Coffee News: Northwest Regional Barista Competition

Apologies for the absence this week. Southwest Missouri has experience a "Snowpocalypse" this week. If you want to see some of my adventures throughout my three days, go here, here, and here.

In Coffee News, last weekend was the Northwest Regional Barista Competition. The Barista competition is the most prestigious competition for Baristas all over the world. It involves making four espressos, cappuccinos, and signature drinks in 15 minutes. There are four tasting judges as well as judges in your face taking notes on waste, tamping techniques, and consistency.

Oh, and you have to talk charismatically and intelligently with the judges about your coffee you are using. No pressure.

With Regional competitions underway, everyone is watching and wondering who will make it to the US Barista Competition (USBC). The Northwest Barista Regional Competition is important because it includes the coffee-driven cities of Seattle and Portland. So the competition is INTENSE!

Robbie Britt at Competition 201. Kudos to Here

The Winners of the Northwest Regional Barista Competition Are:
3rd place: Laila Ghambari (Stumptown)
2nd place: Ryan Wilbur (Stumptown)
1st place: Samuel Purvis (Coava)

And the other finalists were:
Sarah Dooley from Espresso Parts (Olympia).
Robbie Britt from Espresso Parts (Olympia).
Tyler Stevens of Barista (Portland).

Image from last year on Espresso Parts

Robbie Britt (one of the finalists) used to live in Cape Girardeau, MO, and work for my mom's Grace Cafe. He was the first person in the whole world to train me on an espresso machine four or five years ago. I am so stoked he made it into the finals. Now, he works for Espresso Parts in Olympia, WA.

This is a classic "Robbie" look. Photo from Facebook.

He was also my youth minister growing up. So my first coffee mentor and my spiritual mentor made top 6 Baristas in the Northwest Barista Competition! Whohoo!

Kudos here

Also, worth noting, my former co-worker Jon Freihofer competed in the Northwest. He helped me with a lot of my training at The Coffee Ethic. I will keep you posted on how the rest of the competition pans out!