Serving People Serving Coffee Since 2005
Issue link: http://baristamagazine.epubxp.com/i/609699
BARISTA NATION SACRAMENTO TACKLES REGIONAL ISSUES, BUILDS COMMUNITY IN CALIFORNIA'S CENTRAL VALLEY THE BELOVED GATHERING of coffee professionals known as Barista Nation touched down in Sacramento, Calif., in late September for one of its biggest regional events to date. Though espresso machine manufacturer Unic organizes and oversees these daylong educational summits, Barista Nation belongs entirely to the communities in which they're held, and are structured to serve the people of those coffee cultures specifically. Barista Nation Sacramento fit the bill beautifully, with the 200- plus attendees engaging in discussions about California's water crisis and how it affects cafés; the importance of community within regions where individual coffee-business owners might feel competitive with one another; supply-chain problems and how to avoid them; and much more. Unic's Brian Cornelsen opted to hold this early fall installment of Barista Nation in his own backyard, the Central Valley. "This is an area with so much going on, and so much more to happen," he says. "The Sacramento region is already known for exceptional coffee and service, but it's a big area—there is so much room for growth. Our intent with Barista Nation Sacramento was to satiate those already steering the cul- ture and moving it forward, and to inspire coffee professionals looking to jump into a different role, be it café ownership, roasting, or green buying." One of the highlights of Barista Nation Sacramento was a fascinat- ing discussion of how California's severe drought has and will continue to affect café owners who rely so heavily on plentiful clean drinking water. Hydrogeologist Steve Baker, who founded Operation Unite Water Alliance in 2012 to develop public collaboration, adaptability, and responsibility, captivated the crowd with specific examples of how the Central Valley played into the drought issue. He also offered some solutions to café owners searching for ways to be environmentally conscious and not contribute to the drought, while still running their coffeehouses efficiently and successfully. Another popular segment of Barista Nation Sacramento was a panel discussion about the benefits and drawbacks of microlots not only for specialty-roasters and cafés, but also for coffee producers. Concerns were raised about the sustainability of cherry-picking the best coffees from lots—does it lower the quality of the entire lot of coffee, or does that sacrifice afford the producer enough acclaim for the microlot that he or she can move on to greater success in the future? Though attendees hailed from around the same region, many were strangers to each other at the start of the event. A unique method for crowd integration, however, encouraged mingling that led to forged friendships by the end of the day. After each discussion, attendees were divided into small groups to come up with strong questions for the speak- ers. Such collaboration and teamwork was a total success in bringing home Barista Nation's primary objective: supporting and encouraging growth within the specialty-coffee community. Barista Nation heads to the East Coast next. Stay tuned to www.baristanation.com for more information. —Sarah Allen More than 200 café owners and professional baristas turned out for Barista Nation Sacramento, a full day of discussions, hands-on workshops, lectures, and competitions off ered in an eff ort to educate regional coff ee leaders and encourage community building. Here, organizer Brian Cornelsen of Unic gets the early birds excited for the day ahead. 25 www.baristamagazine.com