WBC finals

just watched michael phillips perform at finals in atlanta. he is such a nice person and so genuine and i think that really comes through in his performance and his bar skills. michael and i had a really long conversation via phone this past fall about coffee and both of our upcoming respective regional barista competitions. needless to say, my performance did not go as well as i had hoped at the regional level. i was wowed by his knowledge as a barista and a coffee professional and i am honored to call him an acquaintance.
in other notes, since it's been a while since i updated this thingy here.....
my beloved has moved clear across the country to portland, the greatest coffeeland/mecca/heaven in the world. soooooo in good beloved fashion, i'm planning a trip to the northwest to go visit and see the feasibility of moving there to participate in their culture. i'm really excited about it all. i'm thinking of staying at the ace hotel, which has a stumptown coffee shop in the lobby. or the jupiter hotel which offers the guests free stumptown coffee in the rooms as an amenity. i'm going to overdose on coffee and come back to the burgh with a whole new perspective on coffee and what it means to be a coffee professional in a marginal market like pittsburgh. i'm also really nervous about it all. it could also signal the beginning of an end for me in pittsburgh. we'll see what happens....
i've been working with some really cool espressos. first it was a blend that was meant to be served as a super-duper ristretto at 34-45 seconds. i know right. crazy 'spro. i loved working with it and i loved being able to nail it and get some really great tasting shots while only having a couple of pounds to work with. then i worked with a single origin ethiopia that was %75 natural and %25 washed from the yirgacheffe region. probably my favorite espresso i've ever tasted. fucking incredible. chocolate, sweet as hell, blueberries and cream, dark-ass crema and syrupy body. when we ran out, i cried a little. next up was a single origin costa rica tarrazu. also incredible.not as syrupy in body as the ethiopia but definitely worth writing about. candied citrus, sweet as hell. reminded me ALOT of ritual's colombia sweettooth espresso blend.

Also trying to work in some time to do some mods to the mazzer major this week before my vacation. the problem lies in getting the appropriate tools to take the dosing chamber off the grinder to attach the mods, mostly the elvinator (designed by coffee genius, michael elvin of espressoparts NW) and and a stainless steel grid to cut down on clumping and spray from the throat of the grinder.the mods will pay for themselves in a day for the waste that they save. i'm excited for that definitely, especially now that i'm using the major more and more these days.

Also, trying the solidify the details of training more and more and to get that more regimented to leave sort of a legacy at the shop for future generations.

the coffeeworld is changing as i type this, as you read this. my word. hold onto your hats ladies and gentlemen, now begins our thrill ride.

signature drinks

so every barista that competes on a regional level knows about the terror of having to create a signature beverage and be judged on how good it tastes, smells, texture ,etc. the signature beverage is a drink that has at least one shot of espresso, and has ingredients that enhance the flavor profile of the espresso, and really embodies a barista's passion for coffee. last year, i made a drink that was not unlike a macchiato. at the base of a 3 oz glass, i mixed raw cocoa and heavy cream, then poured a shot of 'spro on top, then topped that with some milk foam made with milk that had been infused with cherries and orange zest. i thought it really brought out the qualities of the espresso blend that i was using. but i didnt score high on creativity. but from looking at my scoresheets, judges seemed to enjoy the drink and my explanation, but not creative enough. damn shawty. i thought that my drink was the jam (though it had ALOT of prep). so after competition, i went back to the drawing board. i really wanted to embody the great sweet citrus quality of the 'spro. i also wanted to highlight the coffee and it's origins and it's quality. so, i decided to use ingredients that are grown between the tropics of cancer and capricorn for my drink. that included alot of tropical fruits, cane sugar, limes, coconuts, macadamia nuts. so why not use all of those?
yesterday, i made my first run of sig bevs for the people i was working with at the shop. first, i rimmed a glass with lime and dipped it into raw cane sugar, then some coconut milk in the bottom of the glass with a shot of 'spro over it and finished with a drop of macadamia nut oil. it was pretty damn good. a bit too sweet perhaps, buti'm going to tweak it until i'm ready to present it again. but overall, i think this may be the path i choose for highlighting my espresso at the next regionals.
i'm also thinking of including some other ingredients such as mango and nutmeg, perhaps cocoa and also cayenne(???)
until next time.......