Barista Camp - Summer 2013!

The Barista Guild of America is excited to announce the next BGA Barista Camp will be taking place at Lake Lawn Resort in Delavan, Wisconsin during June 2-5, 2013! Register Now!

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Barista Guild Members to Provide Coffee Experience at TED2013

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to our barista teams that have been selected to serve coffee at TED and TEDActive on February 25 - March 1, 2013. Follow along right here on the BGA Blog and on Twitter at #TEDcoffee.

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BGA Launches Handbook for Level 1 & 2 Certificate

We're excited to launch our BGA Certification Handbook for Levels 1 & 2! This handbook outlines in detail everything you need to know about the BGA Certificate Program for these levels. You can download the full handbook here.

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Registration Now Open for North East Regional Barista Competition!

Posted by lily kubota On 3:46 PM

Are you Ready to Compete?



Now that you've decided to take your barista abilities and knowledge to the next level, it's time to make sure that you've got all the competitive edge you'll need. Refine your technical skills and add some personal flair to your presentation. It's your chance to show off your talent so make the most of your 15 minutes. After all, you'll be competing against some of the most talented baristas out there. Make sure you familiarize yourself with USBC Rules and Regulations and Scoresheets.
Venue: Held in conjunction with 

Bally's | 1900 Pacific Avenue | Atlantic City, NJ 08401

Prizes

The winner of each Regional Barista Competition receives:
  • Origin trip care of our 2012 Sponsor CafĂ© Imports
  • Travel and accommodations to 2013 USBC in Boston, MA
  • One year subscription to Barista Magazine!
Watch this video of the trip with last year's regional winners, 
put together by our friends at Cafe Imports!

Volunteering 

Volunteering at your regional barista competition is a great way to familiarize yourself with the program and get a feel for what it takes to compete. We're always looking for passionate coffee professionals to assist us in making our competitions a success. If you're interested or would like to learn more contact volunteers@scaa.org. If you're ready to sign up to volunteer simply click through to the main registration page: REGISTRATION FOR THE NERBC.

Judging


Becoming certified as a USBC Regional Judge provides you an opportunity to be involved at the center of the competition while helping to advance your overall espresso knowledge. At all of our regional USBC events, our pool of judges play an integral part in determining each of our regional champions. It is a serious commitment that provides each judge access to some of the most innovative coffee preparation techniques alive in the barista community! To learn more about the specifics of the barista competition and to prepare for your judges class, be sure to review and understand the USBC Rules and Regulations. You should also take a moment to understand the Head Judge, Technical Judge and Sensory Judge scoresheets.

Why Should you Attend?


The USBC and Brewers Cup competitions are regional Specialty Coffee events designed to highlight the craft of the barista and hand crafted coffee beverage production. Some of the most talented baristas in the country will be out in full force during regional barista competitions and showing off what makes coffee preparation a unique art form. We hope you choose to participate as a competitor, Judge, Volunteer or spectator today!

These regional coffee events are free and open to the public to attend, so be sure to tell your customers, friends and anyone who wants to witness a culinary demonstration of skill with coffee & espresso! Those attending will be able to taste coffees made by talented baristas, engage with other people involved in the coffee community, and see the latest coffee in coffee brewing equipment, like the Nuova Simonelli Aurelia II espresso machine and Mahlkoenig K-30 Grinders. Being there means that you will get to watch as the 2012 North East Regional Barista and Brewers Cup Champions take their place in coffee history and make it one step closer to the National Championship.

Attending the three-day competition is also the perfect opportunity to build your own personal relationships within the barista and coffee community as well as meet industry professionals planning to attend The 25th Annual Specialty Coffee Event. The 2013 Expo will be held April 11-14, 2013 in Boston, MA! Attend the BGA and USBC party and connect with other BGA members as some of the country's best baristas brew coffee.

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Five Questions with Lesa Wood

Posted by Colin On 11:12 AM
Five Questions with BGA Member Lesa Wood.


Welcome to the return of the BGA’s “5 Questions” featuring BGA member Lesa Wood.

Well, Hi there... I know it’s been awhile, but we’re back, and committed to running one of our favorite blog features, “5 Questions.”

In this issue we’re talking with one Lesa Wood, Nashville native and co-owner of Roast, Inc.

Lesa’s interest in coffee began during her work as a Registered Nurse pulling night shifts in the Emergency Room. Coffee was “a huge part of the work experience,” she writes, “I remember a friend who traveled a lot bringing back bags of Starbucks coffee in the late 80's and being amazed at the difference. I started looking for people in Nashville who carried their coffee in bins and talked about coffee that was freshly roasted. I started really paying attention to what went into my coffee (still all blending back then) and being really picky about dosing and making sure my drip coffee maker was heating the water hot enough. Don't laugh, back then it made me a really big coffee nerd.”

I find Lesa’s perspective as an enthusiast whose interest grew concomitant with the industry fascinating. She went on to tell me about the founding of Roast, Inc: “5 years ago my husband came back from a neighbor's with this crazy story about a neighbor roasting coffee in his garage. That Christmas I bought him an I-Roast, within 6 months we had 2 Behmore's and everyone was coming over to get coffee. We sourced from Sweet Maria's like many home roasters do and the quality of beans are better than most of what was available in Nashville. My husband for fun attended a couple of Christmas fair's, sampled, and signed people up for home delivery. One of our customers pushed us toward our first Farmer's Market that next spring and Roast, Inc. was born.

I've been roasting on a commercial roaster for almost 3 years now and I'm currently strictly wholesale …. My husband is currently in El Salvador for the auction and making more direct trade connections.”

Lesa has a lot going on right now, working with shops, cafes, famer’s markets, caterers, and found time this summer to consult on the opening of a shop in Fish Creek, WI (that’s in Door County, aka “the peninsula,” aka “the Cape Cod of the Midwest” & is a truly beautiful place that fills your soul with happiness) --- I want to extend a heartfelt Thank You to her for taking the time to answer my persistent emails and these Five(ish) Questions:


1. You mention that when you first started paying attention to what went in your coffee the dialog centered around blending. As a roaster, wholesaler and barista, is blending coffee still useful? 

Lesa: Very much so, even though I concentrate on single origin coffees, blending is an art in itself. I use it mainly to establish a flavor profile that my wholesale customers want unique to their establishment. 

2. Working as an RN in ER and ICU settings since you were 18 must have revealed people to you in a stark way, are any of those revelations particularly relevant to your work in coffee? 

Lesa: Well, it definitely keeps me from taking myself too seriously. I really stress to people that this is a treat and that looking for that cup of coffee that makes them happy is something to be savored. 

3. Which is more fun, roasting or brewing? 

Lesa: Depends how fast I need a caffeine fix. Roasting for me, I love my gas stove and I love my roaster.

4. Nashville has a full-scale replica of the Pantheon in Centennial Park, how awesome would it be to have a coffee shop there?

Lesa: Now that you mention it.....   We have a friend that brings a coffee truck to the Tennessee Arts Fair that is held their each spring and fall and he always serves our coffee. That's as close as I've gotten so far.

5. You have helped start a coffee roasting company in TN, and are currently involved with helping someone start a shop in Fish Creek, WI. How did that come about, what will be the biggest piece of advice you lend them? 

Lesa: Susan (originally from Wisconsin, now in Nashville) was buying some locally grown produce at one of the biggest Farmer's market in the area and my husband was there with one of our barista's doing pour over coffee using Kalita's. She loved the coffee, told us about her ideas, we met, and now she's running a really busy coffee shop in Fish Creek. Advice that I give to everyone starting a new business is to plan for success, we all plan for how we'll grow our business and what we'll do to reach success but what happens if you're wildly busy from the onset, how will you adapt and keep your quality consistent?

6. You told me that "back then" paying attention to water temperature and coffee dosing made you a big coffee nerd, considering that most people are still over-looking these aspects, doesn't understanding these variables still make you a nerd?

Lesa: I wear my nerdness proudly, even though I'm in a small temporary space I open up every Friday for sampling and whole bean sales. A lot of my coffee geek friends come and we talk about all the details of what we're doing at home....I love it.

I’m happy to have had to chance to know Lesa, she a dynamic, hard-working member of our barista community, and her insights are truly valuable. Thanks again, Lesa.

Until next time....

Coffee love,
Colin  

Have a fascinating barista you'd like hear from on 5 Questions? 
Nominate them and we'll do our best to get their story out there.

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Take the BGA Level One Practical exam at MANE!

Posted by Colin On 11:03 AM
Taking place on October 12-14 the MANE (Mid-Atlantic/ Northeast) Coffee Conference is one of our favorite coffee events of the year. In addition to the dynamic speakers that have already been announced, we can confirm that CP 190 will be part of the program!

Passing the Level One exam + participation of our Customer Service class (offered several times a year as a webinar) = earning a BGA Level One Certificate!

Earning our Level One certificate is a proof that you have the basic skills and knowledge to be an effective barista and is quickly becoming a global benchmark.  Speaking as someone whose worked training baristas for the last four years, I can say that a barista with this certificate is a worthwhile addition to a team. Furthermore, I appreciate that the standards have now been published in our handbook --- I can’t think of any other training program that is this transparent. In addition, we have heard from many business owners that baristas with this certificate have been valuable in increasing quality and training others.

If you need another reason, the option to test-out of level one by passing the Level One Practical (CP190) and attending our Customer Service class or webinar (CP103) is soon disappearing, --- this will likely be one of the last opportunities to achieve Level One without completing our entire curriculum.

So if you want to join the ranks of these baristas and see your name alongside, take the chance to test.

Fair warning, we test on some specific knowledge and skills, to give yourself the best chance at success we strongly recommend the studyguide, and reading our BGA Handbook. 

Register: October 12 | October 14

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Northwest Cupping Map

Posted by julie On 5:31 PM

NW Chapter Representative Laila Ghambari has put together a Northwest Cupping Map, listing regular public cuppings hosted by local coffee roasters, shops, and companies.

Cuppings from Seattle to Spokane and down to Bend are listed - if you're in the Pacific Northwest there's sure to be a cupping happening near you.

Have a cupping that's not on the map? Drop Laila a line and she'll add it to the map.

Happy Cupping!

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