Tuesday, April 20, 2010
For the second year in a row, Mike Phillips of Intelligentsia Coffee in Chicago has been crowned the best barista in America.
Oh what, you didn’t know that there was such a thing as a barista competition? You thought that any old fast food hack could step behind a coffee bar and steam milk to a velvety sheen? Maybe you even thought that “coffee just tastes like coffee”.
For those of you mired in such ignorance, I offer a brief education.
The United States Barista Championship is put on every year by the Specialty Coffee Association of America. It pits competitors from each of the SCAA’s ten geographical regions against one another (all of whom have earned this right by strong showings in smaller regional contests) to decide who will represent the United States at the World Championships.
So what, exactly, does a barista have to do in such a competition?
In short, they are allotted fifteen minutes to prepare and serve drinks to seven judges. Think Iron Chef, only with coffee instead of food, and a distinct lack of dubbed dialogue.
The competitors must serve each judge an espresso, a cappuccino, and a signature drink.
Sounds simple enough. So what are these judges looking for?
First of all, they grade the competitors on the cleanliness and neatness of their work station, both before and after the performance.
But the drinks really are the focus. The espresso is graded on both its taste and body. That is, how it balances different flavors and how it feels in the mouth.
A good espresso should begin with a caramel-esque sweet top layer called crema, then follow with a bite that is just on the pleasant side of bitter. This feeling should linger.
Next up is the cappuccino, which is nothing like the drinks you get from gas station machines claiming to offer them. It is one shot of espresso served in six ounces of milk. If steamed properly, this milk should be both creamy and light — with no arid bubbles or textureless hot milk.
The final challenge facing the would-be barista champion is the signature drink, which is a challenge of their own design. The only requirements are that it be a drink, and that no alcohol be used. At this stage, competitors let their culinary imagination run wild, doing things like serving the crema of an espresso on seltzer water. Of course, whatever they come up with, the judges will end up drinking it — so it better taste good too.
At the end of all this, the scores are added up, and a champion is named.
Tuesday YouTube Sesh
As much as I might try, there’s nothing I can say that will illustrate the skill that champion baristas possess quite as well as a quick YouTube search for the term “latte art” will. Yes, people can draw that in coffee.
— Edited by Cory Bunting
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Comments
Morning Brew: National Champion of coffee
Not many people know Chefs are in demand now and if you graduate with a culinary degree you can get a job right away http://bit.ly/cb4EbP
Morning Brew: National Champion of coffee
Errr, latte art -- besides being a "Draw Tippy" hobby that has little to do with beverage quality -- is not a part of barista competitions. That isn't the skill at all that's being tested at the USBC.
It's also worth noting that, unlike chefs who go through culinary school and/or an apprenticeship for several years, as good as Mike is he has only been a barista for two years. But that's not entirely atypical of USBC winners.
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