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EDITOR LETTER check yo self About halfway through Barista Nation Portland, a day- long workshop and networking event held a few days prior to the start of the Specialty Coffee Association of America conference in April, it dawned on me: a few of the attendees were advanced beyond the curriculum. This happens in an industry as small as ours, with a limited number of affordable classes and trainings. One person comes to the table with no coffee background, and someone else shows up with decades of experience. At my friend, Sonja Grant, about it. Current Chairwoman of the Barista Nation event, I chatted with the World Coffee Events organization, co-owner of one of Reykjavik, Iceland's most popular roastery/cafés, and one of the original creators of the World Barista Championship, Sonja's a pretty heavy hitter in the coffee community. But when I asked her, sheepishly, "I guess a lot of the program is pretty boring to you, huh?" she shook her head vehemently. "Any good coffee person can always use some review, " she said. "Maybe a long time ago, when we thought we were too important to need any advice, we would have walked away from this. But hopefully we've grown up since then, and realize that getting a brush up is always helpful. " That was food for thought. True, multi- year Russian Barista Champ Olga Melik- Karakozova, who was in attendance that day, likely wasn't learning anything new at a session on shot pulling. But it never hurts to practice, and people with as many years and accomplishments under their belts as Sonja and Olga know that. Weeks later, I was editing the article about Barista Nation Portland written by Rhonnymi Liberte for this issue (see page 22), and I couldn't help catching her infectious enthusiasm about the event. Rhonnymi is among the majority of baristas who don't travel to coffee events and conferences around the world all the time. She's worked in coffee for more than a decade, but the opportunity to play on different equipment, meet new people and share ideas with baristas with whom she had so much in common in terms of passion and curiosity, made Barista Nation a magical, unforgettable day for her. Rhonnymi is, for lack of a better analogy, in the 99%. I bring this up because, sadly, not everyone in the 1% appreciates that they 10 barista magazine could always learn something new, not to mention always stand to meet someone new in our coffee world. Unfortunately, among the so-called elite in the barista community, there's still a lot of eye rolling and too much entitlement. That's one of the reasons Barista Magazine has chosen to partner with the Barista Nation organization, actually—Barista Nation is a free event, hosted in myriad cities around the globe, that is created by baristas for baristas. Everyone is welcome. Alas, it's one of the few top-level coffee events that I can say this about. But this column isn't supposed to be about Barista Nation specifically. To quote Ice Cube, you better check yo self before you wreck yo self. Or in this case, wreck our community. We chose Emma Markland Webster for this issue's cover person for a lot of reasons, but one specifically: she embraces and welcomes any and all coffee enthusiasts she meets. She understands that without newcomers, there's no future in specialty coffee. Emma nurtures these fledgling, passionate people to be the leaders, the champions, the café owners and roasters and quality-focused professionals of tomorrow. Sonja does that, too, instinctively, like it's her duty. She sincerely believes it's one of her responsibilities. This issue is being released in conjunction with the most upper echelon coffee event on the planet, the World Barista Championship, taking place in Vienna, Austria, in mid-June. In the grand scheme of our industry, only a few people will be there. Day-to-day baristas like Rhonnymi will be working their regular shifts back home, likely not even aware that it's going on. That's the dangerous disconnect, I'm afraid—the broad rift between the 1% and the 99%. For the strength of the future of the specialty coffee industry, the 1% must take action to shrink the gap by reaching out to their regional barista communities, making them aware of resources, and welcoming them. Chances are, they'll be as thrilled to hear such things as educational websites, local trade shows and lively coffee blogs exist, as Rhonnymi was to attend her first Barista Nation. As Sonja has said, again and again, we're all in this together. BARISTA MAGAZINE Publisher Kenneth R. Olson Editor Sarah Allen Art Direction Pail Design Graphic Designer Jessica Bernert Photographer Tony Stark Business Manager Cheryl Lueder Advertising Sales Sarah Allen 800/296-9108 Contributors Tracy Allen Michelle Foster Amber Fox Kane Holbrook Will Hutchens Tom Isaia Alex Lambert Rhonnymi Liberte Sarah Mykkanen Michael Phillips Daniel Rose Dave White Amanda Wilson Editorial Advisory Board Christopher Nicely Abel Alameda, Handsome Coffee Roasters Joshua Boyt, Metronome Coffee Lemuel Butler, Counter Culture Coffee Trevor Corlett, MadCap Coffee Company Roukiat Delrue, WBC Sonja Grant, Kaffismiðja Íslands Gerra Harrigan, New Harvest Coffee Roasters Heath Henley, Dose Coffee & Tea Jannicke M. Johansen, Mocca & Java Rita Kaminsky, The Albina Press Troels Poulsen, Kontra Coffee Dan Streetman, Irving Coffee Farm Colin Whitcomb, MadCap Coffee Company email: info@baristamagazine.com www.baristamagazine.com Barista Magazine 4345 NE 72nd Ave. Portland, Oregon 97218 phone: 800.296.9108 fax: 971.223.3659 Barista Magazine is published bi-monthly by the Barista Magazine Company, LLP. Subscriptions are $20 in the United States, $40 US in Canada/Mexico, and $50 US for the rest of the world. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. Postmaster please send address corrections to: Barista Magazine, 4345 NE 72nd Ave., Portland, OR 97218. ISSN: 1944-3544 Copyright 2012 Barista Magazine. All rights reserved.