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Pete's win at the WBC had all sorts of déjà vu strands running through it. As in years past, he'd won a regional, then the U.S. championship. He'd traveled to the WBC with his longtime friend and coach, Holly Bastin of PT's Coffee in Kansas. They'd worked together revamping his presentation speech, honing each word and tuning each phrase to impart as much information as possible without overwhelming the judges. "We completely changed my speech the night before the finals in 2011," Pete says. "Almost every single word was different." This year, however, while he and Holly made some adjustments at the WBC, most of the alterations came after his win in Boston at the United States Barista Championship (USBC). "I had an idea of what I wanted to say," Pete says. "It was really cool. The more we talked about it, the more it became what I wanted it to be." "Basically, I tried to help him find his voice," Holly says. "You should have something to say when you compete at that level." So there was Pete in Melbourne. He had made the final round, just like he did at his first WBC. He listened as the sixth-place name was called. Then the fifth– and fourth-place winners were announced. Pete made the top three again! But things were eerily familiar. Colin Harmon of Ireland won fourth just like he did in Bogotá at the 2011 WBC. Standing next to Pete were the barista champions of El Salvador and Australia—again the same as in 2011. The Salvadoran champion, William Hernandez, came from Viva Espresso, just like Alejandro Mendez, who went on to win the WBC in Bogotá. And the Australian Champion, Matt Perger, was also in Bogotá standing on stage with Pete in the final three in 2011. So in Melbourne, Pete couldn't have been be more nervous: "I was like, 'Oh, God, what's going to happen?'" But then things went off of repeat and onto a fresh path. Third place was called and awarded to William. Hometown champion Matt stood next to Pete, and the crowd was going nuts. Second place was called. Matt raised his hand and took his trophy to the cheers of his countrymen and fans, while Pete buried his face in his hands. "I'm glad he won. He's one of my oldest and dearest friends. And he's worked so hard and for so long," says Holly of Pete. "I felt a sense of relief and completion. But we did talk a lot [afterward] about never having to do it again." One of the most interesting parts of Pete's championship performance, in my opinion, happened after he finished, when he was interviewed by the final-round emcees Stephen Leighton and Peter Giuliano. They asked him about his performance in 2011 versus the one he'd just given. Pete's response was honest and surprising. He said that in retrospect, his performance in 2011 was somewhat arrogant. That year, Pete was living in Hawaii, and he thought he could really embody the whole seed-to-cup chain, not just be the final link in it as the barista. He picked, sorted, processed, roasted, and prepared his coffee. He was the coffee. "I felt like I did something really amazing," he says. "I did that to make 150 pounds of coffee. That's not what the coffee industry is. [And the truth is] yeah, you did that once, but you can't prepare and present coffee like that on a regular basis." It wasn't a true representation of the coffee, and Pete understood that ultimately, if he wanted to win the WBC, he'd have to depend on the whole chain to excel. It couldn't and shouldn't all be on him, or all be about him. This year, in his new job in quality assurance, Pete worked closely with Parisi roaster, John Welsh. "Cupping coffee with him and working with him every day in the roastery has let us put our heads together, and we've really been able to bring out some great flavors in the coffee," Pete says. It was an illuminating and educational experience for the champ. And it put into stark relief the difference in his competition performance in 2013 versus 2011. He says, "I had the concept of representing the people [behind the coffee] instead of just, 'Let me show you some cool stuff I can do.'" After a year off from competing, and after moving back to the Midwest from Hawaii, Pete told Holly he wanted to give it another go. At first, Holly was a little hesitant. "We both knew how much time, energy, money, and resources it takes," she says. "It's a lot to give." But she also knew that she would be right there with him, willing to help however she could. "He really enjoys competing. I've gotten to watch him grow through it as a person. He's gotten a lot out of it. It's fun in a really strange, masochistic way." "In some ways, I was glad I got second that year because it gave me some perspective," Pete says. "I'm not sure I could have done as much justice for the industry as a whole as I feel I can do now." Pete is looking forward to this year as WBC Champion and the opportunities it brings to promote specialty coffee and travel. "There's tons of places I want to go. There are so many places I haven't gone to, and so many places I'd like to go again." He rattles off country after country he hopes to visit: Brazil, El Salvador, Colombia, France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand. "I've got to go back to Japan," he says. "I love Japan so much, and all of the Asian countries—they're so interesting and different." But he also has a lot of exploring to do right in his backyard. He says the coffee scene in Kansas City changed a lot over the course of the four years he spent in Hawaii. "I was really impressed," Pete says of his arrival back in K.C. "There's always been passionate coffee people, but now there are new roasters and new coffee shops." He lists a few that he likes: Oddly Correct, Quay Coffee, Parisi Café, Kaldi's, and of course, his first entry in specialty coffee, PT's. "Just in general, the whole culture of people who want to enjoy coffee—as a pourover, for example—has grown considerably." "We believe Pete will be a great ambassador to the specialty-coffee community and all who want to learn. He is very gracious with his time and knowledge." —Tooti Roe, About The Coffee 58 barista magazine