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Opposite page: Stumptown Coffee Roasters hosted a pop-up café in the city's beloved hipster sports bar, Spirit of 77. Here, Stumptown's Bob Peyton and Matthew Williams make pour overs for guests just before the kick-off of one of the best parties of the show, hosted by La Marzocco, Stumptown and Barista Magazine. This page, clockwise from left: Katie Carguilo of Counter Culture Coffee runs in for a hug upon hearing her name announced as the 2012 United States Barista Champion; Aida Batlle, who is celebrated the world over for her family's coffees at four farms in El Salvador, pulls shots at the Stumptown pop-up café, proving her skills go beyond coffee farming; the cheering squad for USBC finalist Devin Chapman of Coava Coffee, during the Awards Ceremony of the USBC. title, with Jon Ferguson in second and Juliet Han in third. For the second year in a row Andy Sprenger used large Bee House drippers to win the Brewers Cup, a competition with an increased number of entrants and its own small crowd of spectators. Sprenger's Cerro Azul Geisha micro-lot coffee was sourced for the competition from Colombia. Jon Ferguson (second place winner) used two different lots (one during open service and one during finals) of 'mama cata' Panama Geisha on the Clever. For third place honors, Dut Goodman brewed El Salvador Finca Suiza on baby Chemexes. Overall the competitors engaged the judges more during the 2012 season, indicating the competition is well on its way to the intensity of barista championship presentations. The USBC level of competition also made a jump this season. Each regional featured competitors with a heightened intensity; many of the finalists wove topics to consider within the presentation time as seen at the USBC. Signature drinks demanded the redefinition of creativity with flights of brewed coffee and espresso, palate confusion and priming with various acid solutions. The 15 minutes of presentation shifted focus to minutes of education and challenge; no longer is the signature drink just about creating something tasty. Many of the comments from judges surrounded the quality of competitors. Those competing inspired and forced the judges to progress; the training workshop was more rigorous than previous years, accurately mirroring the dedication demanded by competitors. Travis Beckett's presentation seemed to be an extension of the Symposium topic addressed by Tracy Ging, a summation of market research on the specialty coffee consumer. According to the research reported, the most common draw to specialty coffee is the experience of love for the cup; the consumer is interested in a shop, barista and experience that is passionate and special, and not necessarily concerned with cost or quality. Baca's focus on sustainability was timely with the Specialty Coffee Chronicle issue's focus on the topic. In it, Peter Giuliano points out, "sustainability is really hard…the critics forget one thing, however. We really have no choice. " As Giuliano points out, sustainability has been on the radar of specialty coffee since the 1990s. Fair Trade made substantial efforts to increase the quality of life in coffee growing regions, followed by individual direct trade efforts to do the same. After breaking from Fair Trade International last October, Fair Trade USA is expanding certification possibilities for coffee farmers not part of a co-op. Previously, Fair Trade worked only with co-ops, but is beginning a pilot program this year with farms in Colombia using the model of flower farms in Ecuador. The Colombian farms would be certified and subject to the same rigorous voluntary audit of funds, ensuring that fair prices are distributed to farm workers and used for programs that enhance the quality of life, such as loan programs, language classes, and computer skills. As CEO Paul Rice said, it doesn't make sense to exclude farms in the fair trade process. Some farms have no option to become a co-op, and this growth of Fair Trade USA allows for a journey of empowerment without usurping the work of co-ops. "Fair Trade is the original direct trade, " he said. While some suspicion of fair trade has murmured through the industry, the newly revamped USA section of the project is an important opportunity for places, farms, and companies that cannot curate their own direct trade programs. One method of trade is not superior; they work in tandem. But as Rice pointed out, the real burden rests on the consumer. "At the end of the day it's business," he said, "it only works if the consumer will buy it. " Outside the daytime activities held in the convention center, debriefings, debates and networking thrived at the various parties. The most expansive and cohesive party was hosted by Portland Roasting Coffee at their facility on Friday. Coffeelandia was the street fair of coffee parties. With the $10 admission toward Honduras water stewardship projects, attendees could eat endless food cart masterpieces (burritos, pizza, the famed VooDoo donuts), drink endless adult beverages, bounce in an adult-weight approved bouncy house, inflatable sumo wrestle (I haven't seen that since I was in middle school), and sing live karaoke. And of course, conversation abounded about the day's happenings, topics explored in lectures, and all around catching up. The welcome reception at the convention center on Thursday was a little more chaotic but featured the always popular latte art throwdown as well as live music. Saturday night various groups hosted smaller parties, allowing folks to socialize without a constant barrage of business cards. I briefly stopped at the Jupiter Hotel for localized craft Speakeasy creations, then made my way to Tight Shots and Short Cups hosted by La Marzocco, Verve and others. There I spotted more of the USBC crowd and a photo booth in the corner. The party led to dancing (so I heard—I had already succumbed to sleep by then). Surrounding all these conversations presented in competition, lectures or workshops, is a dialogue of change: How soon do we drink coffee after harvest? Is coffee production sustainable; is it still working? Is fair trade or direct trade better? Are we relevant as an industry? How can coffee progress? These questions spurred by Event dialogue are the next leg in specialty coffee. And that is why the SCAA hosts such a big shin-dig each April. www.baristamagazine.com 35