete in the United States championship that weekend.
This place is closer to the top of my list when it comes to quality. Not only is it connected to a cute little bookstore; they use pretty green cups, AND make the drinks delicious. And, you guessed it, they use Stumptown.
I took this opportunity to buy some coffee to take back home (and I just have to say that Stumptown has the coolest packaging for their whole beans).
Slayer Espresso is making a debut of their espresso machine in Atlanta at the WBC, and it has gotten people fired up!
Courtesy of Slayer Espresso
As far as design goes, it has similar features the the Synesso Cyncra with its levers for each group and steam wand (rather than buttons or knobs), except this one is much newer and modern looking.
You can read more about the Slayer at the WBC here, or check out the official Slayer blog. They have a really interesting article about why they decided to pursue making a new machine when there are already top notch ones out there like Synesso and La Marzocco, and how they could compete with them. Here's the link to that.
Today marks the first day of the 2009 World Barista Competition! You can watch the event live at the WBC website. Check out preformances from competitors all over the world. You can also check out the WBC blog for more info about each competitor and their signature drinks.
Our last day in Portland marks the final day of the USBC. Two days is NOT enough time in Portland, so my sister and I dedicated our last day to checking out all the great coffee spots till we had a headache from too much caffeine. And so, we weren't able to attend the competition. But either way, a congratulations to Mike Phillips from Intelligentsia!
I will post about the good and in some cases not so good coffee houses we went to at a later time!
A venue was rented out to recreate an 80s and 90s themed highschool prom. They got it down to the karaoke, a photographer to take your prom picture, and even a prom king.
Carla and I met and talked to a lot of great people! Just to name a few:
Kyle Glanville from Intelligentsia. He is the 2008 United States Barista Champion.
and of course... Stephen Morrisey!! He is the 2008 WORLD BARISTA CHAMPION.
I had way too much fun that night :) We got a few hours of sleep before we went on our coffee stops for our last day in Portland.
After 10 long hours, Carla and I made it to Portland at nearly midnight. Our friends from Verve and Zoka did not make it to the semifinals, but Sara Peterson from The Abbey did! This is her first time competing and she has less than one year of coffee experience; what a great accomplishment for her!We got to see a glimpse of her performance on Saturday, and she said she felt really good about it afterward. I believe her exact words were "bomb diggity".
At the competitions, they have what is called the 4th Machine, an espresso machine dedicated to roasters and coffee houses showcasing their coffee in designated time slots. They offer esspressos, macchiatos, and cappuccinos absolutely free! All day, everyday. I got to try a macchiato from Ecco Caffe and it was delicious!
After hours of people competing and a day of waiting, it was finally time for the 6 finalists to be announced.
Too bad there are no girls in the mix; it looks like team Intelli is working their way to the top as only one competitor from their shop didn't make it to the next round! They will be competing for the last time in the USBC tomorrow morning; unfortunately, the time springs forward tonight. (No partying tonight for them!)
More to come after tomorrow's results! And of course, you can check out more pictures and information at the USBC website.
Today marks day one of the 2009 United States Barista Championship. It is too bad my sister and I won't be able to make it to Portland till tomorrow night; we'll be missing all of round one and two. Hopefully, our friends Sara Peterson from the Abbey, Jared Truby from Verve, and Robbie Brit from Zoka make it to the semifinals and finals so we can watch them compete! You can check out what's going on up in Portland here and here.
Me: Let's go to Portland My sister (Carla): Okay! Me: No, really. I'm serious. Carla: Me too!
We are broke, but for the sake of coffee, we'll scrap every penny we have, even if it will involve sleeping uncomfortably in a Mazda 3 and several packed lunches of chips, fruit, and water. But it will all be worth the days surrounded by coffee culture and of course Portland's green scenery.
Here is a quick rundown of how the competition goes.
Each competitor gets 15 minutes to serve four judges each a single espresso, single cappuccino, and a signature espresso-based drink - one that they created on their own. These are the Sensory Judges, in which they judge based on the appearance of the drink, taste, mouth feel, color, texture, etc. There are also two Technical Judges, who look at the waste of coffee and milk, how consistent the barista is, their cleanliness, consistent extraction of their espresso shots, and how well they clean up after they finish serving the judges. On top of this, there is also a Head Judge.
The competition is based on how the drinks taste, but a barista's score also greatly depends on his/her presentation: whether or not their drinks have any spills on them, whether or not they served the judges water, how well they talk about their coffee and signature beverage. They are essentially servers.
Along with the competition, Carla and I are going to scope out the marvelous coffee scene. (We have a list of shops we must stop by before we leave.) And, whats a coffee event without a little get-together? Yes. We baristas like to party.
As you may know, my family owns a coffee house in Santa Clara. We serve coffees from Zoka Coffee Roaster and Tea Company from Seattle as well as Verve Coffee Roasters located in Santa Cruz. This past week, my sister and I wanted to get away and decided to pay the guys at Verve a visit. We told them not to deliver our coffee and that we would pick it up instead.
It was such a beautiful day in Santa Cruz, I was tempted to go to the beach right then and there. Verve is located at the end of 41st St. (next to Pink Godzilla and near Pleasure Pizza). They have only been open for a little over a year but already have a good rep; they supply their coffee to tons of cafes in Santa Cruz, and to a well known coffee shop all the way in New York, and even to Google! Oh yeah, and to us of course!
The owners and many of Verve's baristas have coffee experience else where - from Pacific Bay, Barefoot, Groundwork, The Naked Lounge - these guys know their stuff! At the 2009 Western Regional Barista Competition, two finalists reppin' Verve are going on to the United States Barista Competition coming up in March: Verve's very own Jared Truby got 5th place and The Abbey's Sara Peterson just made it into the 6th slot. (The Abbey uses Verve's Coffee). Good luck to them both!
At Verve, my sister ordered a macchiato* and our barista, Matt, showed his excitement with a "YES!" I would be silly not to get an espresso after his comment. He pulled us a Single Origin Guatemalan coffee, and they were both delish: a trip well worth the drive! If you're ever in Santa Cruz/Capitola, this place is a must!
*By macchiato, I dont mean a Starbuck's "Macchiato" which is a caramel latte; they butchered the name macchiato! It is really espresso with just a tad bit of milk.
I took this opportunity to buy some coffee to take back home (and I just have to say that Stumptown has the coolest packaging for their whole beans).
This is probably the best party idea ever.
than one year of coffee experience; what a great accomplishment for her! We got to see a glimpse of her performance on Saturday, and she said she felt really good about it afterward. I believe her exact words were "bomb diggity".
Today marks day one of the 2009 United States Barista Championship. It is too bad my sister and I won't be able to make it to Portland till tomorrow night; we'll be missing all of round one and two. Hopefully, our friends Sara Peterson from the Abbey, Jared Truby from Verve, and Robbie Brit from Zoka make it to the semifinals and finals so we can watch them compete! You can check out what's going on up in Portland here and here.
It was such a beautiful day in Santa Cruz, I was tempted to go to the beach right then and there. Verve is located at the end of 41st St. (next to Pink Godzilla and near Pleasure Pizza). They have only been open for a little over a year but already have a good rep; they supply their coffee to tons of cafes in Santa Cruz, and to a well known coffee shop all the way in New York, and even to Google! Oh yeah, and to us of course!
