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2012 USBC Finalist Travis Beckett PEREGRINE ESPRESSO WASHINGTON, D.C. What is the name of your drink? I tend to name things by their ingredients, so I named my drink the incredibly straightforward 'Iced Idido Sundried, softly sparkling with N20/espresso fl oat with reduction of barley malt and berry juice.' What are the components? Iced Idido sundried coffee charged with nitrous oxide, espresso, barley malt syrup, blueberry juice, and strawberry juice. Tell us about the coffee. The iced coffee component of the drink is a sundried coffee from the Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia. It's a really fruity coffee, with lots of juicy berry fl avors and fl oral aromas. The espresso is 65% Idido sundried and 35% La Frontera, a washed coffee from the Northern Peruvian city of Jaén. La Frontera is spicy and chocolatey, so the coffees complement each other. How did the coffee guide the drink building process? The Idido was the inspiration for the signature beverage. The fi rst characteristics of the Idido that jumped out at me were how strong its juicy berry fl avor was, and how that fl avor made the coffee exceptionally refreshing. I reinforced the juiciness with the addition of blueberry juice for fl avor and strawberry juice for brightness. I chose to express that refreshing aspect by serving it as sparkling cof- fee and also as iced coffee, which I think is more refreshing than hot coffee. The barley malt was added to the espresso to complement the dark sweet fl avors from La Frontera. What tools did you use to make the drink? Clever dripper, Bonavita kettle, Hario server, iSi whipper, a few glass teapots, and a cupping spoon. Please describe how the drink is made. For prep work, I juiced and strained a bunch of blueberries and strawberries, combined the juice with barley malt syrup, brought the mixture to a boil, and then chilled it. During the competition I brewed the Idido in a Clever dripper and then drained it into a pitcher of ice. Once all the coffee drained out I poured it into an iSi whipper, charged it with nitrous oxide and agitated it gently. Then I pulled shots of espresso into little teapots with the berry malt reduction and set them aside. After de-gassing the iced coffee, I portioned it out into little glasses and fl oated the espresso/reduction mixture on top with a cupping spoon. What was the experience you wanted to create for the judges? I wanted a drink that would look and feel at home in a classy backyard cocktail party, a drink that had an element of 'show' to it—something that was complex and fascinating to watch being created, but simple in how it was consumed. What was the message about coffee that this drink conveyed? We all have those coffee experiences that change our perspective of what coffee can be, that make us say 'coffee can taste like this?' The idea is that you look back at those moments and remember the meaningful elements of those coffees. Then you take the inspiration from that experience and you cre- ate new elements to add to the original experience. So you look back to what you've experienced, and then move forward to see what you can create with what you've learned. The drink is the application of that concept. I looked back at my fi rst experiences with sundried Ethio- pian coffees and picked out the characteristics that made the biggest impact on me. Then I created a form and function for the drink that enhanced those characteristics and matched the aesthetic I wanted to create with the performance. Anything else to note about the drink? The thing I like most about this drink is just that it's so darn tasty. Even after a long day of practicing for competition I always wanted to sit down and fi nish my glass. www.baristamagazine.com 59