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37 www.baristamagazine.com "We want more foreign companies to accept these [young coffee people], so we can offer more of the internships," she continues. "We know it's hard, maybe [the interns] don't speak so much En- glish, but we want them to see that there is a world out there, and opportunities." For some of these young people, the trip to camp is their first time off the family farm; sometimes it's their first time in a car, or meeting other people their own age. The exposure to other coffee kids, as well as to professionals in other aspects of the coffee industry, is monumental to many par- ticipants—including one 19-year-old cupper named Alejandro, who became passionate about coffee after learning "the whole process, from planting to drinking it" at his first camp. Over the following two years, he studied with SENA to achieve his cupper's certifi- cate, making him one of the youngest certified coffee tasters in the country. Now he's an intern in Titirbí's pop-up café, learning about production and shop management. When assembling 1,000 cafeteros in person isn't possible, there's always www.ColombianCoffeeHub.com—a dynamic interactive website (also sponsored by the FNC) that aims to virtually con- nect baristas, barista trainers, and other industry professionals and pros-in-training with online community, educational and enterati- ning videos, and peer-to-peer information sharing and gathering. Activities and events are frequently announced to "the Hub," and open-posting capabilities allow members to start conversations about origin, flavor profiles, brewing methods, and other relevant coffee topics. In her presentation during ExpoEspeciales, Marcela of the FNC explains how the organization is committed to spreading as much awareness as possible about the diverse portfolio of specialty coffee Colombia is able to offer. "Our dream is in the restaurant, in the coffee shop, there will be a 'Colombian coffee menu,' so people can choose what Colombian coffee they want to use." She also shared a recent video from another FNC side-project, www.FoodPairing. com, designed to help food, beverage, and hospitality professionals match Colombian coffee profiles with myriad other flavors, to cre- ate harmony at the table with delicious dishes and complementary coffee. Finally, of course, the ultimate showcase for barista skill and influence is the national coffee championships, including the ninth annual Colombian National Barista Competition (Campeonato Co- lombiano de Baristas), which took place during the four days of Ex- poEspeciales. This year's winner is Diego Campos, a barista with Amor Perfecto, a specialty-coffee company that not only wholesales roasted Colombian coffees, but also provides full-service barista education, technical support, and equipment sales to café owners— all in the interest of growing Colombia's domestic specialty-coffee landscape. From the sounds of the competition's audience, however, each of the participating 34 baristas was a winner: The spillover crowds hooted and hollered for their friends and fellow barismos y cafeteros throughout the entire contest, snapping photos and shouting encouragement with a spirit livelier than I've seen at most barista competitions. Diego will go on to represent his country at the 2015 World Barista Championship this coming April in Seattle, and, like everything else about Colombia, I'm sure his presentation will truly be impresion- ante. That's the actual Spanish word for "awesome," by the way.