Barista Magazine

AUG-SEP 2012

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to be tested. Both Level One and Two Certifications (BGA Chair Dan Streetman notes that Level Three is on the way!) require both a written and a practical test. In a change from previous Camp Pull-A-Shots, students took their written tests immediately after each class. Perhaps this relieved a bit of text anxiety, but students still had to face the gauntlet of a practical test administered by a level boss (i.e. a certified examiner and barista with serious chops). Students are understandably nervous during testing, but who among us hasn't stared down a line of customers 20 deep, gulped, and gotten to work? In the end, 47 brave baristas passed Level One and nine dedicated baristas passed Level Two Certification. There are now that many more certified baristas out there, making great drinks, passing along best practices, and continuing to raise the bar. Of course we were not just there to develop our skills; what is coffee without community? In addition to classes and tests, Camp Pull-A-Shot hosted team activities, which gave us the opportunity to bond, compete, and hopefully take home a prize. This Camp's top award came in the form of "The Swayze" (a disco ball named in the honor of the late star of Dirty Dancing, of course). With group names of "9 Bar, Participants at the East Coast Camp Pull-A-Shot got to know each other while playing on equipment and coming together for group activities. Campers broke into teams to take part in such community- building exercises as the Team Café Competition, where each team built temporary coffeehouses and had to perfect an espresso and brew bar menu, and offer superb customer service to their fellow campers as well as secret shoppers, who were scoring their work. round by guessing the correct answer of Chlorogenic Acids—hey, you never know what information is going to come in handy! The Team Café Competition started early the next morning, with each team having a chance to impress a panel of secret shoppers with their customer service, espresso and craft brew menus. With the innovative service ideas the teams came up with, these pop-up cafés gave a hint about what the future of café culture might look like. A farcical team brewing relay marked the second evening's activities. " "Sprogan's Run," and "Girl, You Fines," it was clear we were dealing with a bunch of creative coffee nerds. Who else would be better for the team tasks ahead? The first night was a take off of "The Price is Right." The 10 teams took turns guessing the price of an item, with the team guessing the closest without going over, winning. "Girl, You Fines" won the evening in the final Full disclosure: my team's leader looked very comfortable in a hot dog costume, which is recorded on Facebook for eternity, if anyone wants to take a look. There must have been some magic in that wiener, because even though "Girl, You Fines" finished last, we placed first in the event thanks to our killer Chemex brew. The final team challenge was the Seed to Cup Relay. On a limited budget, and with leftover money factoring into point total, each team had to purchase green coffee, shipment, a roaster, and a brew method. www.baristamagazine.com 25

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