Barista Magazine

DEC 2012-JAN 2013

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PULL JOURNAL OF JAMS, COMPETITIONS, AND BARISTA EVENTS FLATLANDERS BARISTA CUP DEBUTS TO GREAT SUCCESS HELD OCTOBER 26–28 at PT's Coffee's newly renovated headquarters in Topeka, Kan., the Flatlanders Barista Cup introduced a completely new competition concept based on teamwork and coffee knowledge. Barista teams were determined ahead of time, with members selected based on the goal of combining a mix of experiences from people with various coffee backgrounds and skills. Attention to this detail at the onset really set the stage for the rest of the event. Teams spent most of the first day listening to coffee producers from El Salvador and Guatemala who had flown in for the event, all of whom have won high honors in Cup of Excellence (COE) competitions. These producers' attendance was the backbone of the event; competitors and attendees alike appreciated their their different perspectives. While barista innovation and honors at events such as the World Barista Championship (WBC) make baristas instant media stars, coffee producers haven't thus far been celebrated in the same ways. But at the Flatlanders Barista Cup, the work, passion, and products of these esteemed coffee producers was the name of the game. For example, Juan Diego de la Cerda, owner-operator of Finca El Socorro near Palencia, Guatemala, told attendees how he noticed it sometimes takes three days to fully process a single batch of coffee from red cherry to drying parchment. To combat this, he installed solar panels on top of his wet mill and began to heat the water he used during the fermentation process. Using warm water allowed him to reduce his fermentation time down to a mere 18 hours. It's rare that a timing solution would result in higher cup quality, but Juan Diego's top five finishes in the last six Guatemala COE competitions—including winning in 2007 and 2011—testify that his commitment to outstanding coffee through innovative processing practices are the exception to the rule. The Flatlanders Barista Cup opened with 2011 WBC winner Alejandro Mendez and Federico Bolanos, both of Viva Espresso, outlining the recipe for a winning WBC performance. You'll have to contact them for the full explanation, but they broke it down as being 30 percent about the coffee, 20 percent about the signature drink, 20 percent about the routine, and 30 percent about practice. Given that PT's and St Louis' Kaldi's Coffee will be cohosting the 2013 Big Central Regional Barista Competition in Kansas City, Mo., in 2013, this discussion was especially timely for competitors and attendees. Throughout the first day, competitors were pulled out two at a time to do triangulation cuppings, tasting eight sets of three coffees. The idea is to taste all three coffees, knowing that two are identical and one is different. The cupper's job is to identify the odd coffee and in this case, score points for your team with each correct answer. Sounds simple, right? Well, PT's director of quality control, Maritza Taylor, who is also a certified Q-grader and instructor, wasn't giving anything away—she even ordered that the light bulbs in the cupping room be changed out. The standard white bulbs were replaced with red ones so as not to give any visual clues to the cuppers. Another Flatlanders Barista Cup event was a latte art throwdown, which happened later in the evening at the beautiful PT's Coffee Roasting Co. Café. As each barista advanced through the bracket, he or she scored additional points for his or her team. Newly crowned Canadian Barista Champion Jeremy Ho and 2011 U.S. Barista Champion (USBC) Pete Licata, along with Alejandro, were the judges in a best-of-three style judging format. Ultimately, Nate Murphy of the Coffee Ethic was the last barista standing after stomping through the 24-entry bracket. The next morning, teams had two hours to create an espresso blend, choosing from five coffees (one from each of the three producers and two blind coffees), each with two different roasts, and to develop a presentation Photo by Nathan Slabaugh to explain the blend that they had created. Having determined their blends, teams had 15 minutes to present six espressos and six cappuccinos to the judges. To spice it up a little bit, the PT's espresso lab was segregated into three stations, each sponsored by a different brand of espresso machine and grinder: a four-group exposed-head La Marzocco Linea with a Mazzer Robur grinder at one station; a Nuova Simonelli Aurelia II T3 paired with a Mahlkönig Vario K30 grinder at the second station; and a Nuova Simonelli Aurelia Competizione with another Mazzer Robur at the third station. Each station would therefore offer a different set of characteristics based on the hardware alone, which only added to the difficulty of this challenge. It was tough, but so awesome. A special prize for the winners of this particular event was that the winning team's espresso blend would be incorporated into PT's espresso offerings for a limited time. How cool is that? Given the short turnaround time, the presentations were amazing. Most of the teams set out to tell the stories behind the coffees, and explain their blending methodology. Each presentation was delivered with extraordinary passion, and with good reason: Competitors had heard producer's stories firsthand earlier in the event. Their stories became our stories and it was all fused together by all of this delicious coffee! Sergio Ticas of Finca Los Planes even brought coffee from the secret garden where he primarily grows food for his family, just for this competition. How do you not want to talk about that? And he's so great. Sergio just has this air about him that exudes confidence and wisdom. Getting to know the faces behind the coffee highlighted and intensified the intimacy of this gathering. And the judging! The field was pretty esteemed: One World Barista Champion, two national barista champions, four USBC-certified judges, a Q-grader/instructor, and a WBC-certified technical judge. You know, just another day in the Flatlands. In the end, this expert panel determined the inaugural Flatlanders Barista Cup Championship–winning team, which was comprised of Tom Billionis, owner of the Coffee Ethic; Dylan Connell of PT's Coffee; Evan Inatome, owner of Elixr; and Wyatt Johnson of Lattéland Espresso & Tea. All competitors received an awesome custom cupping spoon from PT's with the Flatlanders logo engraved into it, a Reg Barber–adesigned trophy, and a free year's subscription to Barista Magazine. —Aaron Duckworth www.baristamagazine.com 18

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