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F OA M: NEW S BARISTAS ON A BIG OL' JET AIRLINER CAFÉ IMPORTS JUST WON'T STOP Distinguishing itself as an . enormous supporter of barista excellence, the green-coffee importing company based in Minneapolis is once again taking barista champions to coffee origin. In 2011, Café Imports debuted its three-year Origin Trip Sponsorship, which gives an all-expenses-paid trip to a coffee-producing country to the six U.S. baristas who win their regional competitions, as well as the national and international champs. Such a prize was and continues to be unprecedented in the competitions; in fact, many baristas have said that they compete for a chance to win one of these trips more than the title itself. For its first trip in 2011, the barista champs took a 12-day tour through Brazil with the company's Tim Chapdelaine and Noah 22 barista magazine Namowicz to visit coffee farms and mills as well as relax and celebrate their collective victory. In 2012, the destination was Costa Rica, and that year's group of winners examined the country's specific coffee characteristics—like the success of micromills— with intensity before hitting the beach for a few days of R & R. Café Imports' motto may as well be, "Go big every time," because the company announced that the third and final trip of its sponsorship contract would take baristas all the way to Africa—Kenya to be specific. Among the travelers is Pete Licata, who won not only the South Central Regional in 2013, but also the United States Barista Championship and the World Barista Championship. That Pete competed with coffee sourced by his friends at Café Imports is icing on the cake. At the same time Café Imports announced Kenya as the 2013 trip destination, they also revealed that they would renew the sponsorship for another three years. "Both in the United States and globally, it is the baristas that are evolving and shaping what specialty coffee is today and can be in the future," says Noah. "This is a very exciting time for specialty coffee. We have seen that the barista community has a strong desire for more education in their cafés and on the coffee they work with on a daily basis. These types of trips can be incredibly rewarding and really help connect the dots." In October, Café Imports announced the destination for the trip to be won by baristas competing this year: The winners of the six regional barista competitions, as well as the 2014 USBC and WBC champs will travel to Ecuador in the summer of 2014. See the February+March 2014 issue of Barista Magazine for Kenneth R. Olson's article about the Café Imports trip to Kenya. —Sarah Allen