Barista Guild of America

2012 Elections: Nomination Deadline Reminder

2012-01-18T00:05:00.000-08:00

2012 BGA Elections

Nominations close Friday, January 20th

Elections begin February 1st

Interested in joining the leadership ranks of the Barista Guild?
Nominate yourself or a fellow BGA member!
Want to find out a bit more? Read Scott Lucey's post about the positions available.

We'll bring you the slate of nominees to vote on starting February 1st - watch this spot for more information! ...and while you're waiting for elections to begin, make sure to check out the upcoming events and the event calendar.

2012 Regional Competitions on the Internet!

2012-01-13T03:06:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again.

Whether you're competing, judging, volunteering, or watching along at home, here's your guide to keeping track of the regional barista competitions. Bookmark this page, we'll be updating as more websites, photos, and memorable tweets roll in…

If you're posting about competing, competition prep, judging, volunteering, spectating, or guessing what the hot trend will be - let us know in the comments, @baristaguild, or on Facebook and we'll post a link or re-tweet accordingly.

If you're looking to watch the competitions online the live stream will be linked on the main USBC page(www.usbaristachampionship.org).

Northwest Regional Barista Competition (NWRBC)hosted by Dillanos

Tacoma, Washington - 27-29 January 2012 - Official Site

Twitter: #NWRBC

Facebook - RSVP

Volunteer Registration

Other: Let us know, we'll post it here.

Southeast Regional Barista Competition (SERBC) hosted by Espresso Southeast

Atlanta, Georgia - 10-11 February 2012 - Official Site

Twitter: #SERBC

Facebook - RSVP

Volunteer Registration

Other: Nothing yet, let us know!

Northeast Regional Barista Competition (NERBC) hosted by Dallis Bros.

New York, NY - 25-26 February 2012 - Official Site

Twitter: #NERBC

Facebook - RSVP

Volunteer Registration

Other: We're sure you'll tell us about something.

Southwest Regional Barista Championship (SWRBC) hosted by Verve

Santa Cruz, CA - 9-11 March 2012 Official Site

Twitter: #SWRBC

Facebook - RSVP

Volunteer Registration

Other:

Verve Coffee Roasters has a sweet webpage with some SWRBC details.
Verve also scoped out the competition hotel - check out the view (and we're not just talking about Chris Baca).
Got more coverage? Let us know!

North Central Regional Barista Championship (NCRBC) Location TBD - March 2012 - Official Site

Twitter: #NCRBC

Facebook - RSVP

Volunteer Registration

Other: Forthcoming.

South Central Regional Barista Championship (SCRBC)

Location TBD - March 2012 - Official Site

Twitter: #SCRBC

Facebook - RSVP

Volunteer Registration

Other: Soon.

MDE: Throwdowns in Rochester, NY - Providence, RI :: Boston TNT is Born!!

2012-01-11T07:17:00.000-08:00

It's a full week in the Northeast next week with Member Driven Events in Rochester, NY & Providence, RI, NYC TNT at Pushcart Coffee - 221 East Broadway (formerly Dora), and the launch of Boston's community organized TNT. See flyers for details!

BGA Members - Let us know about your upcoming event!

MDE: January TNT in Colorado

2012-01-10T22:21:00.000-08:00

Colorado TNT January

January 26, 7pm

Crankenstein Coffee, Fort Collins

Colorado baristas have been hosting some great throwdowns these past few months - January will be no different, especially with this month's throwdown being hosted by the Roasters Guild.

(This is what happened the last time Roasters held their own throwdown.)

Don't miss it.

RSVP and more information (via Facebook)

BGA Members - Let us know about your upcoming event!

MDE: January TNT in Washington, DC

2012-01-10T22:01:00.000-08:00

Thursday Night Throwdown - Washington, DC

January 12 - 8:30pm Sign-up, 9pm Pours - Flying Fish Coffee & Tea

The fine folks in the ONC are starting the new year with a throwdown. January's TNT is also the beginning of the District Cup. Find out more info on Thursday, or on the DC TNT blog!

RSVP (via Facebook) + More Details on the DC TNT Blog

BGA Members - Let us know about your upcoming event!

Twin Cities BGA Certification Member Driven Event

2012-01-10T12:11:00.000-08:00

Cafe Imports is hosting a BGA Certification member driven event and barista educational jam Friday January 20th and Saturday January 21st, put together by EC member Noah Namowicz and Chapter Rep Joe Marrocco.

Keith Mrotek from Dogwood Coffee of Minneapolis and Gordon Bellaver from Bull Run Coffee of Minneapolis are working in conjunction with the crew over at CI to help put this event together.

Friday from 8:00AM to 5:00PM will consist of various educational courses aimed at providing a great base of knowledge for those looking to get BGA level 1 certified.

Saturday at 9:00 AM they will cover some more in depth barista training, followed by certification testing from 12 noon until testing is done.

Should be an awesome event in the Twin Cities!

Cafe Imports
2617 East Hennepin Avenue
Minneapolis MN 55413

Email joe@cafeimports.com for more information

It's Election Time! Nominations Now Being Accepted

2011-12-20T09:18:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year when we want our members to start thinking about the role they play with and in the Specialty Coffee Industry.

Each year the leadership of the Barista Guild finds itself with some Regional Representatives and Executive Council members meeting the end of their term. As a guild, our process each year is to nominate new potential leaders and hold an election where our membership votes to choose their new leaders. For many of you, it's likely that you don't think you're qualified or don't have anything to bring to the table for the Barista Guild, but you might be wrong. I've always felt that this is a key time in the year to check in with you and make sure we're on the same page. It's not uncommon to meet people interested in the Barista Guild but completely unaware of who we are, what we do, and how we work.

Who are we? Barista Guild Chapter Representatives and Executive Council Directors are Barista Guild Members, like you! You’re probably well-acquainted with these folks. Refresh your memory, or drop them a line about their experiences as a Chapter Rep or Executive Council member via the Contact Page on the official BGA webpage. For a description of how we work, take a few minutes to read our bylaws.

REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES
This year the Barista Guild is looking for 5 Regional Representatives (Chapter Representatives), specifically in the Northwest, Western, Mountain, South Central, and Southeast regions of the US.

Regional Representatives are the direct connection between their region’s members and the Executive Council. As a Regional Representative, it's expected that your contact members, field questions and requests, and overall act as a support to your region's membership. If you recall from reading the bylaws, the responsibilities of the Regional Rep are summed up as:

Serve a term of two years, beginning and ending at the SCAA Event.
Assisting in the coordination of BGA/SCAA events.
Seeking out and communicating with individual members to serve as part of the Regional Committee with the guidance of the Executive Council.
Work with their Council contact to generate membership growth within their region.
Attend the annual SCAA Event, Camp Pull-A-Shot, and the corresponding regional barista competition.
Execute additional duties and responsibilities defined in the Chapter Representative Job Description

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
This year the Barista Guild is looking for 3 Executive Council members. Executive Council members are self-motivated individuals willing to dedicate time to leading our guild in a forward direction.

An Executive Council member’s role and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Serve a term of two years, beginning and ending at the SCAA Event.
Contacting and working with Regional Representatives to assist them in building membership and coordinating regional events.
Communicating with the EC group and as a whole and attend scheduled conference calls.
Attend the SCAA annual event, Camp Pull-A-Shot, and the SCAA leadership summit.
As an EC member, your experience in the coffee industry will likely lead to you developing and working on specific projects related to guild in areas such as certification, events, or membership.

Does this sound like you? Ready to take on the challenge of becoming a Chapter Representative or Executive Council member?

Click here to submit an official nomination

Don't doubt your personal experience in the coffee industry! If you've got some great ideas and can commit to attending the required events and activities you're definitely worth nominating.

With this post, election season is open! The official election timeline is as follows:

December 20, 2011 – January 20, 2012: Nomination submissions being accepted
February 1: Voting begins (only Barista Guild members may vote in this election)

February 19: Deadline to vote in the election

February 27: Announcement to membership of new Chapter Representatives and Executive Council members

Stay tuned!

Scott Lucey

Interim Chair

Special Thanks

2011-12-14T14:04:00.000-08:00

Jason and his wife April

Over the past five years Jason Dominy has served the Barista Guild. First as a Chapter Representative, then as an Executive Council member and most recently as the Chair of the Executive Council. Jason has spearheaded our focus on larger member engagement, continuing to build the barista community nationwide. After nearly a year of serving as Chair, Jason has resigned his position to focus on his family and position at Batdorf & Bronson.

The membership and the Executive Council will miss Jason’s leadership and dedication. His enthusiasm and passion have driven his advocacy for the guild, and for the barista profession. This enthusiasm has been especially apparent in his efforts like the “5 Questions” articles, and organizing Manual Brew Downs. Jason’s tireless efforts have been a huge contribution to the accomplishments of the BGA. On behalf of the Barista Guild of America thank you Jason, for your distinguished service, support, and continued participation.

MDE: Downtown LA Barista Throwdown and Tasting Event

2011-12-08T03:51:00.001-08:00

Downtown LA Barista Throwdown and Tasting Event

Monday, December 12th, 8pm

Demitasse
135 S. San Pedro Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

RSVP via Facebook Invite

Who'll be there? LA's talented baristas judged by well-known local coffee media... And, the coffee-loving public!

In addition to the throwdown, baristas are encouraged to use the 2nd spro machine and brew up some of your original drinks for the thirsty masses (for the tasting session)!! Simply contact Bobby Roshan (broshan@cafedemitasse.com), and ask for a 30-min time slot, and the bar will be yours for that time.

This event is brought to you by the fine peeps at Demitasse and Handsome Coffee Roasters!

Want to have your event posted on the BGA blog? Let us know about your event!

Complete Your Customer Service Course Requirement for Level 1 Certification Online!

2011-12-01T08:35:00.000-08:00

We're excited to present dates for upcoming opportunities to complete the Customer Service course requirement (CP103 of the BGA Level 1 Certification program). We recognize that baristas have busy schedules and often have limited availability during normal office hours, so we are offering this webinar four (4) times over the next few months at various times. With no travel expenses or the need to take time off of work, baristas will be one step closer to Level 1 Certification!

In order to complete your BGA Level 1 Certification, you must complete this course in addition to CP 190: Level 1 Certification Exam. Recommended prerequisite classes and more information about Level 1 Certification can be found here.

Webinar Information

CP103: Customer Service
Description: Required class for BGA Level 1 Certification. Outstanding customer service is a critical component of creating the specialty coffee experience. In this course, students will discuss customer service strategies with a focus on the specialty coffee barista but relevant for all members of the specialty coffee community. Students will be prepared to identify common steps of customer service, including differentiating between good and bad service, and discuss strategies to improve customer service interactions.

Wednesday, December 7: At 10 pm Eastern (7 pm Pacific, 11 am Seoul, 1 pm Melbourne, 4 pm Auckland) | Instructor: Dan Streetman | Register Now

Saturday, January 7: 3 pm Eastern (12 pm Pacific, 5 am Seoul, 7 am Melbourne, 10 am Auckland) | Instructor: Sarah Dooley | Register Now

Monday, February 6: 11 am Eastern (8 am Pacific, 5 am Auckland) | Instructor: Dan Streetman | Register Now

Saturday, March 3: 7 pm Eastern (4 pm Pacific, 8 am Hong Kong, 11 am Melbourne, 1 pm Auckland) | Instructor: Sarah Dooley | Register Now

IMPORANT INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO JOIN THE WEBINAR WILL BE CONTAINED IN YOUR REGISTRATION CONFIRMATION. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IS VALID AND CHECK YOUR EMAIL SPAM FOLDER IN CASE THE EMAIL IS BLOCKED BY YOUR FILTER.

Regional Barista Competition Dates Announced!

2011-11-16T14:59:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: Some more details have been provided on the North Central and South Central Regional Barista Competitions. Both will be held at one singular event in Chicago at the end of March and will take place either on March 23–25 or March 30 – April 1st. Though this is one event, two regional titles will be given away for the Barista Competition and the Brewers Cup. South Central competitors who are unable to make it to Chicago will be offered 8 exclusive spots to Round 1 of USBC in Portland. This is an opportunity to join two communities together for one great event and we look forward to seeing everyone there! Dates will be confirmed by the first week of February.

We are excited to announce that we've secured the majority of dates and locations for the United States Barista Championship (USBC) & Regional Barista Competitions (RBCs) for the 2012 cycle! We're working on finalizing two of the events, as noted below, but we'll announce that information shortly as well. Noting that the Regional Barista Championships Program is our only structured regional event program taking place annually, we hope to utilize these events moving forward as opportunities to gather our community and engage with and present to specialty coffee consumers. SCAA director of community and events, Marcus Boni, comments, "As we move these regional competitions forward, the focus will be hosting events that are not only the regional barista competition, but also a gathering of like minded coffee enthusiasts focused on a common message of respect for the product they serve, the people who help produce it and the consumer who purchases it."

We're also implementing some changes to the Brewers Cup program, evolving it with a new presentation element in round 1, and the Barista Competitions. (You will be able to read about these changes in the Rules and Regulations, to be posted on the USBC website shortly. Revised World Barista Championship documents can be found here). We're also working to create opportunities to engage with other industry and consumer events, often more of a two day schedule, and further define and shape our consumer message and programs. We will continue to operate with very small production costs while maximizing sponsorship value and overall program brand awareness. With that, we give you the 2012 competition schedule:

NORTH WEST (WA, OR, AK, ID, MT, WY): January 27-29 in Tacoma, WA

Hosted by Dillanos Coffee Roasters

SOUTH EAST (KY, VA, TN, NC, SC, AL, GA, FL, DC): February 9-11 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA

Host TBD

NORTH EAST (OH, WV, DE, PA, NJ, NY, CT, RI, MA, VT, NH, ME, MD): February 24-26 in conjunction with Coffee & Tea Fest in New York, NY

Hosted by Dallis Bros. Coffee

SOUTH WEST (HI, CA, NV, AZ, UT, NM, CO): March 8-11 in Santa Cruz, CA

Hosted by Verve Coffee Roasters

NORTH CENTRAL (ND, SD, NE, MN, IA, WI, IL, IN, MI): TBD, location TBD

Host TBD

SOUTH CENTRAL (KS, MO, OK, TX, AR, LA, MS): TBD, location TBD

Host TBD

USBC (National Event): April 19-22, 2012 at the Oregon Convention Center, held in conjunction with The SCAA Event in Portland, OR

Registration details will be available shortly. Please check the USBC website at www.usbaristachampionship.org for the latest Regional Barista Competition info!

Member Driven Events

2011-11-08T13:10:00.000-08:00

Have you wondered how you would go about hosting or organizing an event with the help of the Barista Guild? We recognize that organizing and promoting a local event can be challenging and we want to help our members succeed in building a stronger, more connected barista community through our new BGA Member Driven Event program.

What is the Member Driven Events program? Put simply, it’s our chance to support BGA members all around the country who host and organize events that benefit the barista and coffee community.

How does it work? Real simple. First, once you decide you’d like to host an event, head over to the events page on the BGA website and where you can read up on the pre-qualifications for hosting a Member Driven Event (don’t worry-they’re simple!) and access the online request form. Your BGA Chapter Rep will be in touch with you shortly (think 24-48 hours) after submission to assist you with promotion of your event and accessing the official Member Driven Event logo.

Want to host an event but not sure where to start? You’ll want to contact your Regional Chapter Rep. Who’s your Regional Chapter Rep? Find the complete list of Chapter Representatives on the BGA website. He or she can help you understand the and can provide support and pointers on how produce a successful event. Your rep will also do their best to be in attendance at your event, but if they cannot attend, will work to send another representative in their place. The BGA will also provide support through online promotions and a follow-up afterwards to see how everything went.

Let us know about your next event! If you’re ready to get started visit the BGA website events page for all the details and a link to the request forms.

Camp Pull-A-Shot 2011, SE Chapter Rep Recap

2011-11-02T16:50:00.000-07:00

Camp Pull-A-Shot 2011 Recap from Michael Harwood, BGA SE Chapter Representative:

I first remember hearing about the Barista Guild of America's inaugural Camp Pull-A-Shot last year. Scrolling down the BGA website, I daydreamed about developing my craft with noted professionals, meeting other inspired baristas, and taking in the great outdoors (e.g. skunks, raccoons, mountain lions, owls, kittens, et cetera).
An opportunity like this does not arise every day, but as often happens, life conspired to keep me from going. The announcement that there would be another Camp Pull-A-Shot did not stop my pangs of jealousy at every Tweet, Facebook update, and photo post I saw, but it gave me hope and reaffirmed my commitment to make it next year.

Fast forward one year, and I am arriving at the campgrounds for the second annual Camp Pull-A-Shot, where I will be meeting fellow Baristas, learning, and competing for the next three days. This physical coming together was a strength of Camp. We were able to eschew confusing online one-liners for thought-provoking, face-to-face discussion. From Matrix-esque milk steaming philosophy to the finer points of espresso machine boilers, many topics were covered. When not stroking our collective beard in deep thought, we fraternized through team events. The teams were determined by the BGA before camp, and the winning team was to be announced on the final night. After running a gauntlet of trivia, a craft coffee brewing relay race, a cappuccino & espresso relay race, and a team-staffed cafe competition, I am proud to announce that my team came in third place out of twelve! I was a pleased team leader.

When not sprinting around in clown costume with hot coffee in hand or hiking the canyon's many trails, I spent most of my time in classes, which always managed to cover something I hadn't heard before. In one of my favorite classes, Sensory Skills, we experienced how to differentiate not just varying levels of sweet, salty, and sour, but also how to distinguish different mixes of the aforementioned tastes. This last step proved to be quite tricky, proving that I am (perhaps thankfully) not a super taster. Amongst the other classes I took, we learned how to be more efficient on bar, how to adjust an espresso machine's pump pressure, and what the milk homogenization process is about. Aside from the take-home knowledge, these classes also went towards the BGA's Certification program. I took my Level 2 exam on our last full day at camp. I passed the written portion, but did not pass the practical by a slim margin. Not one to dwell on the past, I quickly learned from my proctor how I could do better next time. I look forward to my next opportunity to finish up my Level 2 Certification! From what I hear, I'll have a chance sooner rather than later on the East Coast.
I made many new friends and caught up with many more old friends at my first BGA Camp Pull-A-Shot. These memories won't soon fade and I can't wait to go back! I hope to see you all there next time!

Want to share your Camp Pull-A-Shot memories? Drop us a line, send us a tweet, comment below! And don't forget to share your camp photos in the Flickr group pool.

Camp Pull-A-Shot Standup: Lorenzo Perkins.

2011-10-29T07:59:00.000-07:00

Member Events: This week's Thursday Night Throwdowns

2011-10-19T17:23:00.001-07:00

Baristas, if you're on the East Coast you have a lot of options for your Thursday night this week.

DC vs Philly Thursday Night Throwdown
http://wdcthursdaynightthrowdown.wordpress.com/
Throw down in Philadelphia at Spruce Street Espresso (1101 Spruce Street) or in Washington, DC at Big Bear Cafe (1700 1st Street NW) starting at 8pm. Which city will prevail - Our Nation's Capitol or Our Nation's Birthplace?
RSVP: DC or Philly
Keep up with the rivalry: @tntwdc + @phillytnt

NYC Thursday Night Throwdown
http://tntnewyorkcity.wordpress.com/
New York continues its Thursday Night Throwdown season at Joe (9 E 13th St). Be there by 8pm - the competitor list is long and epic and the locations are small.
Follow along @TNT_NYC

Not on the East Coast? We've still got you covered.

Denver Thursday Night Throwdown
Metropolis Coffee (300 W 11th Ave) hosts Denver's first Thursday Night Throwdown. Things get started at 8pm and don't forget to bring a friend!
More information / RSVP on Facebook.

Keep up with all the BGA events on the Upcoming Events page.
Have an event coming up? Get in touch with your BGA Chapter Representative!

Camp Pull-A-Shot: Find us online!

2011-10-19T16:34:00.000-07:00

While most of us won't be sending home camp postcards from Camp Pull-A-Shot, you'll still be able to keep in touch with all the campers. Here's where to find us starting next week:

Twitter
The official Barista Guild twitter feed,@BaristaGuild, will be updating from camp throughout the weekend. We're sure camp instructors, sponsors, and attendees will be filling in many more details - keep an eye on our twitter feed, twitter lists, and the hashtag #bgacamp.

BGA Twitter: http://twitter.com/baristaguild
BGA Lists: http://twitter.com/baristaguild/lists
BGA Camp Tweets from everyone: #bgacamp

Flickr
Camp memories will be captured and posted on the Camp Pull-A-Shot 2011 group pool. Join the group and add your photos, or spot yourself in snaps over the weekend!

Barista Guild of America on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/baristaguild/
Camp Pull-A-Shot 2011 Flickr Group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/bgacamp2011/

Facebook
Campers, make sure you've said "I'm in!" on the Facebook invite page. Remote campers, catch some of the camp action by following the Barista Guild on Facebook - you've already "Liked" us, right?

Camp Pull-A-Shot event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/197303216958705/
Barista Guild on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BaristaGuild

Video
We'll be filming some of the lectures at camp to share post-camp. Once videos are uploaded, we'll post the link here.

Other places to find camp posts
Huge thanks to official Camp Pull-A-Shot media sponsors, Sprudge and Barista Magazine. You can bet they'll be documenting all the fun at camp.

Sprudge: Camp-Pull-A-Shot Posts
Barista Magazine: Camp Pull-A-Shot Posts

Whether you're attending camp or wishing you were here, we'll see you soon.

Did we miss any coverage? Are you blogging the event, too? Comment and let us know!

First Annual BGA Camp Pull-A-Shot 5K!

2011-10-18T13:45:00.000-07:00

Are you ready to get your sweat on during BGA Camp Pull-A-Shot 2011? This year we will have a 5k race for anyone interested in running!

Wednesday morning at 7:00 the gun will sound. Come to run, or come to cheer on your fellow BGA members. Fun prizes, a Toddy table at the half-way point, costumes, short shorts, and other general absurdities will make this a race to remember!!

RSVP to noah@cafeimports.com

Camp Pull-A-Shot: Packing List

2011-10-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

The 2nd Camp Pull-A-Shot is mere days away! We're getting excited to welcome 150 of our coffee friends to El Capitan Canyon. Your BGA Executive Council and Chapter Representatives wanted to make sure you'll be showing up to camp prepared. Before you roll up that sleeping bag, here's a few things you might want to throw into your camping bag:

Note-taking materials
Evernote app? Notebook? You gotta stash all the information coming at you somewhere.

Insect repellent
Bees in particular were uninvited guests at some of our meals last year.

Flashlights
The campfire provides a lot of light, but it gets awfully dark walking back to your cabin at night.

Water bottle
For the times when you're not drinking coffee.

Snacks
You'll be provided with three round meals at camp (and s'mores around the campfire at night!) but you may want to bring snacks for in-between meals. If you forget anything there's a small store on the premises, too.

Bathing Suit
There's a heated pool at camp, and the beach is a short walk down the road.

Musical Instruments
Last year we were serenaded by the wonderful Peter G and his accordion, as well as the accompaniment of harmonicas, and a melody horn. Rumor has it there will be percussion instruments this year -- what are you going to bring along?!

Sporting equipment
Be prepared for games of catch with the BGA EC - both Scott Lucey and Sarah Dooley will be bringing their baseball gloves! There's room for a frisbee game or two and if you don't have room in your bag, the campsite does rent bikes.

Shoes
Hiking shoes (there are trails around camp and lots of wildlife to see), rain boots (check the weather report, last year we had some rain!), and running shoes. If you're a runner, BGA EC member Noah Namowicz will be challenging folks to a 5k during camp. Be prepared!

Other things to consider (random suggestions from the BGA Executive Council + Chapter Representatives)
libations, glowsticks, your favorite coffee brewing equipment (we'll have an ample supply, but if you're particular…), deck of cards, personal hygiene essentials (shampoo, soap, suntan lotion, etc)., cameras (don't forget extra batteries!), costumes, candy.

Did we forget anything? Have a question on what to pack? Post a comment below!

SLS Brew Battle Huge Success!

2011-09-30T14:13:00.001-07:00

The 2nd Annual SLS Brew Battle was held last night in Portland at Sustainable Harvest. It was a great night highlighting the great membership of both the Barista Guild AND the Roasters Guild, as well as many other great folks both in the coffee community and Portland community. Five teams battled it out for the chance to take home the trophy, but there could be only one winner. Teams of three, which included two baristas and a roaster, were required to manually brew a batch of coffee for two judges, and then batch brew the same coffee for a different two judges, with the total score the addition of both. Winning the competition, was the team of Jason Dominy, Jared Gum, and Phil Beattie, fresh off his appearance on the CNBC Special, "Coffee Addiction." Jason and Phil couldn't decide on two coffees they wanted to use, both sourced through their respective companies relationship with Sustainable Harvest. So, Phil had the idea to create a blend of the two coffees.

From Batdorf & Bronson Coffee, they used the Guatemala Finca El Valle, a coffee they've been buying for 13 years, and was the first relationship coffee of it's nature. From Dillanos, Phil roasted up a natural processed Costa Rican coffee just for the event, which was the first coffee they've bought through their relationship with Sustainable Harvest. Jason Clever brewed the coffee, and Jared batch brewed the airpot coffee on the Curtis Brewer. The astonishing thing was that the winning team won by an astonishing 60 points. For their win, they took home the giant trophy and the honor of being champs. Until next year. Overall, it was a great night of celebrating both Guilds and the amazing people who are a part of, and support them!

Special thanks to Curtis Brewers, Mahlkonig grinders, Sustainable Harvest, SCAA, and both the BGA and Roasters Guild.

A Tale Of Two Cities: Twin Cities vs. The Second City. October 2nd!

2011-09-28T15:06:00.000-07:00

I bring you the Twin Cities, where we find Gordon Bellaver. Gordon was a barista in a shop that split. He went on to a new café that sprang from the old. However, after this experience he began to feel a breech between himself and the baristas in the old café. He felt confused as to how to bridge that gap. He then realized that there were varying levels of connect/disconnect between baristas at a lot of the shops in the area. So, he decided to do something about it. After trial and error with a few different ideas, he finally felt inclined to start a barista community website, and grow it into what he has dubbed the “Twin Cities Coffee Guild”. Is this a chapter of the BGA? No. Is it a branch of the BGA? No. Is it a group of baristas, some of whom are BGA members, some of whom are not, all of whom are of the mind of sharing ideas, building community, making great coffee and furthering our profession? YES! This is what the BGA is made of; smaller communities of baristas who are gathering in different pockets around the country, building excitement and bridges shop to shop, roaster to roaster, city to city, region to region across the U.S.

Out of this desire for community have sprung some community events; the next of which is to take place on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 4:00pm. This event will span not only the Twin Cities, but Chicago as well! “A Tale of Two Cities” Latte Art Throwdown will take place in Chicago at the Counter Culture Training Facility 177 North Ada (60607) and in The Twin Cities at The Blue Ox Coffee Company 3740 Chicago Ave. South, Minneapolis (55407). You can find out more information here: http://twincitiescoffeeguild.com/upcoming-events/sunday-funday

The future of the guild, in my opinion, is not that we get bigger, but that we get smaller. We exist to support you, the barista. We work hard to add support and value to you as a barista and the barista community at large. By being plugged into the guild, your events and happenings are put into a larger context. We are simply baristas supporting baristas. Being proactive in your area and shaking things up will bring value out of your relationship with and membership to the guild.

So, thank you Gordon! Thank you Twin Cities, for being an example of how the Barista Community should work. Thank you Chicago and Counter Culture for being the other end of that bridge for this event. I look forward to seeing the results from this next event, and many events to come.

The What: A Latte Art Throwdown between the Twin Cities & Chicago with each city hosting their respective throwdown and then using Twitter to determine the winning city. A relaxed atmosphere throwdown with Bloody Marys and Mimosas.

The When: Sunday, October 2^nd, 2011 @ 4pm CST

The Who: Anyone and everyone that wants to compete/participate/attend. Kid Friendly!

The Where:

Chicago – Counter Culture Training Facility

177 North Ada

Chicago, IL 60607

Twin Cities – Blue Ox Coffee Company

3740 Chicago Avenue South

Minneapolis, MN 55407

The Why: An effort to strengthen existing bonds between the Twin Cities and the Second City and build new relationships within the Midwest coffee community through healthy competition.

The How:

Step 1:

At 4pm each city will host their own respective Throwdown. No buy-in, everyone is asked to participate, and all shops/companies requested to provide a t-shirt to swap with the other location.

Step 2:

First round is round-robin, top 8 competitors will then go head-to-head to determine each location’s 3 “champions.”

Step 3:

Communicating with each location, the Throwdown then turns to Twitter. @TCvChiThrowdown.

Step 4:

Round 1 competitors pour. Designated person in Chicago/TC then upload the photo to @TCvChiThrowdown with the tag:

“Round 1: Chicago: [barista name, shop]”

Step 5:

The 3 Twitter judges (Seth Lester, Mike Phillips (I think), and one other) reply to the Tweet with which photo they prefer. Their tweet will be:

“Round 1: Chicago OR TC”

Step 6:

Best 2 out of 3. Winning city dances on the bar. Everyone goes home and prepares for Monday.

Sponsored by: Counter Culture Coffee, Blue Ox Coffee Co & The Twin Cities Coffee Guild.

If you're in Milwaukee this weekend...

2011-09-27T12:33:00.001-07:00

Portland Area Baristas! Iron Tamper Competition! October 3rd.

2011-09-20T10:39:00.001-07:00

the barista throwdown. Fri. Sept. 16th, San Francisco!

2011-09-14T12:38:00.000-07:00

When: Friday, September 16th – 6:00-8:45 pm

Espresso, Booze, & Beats: Chop it up with reps from our event sponsors from Fair Trade, Mr. Espresso, The Barista Guild, and Straus to learn about everything from micro-climate to micro-foam.

Free Admission to Public – $5 Registration to compete. Crowd favorite wins all registration fees and a free vendor tasting.

Guest Pops Ups by: by Copper Top Ovens, Winners of the 2011 Nomadic Pizza Throwdown. Halal Halal, NYC style street fare, and Frozen Khusterd, featuring tastings of single origin coffee flavored custards.

Register to compete: Email two latte art photos to barista@coffeebar-usa.com by September 9th to qualify.

And…..on the SAME night (and Saturday too), we’re partnering with Z space on:

Z Space Presents: The People: San Francisco

Grand Scale Live Performance Art by the Big Art Group at Z Space. 100 FT Wide building projection with full block closure. http://www.ybca.org/big-art-group.

Doors Open at 7:30 pm, show at Sunset. $10 admission.

Check the video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwA3wFaSxGM

Cafe Imports Announces USBC Origin Trip Location!

2011-08-30T20:12:00.001-07:00

August 23, 2011

Café Imports

www.cafeimports.com

Café Imports is proud to announce the 2011/2012 USBC/WBC origin trip sponsorship location has been selected! The 6 regional USBC winners, plus the USBC Champion, and the WBC champion will travel with Café Imports to Costa Rica in January 2013. After our maiden Barista Origin Trip to Brazil in 2011, Café Imports learned a lot about what champion caliber baristas desire to learn about on the ground at origin. These dedicated and talented coffee professionals made this one of Café Imports best trips ever. Having that level of personal commitment within all the trip attendees really changed the complexion of the trip and allowed us to delve deeper into educational components and have valuable conversations on the ground about complex coffee issues and how those issues effect baristas.

Photo: the 2011 USBC Champion Pete Licata

For us and the origin partners, this was a truly memorable trip. Café Imports is extremely excited to be partnering with Exclusive Coffees in Costa Rica for this trip. Francisco Mena and the staff at Exclusive Coffees bring extensive origin expertise. Their support will help the baristas get the most in depth educational experience possible. Exclusive Coffees has been a huge pioneer in the microlot and micromill revolution in Costa Rica, and many baristas use these Costa Rican Microlots for competition. Café Imports believes that this partnership is the perfect situation for a trip like this one. This trip will connect the front line of both sides of the coffee industry.

Photo: the 2011 Champs on their maiden trip to Brazil

We look forward to returning to origin with these talented coffee professionals. Seeing the excitement that this new sponsorship category for the USBC and WBC last year generated, Café Imports’ hope is that Costa Rica in 2013 will be a motivating factor for more baristas to train harder, learn more, and earn themselves an opportunity to delve deeper into firsthand coffee education on the ground at origin. Café Imports fully supports baristas and values everything they do to help grow and develop specialty coffee as a whole.

-Noah Namowicz, Café Imports

TNT-St. Louis, MO! Sept. 1st. Half & Half.

2011-08-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

Barista Jam in Austin, Texas

2011-08-11T08:26:00.000-07:00

Hey Texas Baristas,

It's been a pretty fantastic summer of community, competition, and education in the Lone Star State. Next up in the unofficial "Summer Throwdown Series" is the Coffee Kids Barista Jam hosted by Caffe Medici Downtown.

Every year, the Texas coffee community holds an event benefiting Coffee Kids, a deserving organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of children and families who live in coffee growing countries. All proceeds from the Throwdown and Raffle will be donated to Coffee Kids.

This year, it will be held on August 13th at 7 pm at the Caffe Medici in the Austonian at 2nd and Congress in downtown Austin. It will feature a panel discussion by local coffee shop owners about the challenges of opening and operating a successful retail location, as well as insights into moving from Barista to Owner.

Of course, a Throwdown will ensue with top prizes and raffle items graciously donated by Barista Magazine, Visions Espresso Service, Waterfalls Gourmet Beverages, Cuvee Coffee, and many others, as well as spectacularly amazing free food catered by the critically acclaimed 2nd Bar & Kitchen.

Come have a helluva time and raise money for Coffee Kids!

Get down to Caffe Medici and experience the community.

Health Insurance As A BGA Benefit? Why, Yes You Can!

2011-08-09T17:41:00.000-07:00

NEW BGA MEMBER BENEFIT!

The BGA Executive Council is always looking for ways to improve the standing of baristas and offer more to our membership. We are very excited to announce a new benefit for our members we hope will be of great personal benefit to many of our members.

BGA members now have the opportunity to purchase Health Insurance at discounted rates through access to a group provider. Our partner is Association Health Programs (AHP), who offer access to top notch health insurance programs nationwide. They currently represent 2.5 million people which helps bring down the cost for individuals, like our members. The BGA is excited to offer this opportunity to our members because we realize that they don’t always have access to health insurance through their employers and that buying insurance on your own can be expensive. If you are interested in this benefit please contact membership@scaa.org to get all the info.

Answers to some frequently asked questions:

1. Can coverage offered through the carriers represented by AHP be accessed throughout the United States?

Yes.

2. Will all doctors and hospitals that accept insurance work with these carriers?

Yes.

3. Does the individual health insurance program cover pre-existing conditions?

Yes, on insurable conditions such as asthma, high blood pressure, cholesterol ... No, on uninsurable conditions such as heart problems, malignant cancers, strokes, Crohn's, diabetes... AHP can direct members to state health plans for those considered uninsurable and/or provide coverage for a limited medical policy.

4. Do pre-existing conditions affect the insurability of an individual policy? Do they also affect the premium rates?

Yes, each case is individually underwritten. Pre-existing conditions can cause a rate increase at the time of application. Rates cannot be increased due to future medical conditions after the policy is effective.

5. Are members required to take a health examination before applying for a policy?

No.

6. Do I need to be a current BGA member to get the information and benefits of these policies?

Yes, you must be a member to take advantage of this benefit program.

7. Will the BGA/SCAA have access to my personal information?

No, they simply connect you with AHP.

8. Do I have to be employed to get/retain my health plan?

No, your coverage is valid as long as you pay the premiums.

North West Regional Barista Competition Rescheduled

2011-08-03T03:54:00.000-07:00

We wanted to inform you that the NWBRC will not be held in conjunction with Coffee Fest Seattle in September 2011. Both Coffee Fest and SCAA have worked hard this past week to work through all the planning details and, in the process, discovered that production costs would be much higher than we originally anticipated. Coffee Fest worked especially hard in trying to accommodate our needs, but since their agreements for Seattle were already in place, there wasn’t much room to move this year. However, we do see the potential for future events to take place in partnership.

As much as we would have liked to hold the NWRBC in conjunction with CoffeeFest this year, we recognize this change offers a bit more planning time for competitors, which we heard from some, would be a good thing.

We've definitely taken note of the comments about preparation time and will do our best to make schedule announcements further in advance in the future. We'll inform you of new dates and venue as soon as we have them secured. Thank you for your understanding.

Barista Trip 2011 Part 2: Pocos de Caldas Brasil

2011-07-21T11:16:00.000-07:00

The second half of our trip involved us traveling from Salvador to Sao Paulo and then driving into Pocos De Caldas. This part of the trip was hosted by our wonderful friends at Bourbon Specialty. Pocos De Caldas is a very interesting town that was settled by Italians and Portuguese as people spread outward from Sao Paulo. The European influence is evident while strolling through the city center and taking in the architecture and local Italian cuisine. Pocos De Caldas is a town settled within a gigantic volcanic crater. Our hotel sat inside a huge dormant volcano.

This area is very mountainous, and the tough terrain is one reason why this area wasn't hugely appealing to other settlers. Little did they know back then that this landscape would be ideal for coffee. Pocos De Caldas is unique in that the coffee farms on the rim of this crater are simply a 10 minute drive outside the developed city center. The long challenging drives that accompany most origins are just not present here. What a nice change of pace!

The farms here range from 1100-1400 meters and are supported by nutrient rich volcanic soil. We visited many farms in the region. It was really interesting for the group to get a better understanding of the growing microlot market and how the farmers in the region are supplying it in different ways.

The large and small farms in this region have different approaches to microlot separation, both of which are working for each group. The small farms are picking only the ripest cherries, hand sorting, wet milling through a local or on site wet mill, and patio/raised bed drying.

The large farms, which are also producing some incredible micro lots, had a bit of a different approach; the pickers are strip picking then sorting at the mill or picking ripes and boya (raisin naturals on the tree). We learned from the larger farms that every coffee has a home, especially in a high coffee market like this, so the under-ripes that get picked when stripping are still sold at a fairly good price as commercial coffee. The large farms here will sort the ripe cherries then cup samples of each lot to determine if it is microlot quality and should be kept separate or if it should be blended to create a quality specific lot.

This duality was very interesting to experience first hand. We cupped coffees of both the small and large farms, and each had some equally impressive coffees (some unrested coffee creeping toward 90 points), although they took different approaches to get there. The economies of scale for a small producer requires them to put a high level of labor to the picking. These small producers will often take 5-6 passes on different days on a single tree to get all the ripes, maximize weight as ripe cherries weight more, and get the most money for their large percentage of high quality coffee on a relatively small crop.

The large farms have made a different decision where the best allocation of resources are for their farms. The pickers on the large farms are not as incentivized to pick only ripes, and the farm owner is not as motivated to process only ripes due to shear volume and high market prices. They would rather produce around 25% really high quality microlots through separation on the back end and save money by not having his well trained staff spend quadruple the amount of time picking one area.

Both ways are valid, and both ways allow different sized producers to maximize their profit during a given year while still producing some high quality coffees. In a perfect world would both farms pick only ripes? Maybe, but producers of all sizes must make conscious and well thought out decisions as to where their hard earned money is best invested on their farms. That is not our decision to make for them.

The baristas and the rest of the crew got a ton of experience and gained new perspectives on coffee processing during this part of the trip. Gianni said that the landscape of the regions surrounding Pocos De Caldas reminded him of Sicily. It was a truly remarkable backdrop for the final leg of our trip. We partied for Alejandro and Sarah's double birthday on Saturday, we got behind the bar of a local roaster retailer, and we left Brasil full of both new exciting coffee knowledge and extraordinary amounts of meat. I am still riding high now that I am home from this trip. I am just incredibly grateful that we were able to get the Origin Trip Sponsorship set for the 2011 cycle, and that these amazing guys were the winning baristas. Viva Espresso!

-Noah Namowicz

2nd Annual SW Latte Art Competition! Sept. 3rd. Phoenix.

2011-07-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

On September 3^rd, 2011 you are invited to compete and experience the 2^nd Annual Southwest Latte Art Competition held in conjunction with Phoenix Cooks; a culinary experience for food enthusiasts to learn, cook, and taste what Phoenix has to offer.

In addition to experiencing delicious food and wine, attendees will have the opportunity this year to learn about coffees brewed manually from local coffee roasters.

The latte art competition has been expanded this year beyond the Arizona borders to allow for competitors from the entire Southwest to join in on the fun! Thanks to our generous sponsors, 32 competitors will compete head to head for the title of Southwest Latte Art Champion. Beside the title, the winner will walk with a hot $500 and a handsome prize package!

Baristas, sign up to compete and take part in the Southwest Latte Art Competition and Phoenix Cooks. Registration is limited to 32 competitors and we will stop accepting registrations once we reach that mark. We also need baristas willing to help with setup the day before, registration, working the manual brew bar, and clean up. Check out the website at www.swlac.com for more information.

Barista Trip 2011 Part 1 : Bahia, Brasil

2011-07-14T19:28:00.000-07:00

We are halfway through our trip to Brasil as I am writing this blog. For the past 5 days myself, Tim Chapdelaine from Cafe Imports, Sarah Allen from Barista Magazine, Gianni from Nuovo Simonelli, Reg Barber from Reg Barber Enterprises, the six US regional finalists (Sam, Phil, Pete, Michael, Joe, Ryan) and WBC Champion Alejandro Mendez have been traveling throughout the State of Bahia in Brasil.

Our trip began in Salvador, where we met with our hosts Agricafe, and immediately dove headfirst into Brasilian coffee in their lab. Agricafe has an incredibly professional lab in Salvador, where they set up both artificial and natural defect cuppings for us to begin this experience. We were able to first acclimate our palates to some of the common acidities and defects that can be found in coffee. Cupping the different types of acidity, astringency, immature beans, different levels of body, and ferment allowed all people on the trip to fully understand what we are looking for when cupping coffee.

After this cupping, we then cupped 20 excellent coffees from some of the farms we would be visiting during this part of our trip. Brasil is still early in their harvest, so most of these coffees were still very young and had not rested, but excellent none the less.

While on our farm visits we were able to see a wide spectrum of different farm sizes and different processing techniques. We visited some farms that produce over 4 million lbs of coffee annually, and some that produce only around 12,000 lbs. The majority of the farms we saw export a large amount of pulped natural coffee, but most have a mixture of pulped natural, natural, and fully washed. We found out that a properly processed pulped natural coffee can often times allow a farmer to receive nearly double the amount of money he would for a fully washed coffee. We were able to get first hand experience seeing how various farms are processing coffees in different ways, and the challenges that are posed by each technique.

Two of the major challenges for coffee farmers in Brasil are: educating their pickers to pick only ripe cherries and avoiding over-fermentation during processing. Processing pulped natural coffees and natural coffees is an extremely delicate process that requires constant attention to avoid beans over-fermenting. We saw some farms where pickers are not as disciplined as the farm owners would hope they would be, and although the under ripe cherries get sorted out during processing, these farmers are losing even more money than just a quality differential because under ripe cherries weigh 30% less than ripe cherries. Not only are they getting less money for a poorly cupping lot of under ripes, but they also are producing less weight due to the immaturity. This is a challenge. Just as Cafes grow and struggle to maintain quality control with a growing staff of baristas and high turnover, farmers encounter the same issues as they grow and hire more seasonal workers.

Farmers in Bahia are trying to combat this by treating their employees like family and creating a strong culture on their farms. We met farms that provide transportation for their employees, have cafeterias onsite, nice bathrooms, and even one amazing farmer bought motorcycles for all of his full time employees after winning the Cup of Excellence. In the farmer's opinion, these things are so important in motivating employees to execute their vision of high end specialty coffee.

Brasil has a rich agricultural history, and it shows by how meticulously set up many of these farms on our trip were, both big and small. Proper irrigation, fields that are not densely planted, rows of nitrogen fixing trees in between the coffee, and drying patios with parabolic drying covers are only some of the things that really have impressed us while on this trip. Knowledge and information are shared between farmers here for everyone's benefit. Often farmers in Bahia are seperating varietals and even separating lots within each varietal plot based on location on the farm. Agricafe receives samples from many farmers in Bahia and will help them determine which varietals are working best on their land. With trusting partners like Agricafe, these farmers and their coffee have excellent potential for future success.

This has been a very special trip not only because of the farmers we met with, but also having this much barista talent on one trip has proved to be truly remarkable. Everyone is so engaged and hungry for more information. It is easy to see why these barista champions have achieved the level of success they have. We have been totally blown away.

Our nights have been equally as fun here in Brasil. We have had the opportunity to have a few throw downs with Brasilian baristas at their cafes throughout Bahia. Not being able to speak Portuguese has not been a barrier at all while behind the bar. It has been very cool to see our baristas and Brasilian baristas connect over a perfectly prepared drink.

We have eaten more meat than one probably should eat in a 5 year span, and the food does not seem to stop any time soon. We are up for the challenge though...

Our long bus rides and late night conversation have given us a lot of time to talk about the BGA, competitions, and the state of coffee in general. These have been some of my most meaningful memories so far. The bus rides have also given us at Cafe Imports an opportunity to delve deeper into our processing class that we have been teaching on the bus. We learn in detail about all the things that happen between planting a seedling and exporting a bag of coffee, then we all get off the bus and see those these in action. Having this small of a group of engaged coffee professionals has opened the class up to many tangents and discussions both large and small about coffee. It has been extremely informative. The passing of knowledge has been a two way street. Tim and I are learning a lot from the baristas with us and they are taking away a wealth of firsthand coffee origin experiences.

It has been an incredible trip, and we all want to thank Marcus Boni and Laura Lee for helping make the 2011 Barista Origin Trip a reality. Next we are off to Campinas to continue our adventure.

-Noah Namowicz

NW Coffee Festival Wrap-Up.

2011-07-06T11:58:00.000-07:00

On June 18^th & 19^th hundreds of coffee lovers flocked to the Seattle Center to celebrate coffee during the first ever Northwest Coffee Festival. The festival’s aim was to unite consumers, baristas, and roasters through tasting and celebrating coffee and it’s importance to the community of Seattle.

Attendees began forming a line in anticipation of the opening of the festival while exhibitors polished up their booths, preparing to interact with the masses. Coffee consumers from all walks of life were given the opportunity to come in contact with brewing equipment and coffee professionals, furthering their knowledge and understanding of coffee.

At the barista showcase bar, attendees had the opportunity to see first hand where coffee flavors come from, as displayed as fruits, citrus, spices, and vegetables on the 3D coffee flavor table. After experiencing and talking about those flavors, participants put their nose to the test in the Aroma Challenge where they sniffed through scents of coffee and tried to match them to the correct descriptor.

With such educational opportunities as manual home brewing, how to pull your own shot, crafting coffee cocktails and milk texturing and latte art, an ample amount of volunteers were needed to ensure the event’s success. Thankfully volunteers showed up en masse, ready and excited to serve the coffee community.

Upon asking an attendee what he specifically wanted to see and learn during the event, he replied, “I’ve been drinking coffee for 35 years; however, you wouldn’t call what I drink coffee. It’s 50% milk and sugar and I’m here today because I want to learn how to enjoy coffee black.” With this information I was able to answer a few questions and point him to the booths that would best serve his coffee curiosity. His deep desire to learn was shared by all attendees and was met with the excitement of volunteers, making it a vibrant high-energy environment throughout the weekend.

Seeing cafes side by side, serving their individual products while letting the conversation lead where the consumer desired was a beautiful display the coffee community. Not simply a product, a company or imposed standards, rather it’s an ongoing commitment to bring the consumer in on the process. Without them, we have no industry.

-Brian Clemens

Five Questions With a BGA Member- Heather Ringwood Edition.

2011-06-29T07:33:00.001-07:00

This Five Questions post features someone I admire. It's someone I work with at Batdorf & Bronson, but it's someone I've respected in the coffee industry for years. We've worked together on the SCAA's (former) Training Committee (now Professional Development Committee), and she's always been a huge supporter of the Barista Guild, as well as baristas everywhere. Heather Ringwood is an amazing mind in coffee, and we're glad to have her in our industry as a champion for the Barista Guild. Enjoy. -j.dominy.

1. You've seen coffee change a lot over the past 10 years. What has been the best change you've seen happen?
I think the best change that I have seen happen is the growth of the barista community. Yes, there are more people involved in the SCAA events but it also seems like the BGA and local barista gatherings are more frequent. Folks are dedicated to their craft - pushing the job as barista further and we are well on our way to transition the role of the barista into a profession. Plus, the coffee tastes better in more places we go now!

2. You've judged barista competitions for a number of years. What is one thing you notice that baristas consistently could improve on in barista competitions?
That’s a difficult question because I think the barista’s who compete push their skills and their interpretation of the rules and regulations all the time! I think its key for folks to fully understand what those rules are that they are evaluated against and be prepared for new environments and mishaps that may come your way.

3. Drip brewed coffee or espresso?
Depends on the day! Often both.

4. What is your favorite charity and what do they do?
I have been a longtime supporter of an organization called Garden Raised Bounty or GRuB. They do a number of amazing things all working with at-risk youth in the local community. They are dedicated to securing good food for all people and have a goal to have Thurston County to be hunger-free. They build gardens for low-income people at their homes and apartments giving them the opportunity to grow and share their own food. They have a 1 acre garden in the city of Olympia where they employ teens to grow food while supporting the youth to get on track to graduate from high school and grow, personally, through working on the farm, with the crew and interacting in their community. There are several organizations like GRuB around the country – you should check in your community. (www.goodgrub.org)

5. Folks don't know, but you're a great dog trainer, and even compete in competitions with your dogs. What's that like?
That’s true J – it’s what I do for fun and in “my spare time”. I offer training classes based in 100% positive reinforcement and science based methods. It’s fascinating to see the affect this kind of training can have on the dog and owner. It not only creates desirable behaviors but a long lasting relationship with your pet. I also compete in dog agility with one of my dogs, Rowan. The time I spend training and competing is the only time when I don’t think about work! There’s no room to do both and be good at what I need to do in that moment. But, believe it or not, there are a lot of cross-overs between my job in coffee and my dog training life.

El Salvador Cup of Excellence Party!! June 24th. St. Paul, MN.

2011-06-16T14:17:00.000-07:00

El Salvador Cup of Excellence Party!

Cafe Imports and the Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) have joined forces to celebrate this year’s Cup of Excellence coffees. Cafe Imports will be hosting public cuppings for the upcoming auctions. We will give a brief background of what the Cup of Excellence program is and how it has played an essential role in the quality coffee movement and start and ongoing discussion on these excellent coffees.

To celebrate the new World Barista Champion of El Salvador, Alejandro Mendez, Cafe Imports will host a COE cupping on Friday June 24th at 4:00pm. We will cup the best microlots from El Salvador and following have an open barista jam and latte art throwdown afterwards at 6 PM. To finish off the day we will bring in delicious Salvadoran food and beer!

Our Synesso and Robur will also be stocked with Single Origin Espresso from El Salvador.

Please email piero@cafeimports.com to reserve a limited spot for the COE El Salvador Cupping, but no need to register or reserve a spot for the Barista Jam and Latte Art Throwdown.

See you there!

This event will be held at:

Café Imports

2140 Energy Park Drive

Saint Paul MN 55108

800-278-5065

Five Questions With A BGA Member- Mike Strumpf Time!

2011-06-14T13:28:00.000-07:00

(photo from 2006, by Andy Schecter.)

This edition of Five Questions features Mike Strumpf, formerly of Allegro Coffee, now with the fine decaffeinating folks of Swiss Water. He's a super nice guy, who makes everyone laugh, and knows his way around coffee. He judges in barista competitions, and licensed Q Grader. Take it away Bob.....

1. You've recently joined the team at Swiss Water. For folks who don't know, can you explain how that process works to decaffeinate coffee?
The Swiss Water Process removes the caffeine of the coffee through the use of water that is full of the soluble solids in coffee (we call it Green Coffee Extract, GCE) minus the caffeine. When you put coffee into the GCE you don’t lose any of the other, non-caffeine soluble solids because they are at an equilibrium with the solids in the GCE. What does get transferred into the GCE is the caffeine from the beans. After the GCE is full of caffeine, it is run through carbon filters that selectively filter out caffeine and leave the other soluble solids still in the GCE. After the GCE has its caffeine removed, it is recycled through the process to decaffeinate more coffee. Once the carbon is saturated with caffeine, it is re-activated to a caffeine-specific geometry in a furnace and used again to filter our more caffeine.

2. Beer or Liquor? What's your fave?
I have really been enjoying cocktails recently, so for now liquor. St-Germain is always in season!

3. What coffee trend do you wish would go away?
The way that we communicate with industry colleagues isn’t always the best way to communicate with customers, so my hopes are for people to stop using cupping table descriptors to communicate coffee flavors to customers. A coffee described as under-ripe lime and Rio Star grapefruit pith might be more relatable to customers as citrusy.

4. If you could own any car, what would it be?
I’m a sucker for gull wing doors, so the upcoming Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-cell would be acceptable.

5. You're known as a jokester. Tell us a joke.
What type of headache isn’t yours? Migraine! (A migraine is also the answer to: What do you get if Mike tells you too many jokes?)

Rocky Mtn. Sensory Class and Brewing Workshops Lab. June 25th. Ft. Collins, CO

2011-06-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

Sensory Science by Paul Songer (Cup Of Excellence)

The ability to objectively analyze product attributes and consumer preference is of immense value to any company. This class prepares participants to conduct sound sensory tests and to analyze data and statistics of sensory evaluations. Specific topics include test design, types of tests, test selection, product testing and the special considerations according to product and market segments. Students will also learn how to take the mystery out of statistics used for sensory testing- how to use statistics for selection, to determine pass/fail evaluations, and standard deviation. The sensory science procedures used for some non- coffee food and beverage products will be also be reviewed.

Roasting Workshop by Chris Schooley (Coffee Shrub, Sweet Maria's), Nolan Dutton (Ozo Coffee), Vajra Rich (Boxcar Coffee Roasters)

We will demostrate the differences of roast development, roasting the same coffees to the same roast degree but with different roast times. We'll then cup the coffees to see what effect roast length has on the cup. Cupping is usually done at least 24 hrs. after roasting, but what we are trying to see as far as roast develpment goes will be evident in the cupping.

Brew Method Workshop by various shops working together: Everyday Joe's, Ozo Coffee, Little Bird Bakeshop & More!

Coffees roasted to 3 different roast levels will be brewed on various brew methods around the room. We'll be able to taste what roast profiles lend themselves better to certain brew methods. You will dig it.

Followed by free beer and a latte art rodeo. Yeehaw!!
http://rmcca.com/

Barista Guild of America Membership Survey Results

2011-06-09T09:26:00.000-07:00

The Barista Guild of America recently conducted its annual membership survey for 2011. Let me first thank everyone who took the time to complete the survey. Your feedback is the most important information that we, the Executive Council, have in order to make decisions about how to lead, grow, and support your guild. If you are a BGA member and would like to view a summary of the results, click here.

Also, if you did not fill out the survey please and would like to provide feedback please email or call your Chapter Representative or Executive Council Member. You can find our contact information here.

I personally was very excited to see the results from this year’s survey. Not only because what you told us you want are exactly the things we as an Executive Council have been working towards for the past year, but also because this past year has marked the advancement of many new things for the BGA and from what you said, you've noticed! The most exciting part is the huge level of agreement between the membership of what is needed and wanted from the Guild. This is exciting for us as Executive Council members because now we can focus on how to do what our membership is asking for, rather than spending time wondering what our membership wants.

In summary, over 60% of the respondents said consistently the reasons they joined and what they want from the BGA are...

1. You want to connect with like-minded baristas.
2. You want access to information and coffee education.
3. You want to promote and support the craft of the Professional Barista.

I was so excited to see this become a recurring theme in the survey because it confirms the direction that the Executive Council has been working in for the past 2 years. In that time, we have developed three levels of certification, two of which are fully enacted, and we launched our annual Camp Pull-A-Shot in October of 2010. The ideas behind these programs were motivated by the sentiments listed above. The BGA certification program now has twelve 3-hour classes dedicated to the barista profession. With Camp Pull-A-Shot, we now have an event to connect with the Barista community, and to learn at the same time. So where do we go from here?

In the year ahead, those of us on the Executive Council are thoroughly excited about where we are positioned. We feel that the groundwork has been laid, and we are ready to continue building something that will be a remarkable force in our industry. To give you a glimpse of things to come, I thought I’d share with you some of things we’re planning for this upcoming year:

Formation of Regional Chapter Committees - Each Chapter Representative is now recruiting interested members to help support, and foster community in each of our 10 regions. Interested? Contact your Chapter Rep. to find out what you can do to help!

Membership Involvement Opportunities - Want to be involved with planning Camp Pull-A-Shot, BGA events at SCAA, or other BGA activities? We want your ideas, energy, and passion. Please contact an Executive Council member about what you are interested in doing.

Camp Pull-A-Shot 2011 - We will be returning to El Capitan Canyon October 24-27 for this year’s event. This year we are excited to bring you new certification classes for level 3, and a new slate of prominent guest speakers, and challenging topics. Not to mention 4 days with 150 of your best friends in the coffee industry. If you missed Camp Pull-a-Shot 2010 visit the archives on our blog / facebook page. You’ve got some catching up to do!

For the next few months the majority of the Executive Council’s energy will be going into the 3 initiatives mentioned above, along with 2 other big, exciting projects we are not quite ready to announce yet. We are excited about the year ahead, and growing together with you. Remember we are all working together to promote, respect, and support the craft of the professional barista.

If you were unable to fill out the survey and would like to provide feedback, please email or call your Chapter Representative or an Executive Council Member. You can find the information on the contact us page of the website.

Dan Streetman
Vice Chair, Barista Guild of America

Five Questions With A BGA Member- Sambo Brown, Old Milwaukee.

2011-06-06T13:05:00.001-07:00

Samuel Brown, aka Sambo, aka DJ Sammy Boy, works for Alterra Coffee. He's also an acclaimed DJ, and lover of beer, as most folks are in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I mean, you know they named their baseball team the Brewers, right? He attended Camp Pull-A-Shot with the rest of the Alterra Posse, and is a great barista helping to push forward great coffee culture up in the Great Lakes area. He also wouldn't admit it, but he's a heck of a nice guy. Enjoy his questions.

1. Who would win in a fistfight? Sambo or Rambo? Are you sure?
Rambo from First Blood would defiantly win. If it was Rambo these days..... tough, I would think I would come out on top. The truth of the matter is I am a lover not a fighter. In ether case it would end with the two of us sharing many brews (both coffee and beers).

2. Favorite book you've read in the past 10 years?
I love to read comic books but I will not count those. My all time favorite book is The Hobbit. When it comes down to my favorite book of the last 10 years, it is going to have to be Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan. In short Michael talks about the evolutionary relationship between humans and four different plants (Apples, Tulips, Marijuana, and Potatoes). While reading Botany of Desire I wished Michael would have wrote another chapter about coffee. I think it would have been a great addition to the book. If you have not read any of Michael Pollan's books I highly recommend them all, check it.

3. What is your favorite manual brewing device? How do you use it?
The Hario Woodneck with Hario kettle. I use about 23-25 grams of coffee and 350 mL of water.

4. You work with some great people up there in Milwaukee. What is the greatest thing you've learned from them?
The greatest thing i have learned from Scott Lucey is how to pour "SICK dope-ee-oo-s". Just kidding, SL hates that saying. The greatest thing I have learned is to be aware of ALL your variables when brewing coffee, and control as many as you can.

5. What is the best memory you have from last year's Camp Pull-A-Shot?
It was all TONS of fun...but my favorite memory was rocking the cafe bar for my team. A close second would be Ben vs. Gianni vs. Sammy dance off.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH8GqClTg9M

Five Questions With A BGA Member. Michelle Foster Edition.

2011-05-31T14:54:00.000-07:00

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd, we're back. Sorry we've been on Five Question hiatus, but we're back in full swing highlighting BGA members from all over our fine land and elsewhere. Today's post features the amazing Michelle Foster, who many know and love. I gave her five questions, she answered them with care and attention. Enjoy.

1. You are well known for being quite the traveler! Where are you at these days, and what are you up to?

These summer days find me at CoffeeTauk, in Montauk, NY. It is at the very tip of Long Island in what is known as "The Hamptons." I worked out here last summer and loved it so much I had to come back. It's one of the most challenging conglomeration of patrons, which is why I love it. One person will be looking for an iced blended drink (which I then steer toward the New Orleans iced coffee since we don't have a blender) and the next wants a traditional macciatto. It's a blend of New York rural folk and city-dwellers in a surf town. And I live and work two blocks from the beach. Before I come out I also spent a couple weeks in New York City and got the chance to guest barista at a new shop in Astoria: The Queens Kickshaw. It was the first time guesting for me and it was a joy - I hope to do it again!

2. What has been your favorite coffee experience of all time?

Tough. Thus far I think it was meeting Maria at Cafe Ruiz in Boquete, Panama. She is an amazing woman with a great business sense as well as astounding knowledge and passion for coffee. The best part of the experience, though, was being tricked into enjoying decaf coffee. I commented on how smooth the pour-over was that she had made and she said, "And, it's decaf." I was blown away. Other favorite experiences with coffee have the running theme of being surprised: I like to be proven wrong or astonished by good coffee.

3. If you could only drink coffee one way, espresso or drip brewed, what would it be?

French Press. It's my stand-by tried and true, though I would be sad to give up espresso.

4. You are a fan of Jeopardy. Would you ever consider going on the show to compete? What would your favorite category be?

Last time I spend a winter in South Dakota I actually signed up to compete. First you have to take an online test, which I utterly failed. I think I answered one question right and answered maybe two of them. It was HARD! If I had made it my favorite category would obviously by coffee with some sort of geography or art category as second.

5. Elvis or the Beatles? Why?

The Beatles for several reasons: 1) The Beatles are amazing across the universe 2) they brought pop and rock n' roll to the states all at once 3) Elvis was from Memphis

Barista. The Photo Project.

2011-05-31T07:48:00.000-07:00

I've often said that baristas deserve more respect, no matter where they are, no matter who they work for, no matter how long they've been in the craft. I've often said I thought it was important for baristas to understand they're part of a much bigger world. A world of passionate coffee professionals dedicated to not just the craft of amazing coffee and espresso, but to the specialty coffee industry as a whole.

I've wondered what I could do to celebrate baristas, to connect them on a deeper level, to show the amazing things that a barista is even outside their respective shops. The Barista Photo Project was born out of this desire. This desire to celebrate the diversity in the barista community, to make it bigger and smaller at the same time. So, take some time to look through the pictures. See your fellow champions of the craft. And add up your pictures. I want this to become this amazing visual picture of how truly awesome the barista community is. I want to see pics of you in your shop behind the bar, and pics of you outside the bar. Who you are in the shop, and who you are outside of it. Viva Barista.

Here's the link: http://baristaphotoproject.tumblr.com/

jason dominy.

Take the BGA Level 1 Certification Exam in Grand Rapids, MI!

2011-05-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

North Central Baristas: Don't miss out on your chance to become a BGA Level 1 Certified Barista! SCAA/BGA Credentialed Examiner Trevor Corlett will proctor this exam which covers fundamental concepts for baristas, including preparation, coffee knowledge, customer service, and sensory skills. The exam is an excellent way to test baristas’ knowledge and skill base, ensuring their comprehensive knowledge of fundamental espresso concepts.

The exam is $20.00 for BGA Members / $65.00 non-BGA member (you must sign-up for Barista Guild membership in order to receive member pricing). Become a member of the Barista Guild today!

When
June 02, 2011
7:30pm-9:30pm

Where
MadCap Coffee, 98 Monroe Ctr NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Recommended prerequisites to taking the Level 1 Certification Exam*:
CP101　Introduction to Espresso Part 1
CP102　Introduction to Espresso Part 2
GE103　Introduction to Cupping
CP151　Introduction to Coffee Brewing & Extraction
CP103　Introduction to Customer Service
CP190　Level 1 Certification Test

* Please note: experienced baristas can choose to pursue and obtain Level 1 Certification by achieving a passing score in CP190 AND attending CP103 (may test out of all other requirements). Must take CP103 - Intro to Customer Service to obtain your BGA Level 1 Certification (this requirement may be completed AFTER the certification exam is taken).

REGISTER NOW

NW Coffee Festival! June 18-19, 2011. Seattle! Don't Miss!

2011-05-24T18:07:00.000-07:00

Northwest Coffee Festival 2011

Happening on June 18-19 at the Seattle Center.

On father’s day weekend the Northwest Coffee Festival will bring together coffee lovers, baristas and roasters to get their caffeine buzz on while tasting and celebrating coffee in Seattle. If you are a coffee lover then head for the Seattle Center. There you will be well caffeinated in a wonderland of coffee with a smile on your face and cup after cup of delicious brew handed to you by baristas from your favorite local cafes and roasters.

The Northwest Coffee Festival will be held in the Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center with espresso bars, slow-pour coffee bars, live music, educational presentations and hands-on demonstrations in coffee. With several of Seattle's favorite chocolate dessert companies and savory food chefs in the festival there will be great foods to taste as well as exceptional coffees. The festival will feature a NW Beer, Wine, and Cider garden for the 21+ folks.

Sip a cup of in one of the micro-cafe espresso bars while watching a demonstration from a local barista on how your favorite drinks are made and then stand at the roaster's bar tasting slow poured coffee, nibbling dessert and listening to live music. Be excited for the great coffee, tasty bites and a weekend of celebration!

To stir up the excitement, the Northwest Coffee Festival will host a Seattle Coffee Crawl the week prior to the festival. A map will be distributed to encourage folks to get out and explore some of Seattle’s finest coffee shops with the opportunity to win prizes!

Is there a better way to spend Father’s Day weekend? Make it a surprise for Dad (you’ll want to buy your tickets in advance) or make it a special treat for yourself, but if you like coffee your definitely going to want to make it to the Seattle Center for this event.

For more information, click here: http://nwcoffeefestival.com/

2011-2012 BGA Executive Council Election Results

2011-05-23T13:12:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the newest members of the Barista Guild of America Executive Council:

Sarah Dooley, Espresso Parts, Olympia, WA

Julie Housh, Independent, Washington, DC

Noah Namowicz, Cafe Imports, St. Paul, MN

Congratulations to the newest Barista Guild of America Chapter Representatives:

Great Lakes Chapter Representative (States: WI, IL, OH, MI)

Cody Kinart
Alterra Coffee Roasters
Milwaukee, WI

Mid Atlantic Chapter Representative (PA, NJ, DE, MD, DC)

Allie Caran
Woodberry Kitchen
Baltimore, MD

Midwest Chapter Representative (ND, SD, NE, KS, MN, IA, MO)

Joseph A. Marrocco
Kaldi's Coffee Roasting Company
Saint Louis, MO

Northeast Chapter Representative (NH, VT, ME, MA, RI, CT, NY)

Todd Mackey
New Harvest Roasters
Pawtucket, RI

Southwest Chapter Representative (NV, AZ, NM)

Brian Clemens
Mulch Coffee
Scottsdale, AZ

CONGRATULATIONS!

A special thanks to two amazing leaders, and your current Executive Council.

2011-05-19T16:14:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we saw new change in leadership on the BGA’s Executive Council. While we welcomed new members to the Council, we also saw two that finished up their time, and I’d like to spend a couple of minutes sharing my appreciation, as well as the appreciation of the rest of the Executive Council for their service.

First, Heather Perry finished up her time on the Council, her last position was Past Chair. Heather has been an integral part of the success of the BGA over the past three years, and I’ve worked with her my whole time in leadership. I was honored to be a part of the founding group of the BGA Certification, and Heather was a driving member of creating the Certification. Her leadership and passion helped us create the Certification is just two days during the SCAA’s Leadership Summit in Atlanta. Since then, she’s not only helped drive the Certification’s success, but has assisted in helping see a new BGA website, new standards, new labs, and a culture of breaking down the idea of the rock-star barista by getting highly involved with all levels of baristas, always showing respect and appreciation for baristas no matter of level of experience of company affiliation.

She has been a great leader in her time on the Executive Council, and her work has been very visible to all who have joined the BGA in the past couple of years. She was a great leader helping create and carry out the first ever Camp Pull-A-Shot this past year. She is a great example to women in the coffee industry, and we could certainly use more women like her in the industry to show the vast diversity of the community. She was just voted onto the SCAA’s Board of Directors, and they will benefit greatly from her tenacity and passion, but we will certainly miss her more active role in the BGA. Thank you Heather Perry. We love you.

Second, Anne Nylander finished up her time on the Executive Council. She has been an amazing resource to the BGA, working behind the scenes constantly to improve labs, the Certification, as well as improving the BGA as a whole. She has worked tirelessly on many projects, including Camp Pull-A-Shot, where she not only created labs and instructed, but tested for Certification and helped organize the entire event. She’s not always one of the most vocal and noticed professionals in the coffee industry, but she’s certainly one of the most valuable. She, like Heather, is a great role model for women in the industry, and we do need more women like her and Heather to help create a better future for coffee. Her passion drives her work, and her work drives our industry forward. She will be leaving her post on the Executive Council, but will not be far away. She will acting as a liason between the BGA and the SCAA’s Professional Development Committee.

With the loss of those two amazing people, we have some new ones joining us. Julie Housh, Sarah Dooley and Noah Namowicz were all elected onto the EC. All three are great coffee professionals engaged in great ways where they’re at. Julie Housh is a barista with Peregrine Espresso with our good friend Ryan Jensen, Sarah Dooley is with Espresso Parts NW, and Noah comes to us from the coffee importin’ folk of Cafe Imports. We look forward to what all three bring to the table to help push your BGA forward!

Scott Lucey takes the new Past Chair position, Dan Streetman takes on the Vice-Chair role, and Chris Baca and Trevor Corlett round out this amazing Executive Council you've voted for. Remember, we work for you. We've heard your feedback loud and clear from the surveys, and we've been discussing the results, which we'll be posting up here soon. We will continue to work hard to be the best BGA we can be, with your help. Look for exciting things coming your way.
jason dominy,
current chair.

Fix Coffee Hosting Latte Art Throwdown Benefitting Japan

2011-05-04T12:49:00.000-07:00

On Friday May 6th from 7:30pm to 10pm Fix Coffee (www.fixcoffeeco.com) will be hosting a Latte Art Throwdown event to raise money and send supplies to Japan. Specifically Fix will be sending donations to Takashimaya Coffee shop and roaster. Takashimaya coffee shop also operates a little mobile cafe out of a very cute Volkswagen Van called Bear Cafe. Thankfully Takashimaya Coffee was not horribly damaged by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami. So, very shortly after devastation struck, the owner of Takashimaya sprung into action. He took his little Bear Cafe van straight to the heart of the most devastated areas of Japan and started handing out hot coffee and what ever other supplies he could gather to any one who needed them. Bear Cafe has sense made several trips into the the effected areas and has been posting photos and stories of his trips on Takashimaya Coffee’s Blog. He has been able to collect over 2000 cups with personalized encouraging messages and images from people in his home town to serve coffee in. He has brought books for kids at shelters to entertain them. He has brought food, fuel, water, light sources and other supplies as well.

So, Fix is giving the Los Angeles Coffee Community, and those it serves, a chance to share a cup of Joe and an encouraging word with people in Japan. The event will include live music, Latte Art Competitions and the opportunity for all guests to decorate a cup that will be sent to Japan the next day. There will be a suggested donation of $10 at the door. Competitors entry fee into the Latte Art Throwdown will be donated directly to Takashimaya Coffee’s relief efforts as well. While not confirmed yet, there may be a donation bar for beer and wine as well. Live performers and DJ will be announced in the week to come as well as the status of the donation bar.

Fix Coffee is Located at 2100 Echo Park Ave in Los Angeles, CA.

Foe More information on the event, please contact Amber Johnson at mrs.amber.johnson@gmail.com or call her at 206-403-6907

This is Takashimaya’s blog address: http://takashimaya-coffee.info/blog/

This will be considered a “private event” so the Cafe will not be open for business.

You too can host a USBC streaming party!

2011-04-25T20:52:00.000-07:00

Some words of inspiration on throwing a casual competition watching party.

By Sarah Dooley

Everybody loves a good excuse to see their buds and future friends go through their 15 minute competition performance. The idea behind the gathering is just that simple. Crack open a few beers, some coffee cake, a good quiche, Andrew’s chocolate death cookies, some Roger & Scott hand crafted coffees and the soft serenade of a barista competition in the background.

We all do a lot more then just coffee and the networks, hobbies and family like bonds we have made extend over some very common core goals. We sort of live our lives with a little more conviction when it comes to eating, drinking and conversation. Sure, there will always be shop talk but for some of us there are equivalent passions occupying in our alternative lives as parents, in relationships, friends, bikers, roasters, artists, scientists, travelers, and all walks of life really.

When you can’t get to the action you bring it to you. We wanted to catch the Sunday finals together. Here’s how it all goes down. First you need a host location for your gathering. That part was not hard at all. Coffee Labs, training facilities, equipment retailers and suppliers often have all the space you need and totally invite the community that comes from small meet-ups like these. You will need a projector and all the proper hookups. The first Brunch, Beers & Barista Live Stream Social was hosted by our very own LaMarzocco USA. They have a pretty slick training lab setup with all the necessary equipment. Roger was kind enough to set up the gadget aspect Friday night before he left work. If that is not the case for you, make sure you do have all the necessary wireless pass codes and adapters specific to the equipment you have to the projector. As the event coordinator, ask for entry at least 30 mins before the suggested start time so you can verify setup is done and be inviting when the first guest arrives. Invite guests to bring a brunch item. Our events ranged from 10:30-11:30 start times so people could set up there food, dish up and get aquainted. Food, beverages, dairy for capps, blood orange juice and vodka for mimosa’s, whatever floats your boat. Bring your own coffee unless it was set aside for you. You don’t want the staff to show up Monday and have nothing to wake up with. Be respectful of the guests and the location.

I posted the event two weeks prior to its date on Facebook using the Events feature. I wish this feature had a reminder option. A reminder Wed or Thursday before the actual event is a kind courtesy if you get a chance. People get busy or commit to a date without writing it down, I’m keen on reminders.
Once your buddies arrive make sure your event purpose is up on the screen and if you feel up to it log in so they community can feel the support of your unified presence.

Be realistic and don’t get caught doing all the cleanup. You can politely show each guest where dishes go, recycle and rags are located. Before the event is over remind folks that your host was kind enough to entrust us with this space, so lets leave it better then the way we found it.

All in all, it’s super easy to invite your community to a fun event. Funny stories and once in a lifetime moments happen. I will say, and Roger might kill me for this...or attempt to. Roger biked in with his adorable son, just a an hour into hanging out I looked out into the lobby to see that he (not Roger) had removed his pants and was standing in his diaper, gazing out the window. Turning to Roger I asked, “what’s up with your boy?” He half turns his head and looks over his shoulder then back to me smirking, “oh, yeah, he’s going potty.” You can imagine the immediate rush of quick jokes that would follow.
In coffee your friends become family almost instantly. We had good times, made great memories, supported the great efforts of regional barista competitions and can’t wait to duplicate the process.

Enjoy your community and it’s common unities.

Houndstooth Coffee 1 Year Anniversary Bash. May 5th! Austin, TX.

2011-04-22T18:13:00.000-07:00

"golden tickets" can be found at those three local places and then are redeemed for mystery prizes at the event, t-shirts, coffee (verve, ccc, Cuvee), and one is for a $100 gift card at houndstooth.

BGA Chapter Representative Runoff Election

2011-04-22T13:46:00.000-07:00

At the completion of the 2011 BGA Election cycle, candidates from the North East and South West regions received the same number of votes for their respective candidacy positions. Due to the tie, a runoff election will be held Friday April 22 - Friday April 29, 2011 for BGA Members in the North East and South West regions only. Members may choose one of two candidates listed on the ballot and no write in candidates will be accepted.

If you are a member of the North East or South West region:

VOTE NOW

CANDIDATES

Northeast Chapter Representative (NH, VT, ME, MA, RI, CT, NY)

Park Brannen, Cafe Grumpy, Brooklyn, NY

How are you involved with Coffee? How does this role fit into the BGA? I am a barista in the the most literal sense of the word. I work full time for at the very busy Cafe Grumpy serving specialty coffee daily. If the Barista Guild is a place to grow and learn the craft of specialty coffee preparation, I consider myself to be very at home with ideals of mission statement.

Why might you be considered leadership material? I strive to give the best prepared beverages possible in every situation I come across daily, as well as deliver the knowledge I have to the public in every instance perceivable. I aim to be a beacon of knowledge for those who wish to learn. I take no shortcuts in my preparations, or any other efforts for that matter, and consider what I do not only an art, but a privilege. There are so many other participants in the timeline of the specific coffees that I serve everyday and I only hope that I can do them, and most importantly the coffee, justice. This is what I consider to be what makes me a leader.

What are some accomplishments you would like to see happen in the future of the BGA and/or SCAA? I would like to see the BGA and SCAA reach out to those who are not already within the innermost circle of involvement. It is a fantastic thing to see continued participation from those cafes and professionals that have consistently associated with both of our organizations, and to grow it would be fantastic. Specialty coffee is picking up steam every day, and with the continued efforts of the dedicated professionals in the SCAA and BGA we can expect this trend to stretch out to those organizations not like our own. We're able to do good through coffee and it is exciting to think that even more people could get some of this goodness.

Todd Mackey, New Harvest Roasters, Pawtucket, RI

How are you involved with Coffee? How does this role fit into the BGA? I am a trainer and sales representative for New Harvest Coffee Roasters in Providence, RI. The majority of my time is spent working closely with the folks who are turning our roasted coffee into delicious beverages. My work and passion has been, and will continue to be, exciting, inspiring, learning from, and teaching those who are crafting coffee professionally. I feel that this is directly in line with the goals of the Barista Guild of America; to take seriously the role of the barista as a culinary professional.

Why might you be considered leadership material? I am leadership material because I wash dishes... ...I believe in hard work and 'the journey'...that it is not an arrival in this industry but more so a progression through experiences. These experiences vary individual to individual and our strength is in sharing them in order to learn from one another. I love specialty coffee because it is not structured like a ladder. It is more like a roundabout where we find ourselves spinning around and centered on the bean...growers, roasters, baristas, buyers, etc....not one more or less integral than the other. Leadership in this industry is manifest in the sharing of knowledge and experience; both of which I am committed to doing to whatever degree my learning and experience allow. I have shown this commitment through community organization in my co-founding of the Providence Coffee Society. PCS hosts events, lectures, and social gatherings in order to promote specialty coffee and cafe culture in RI.

What are some accomplishments you would like to see happen in the future of the BGA and/or SCAA? I would love to see an east coast / northeast Pull-a-Shot - I would work hard to make the BGA classes and certifications more widely available in my region - I would like to see more (and regional) events that promote the dialogue between all roles within specialty (roasters, baristas, growers, buyers, etc.).

Southwest Chapter Representative (NV, AZ, NM)

Steve Kraus, Press Coffee Roasters, Scottsdale, AZ

How are you involved with Coffee? How does this role fit into the BGA? You ask how does this role fit into the BGA, well quite frankly we are on the forefront of a major movement, I witness it daily. I tell my employees each day that if you can educate one customer everyday with just a little bit more knowledge about specialty coffee, then we are one more person closer to creating a movement that will change the outlook on coffee going forward. I take pride in our product and take initiatives to improve where I can, both from a barista level and an educational role. If I can take a larger role going forward, and spread the knowledge I gain from the BGA then its one step closer to increasing the knowledge to those willing to learn.

Why might you be considered leadership material? I started Press Coffee Roasters in 2008 and have developed two retail locations and a roasting operation a year ago. I started my education process by attending the American Barista School and multiple Coffee Fests and SCAA’s. Press Coffee thrives on the continued education of not only our employees but each consumer that comes through the door. We do weekly cupping’s, roasting education and consumer training. Starting some of the first barista jams in Phoenix we’ve also have been featured in Barista Magazine and have collectively started what we believe will be the largest latte art throw-down in the southwest this coming September, being held at Phoenix's largest culinary festival, Phoenix Cooks (phoenixcooks.com). The first event generated 16 baristas however this year we have been given a full on stage to really showcase to the public what true barista craft is!! This event will be open to baristas anywhere and I hope continue to make this an annual event to share with the coffee world. This is a great start but more importantly we continue to make strides with hiring those that want to take on the passion for coffee, learn the “true” skill and spread the word.

What are some accomplishments you would like to see happen in the future of the BGA and/or SCAA? I'd like to see more direct roles by BGA representatives by assisting regional baristas gain more knowledge on how to have a more direct role in creating a larger coffee community. I'd like to see the BGA take more initiative in helping to assist in larger events created by coffee shops in our respective communities, how does this work, it starts with the council and it makes its way to the representatives. Sponsors, sponsorships will assist us in assisting the smaller communities in recognizing that the BGA is truly a group that supports all baristas. If elected one of the first things I'd like to see made available is much easier way to become certified. This may sound as if I'm beating a dead horse, but quite frankly most baristas cant afford to fly and attend these large trade shows, therefore we need to make it available to them locally. Having elected test/class administrators would be a great start.

Brian Clemens, Mulch Coffee, Scottsdale, AZ

How are you involved with Coffee? How does this role fit into the BGA?

I am currently developing a coffee bar concept that will launch in Scottsdale, Arizona this fall. The goal with the concept is to introduce specialty coffee to the community in a fresh/open learning environment. As a partner in Mulch Coffee, I’m continuously learning how to develop training curriculum, develop baristas, and explain our industry to the average Joe. Beyond my role in Mulch Coffee, I’ve worked with four other coffee shops here in Phoenix in various capacities.

This year I took full advantage of my BGA membership, volunteering at the SCAA trade show, taking personal development classes, and judging at this year’s Southwest Barista Competition.

Although I haven’t worked full-time behind an espresso bar for nearly five months, I’ve furthered my craft through classes, holding training programs, and being actively involved in the coffee community here in Arizona. I’m excited to get back behind a bar this fall and represent specialty coffee to the community and beyond.

Why might you be considered leadership material?

When deciding to apply for a position whether vocational or extracurricular, I evaluate all aspects of the role and my current duties. From there I decide if I’m able to rise to the challenge. No matter the role, I’ve always given 110% to an organization, company, or team. I have high expectations for myself and allocate the proper time to fulfill every role I hold.

A leader in the specialty coffee community is personable, honest, engaging, and vulnerable. Yes, I said vulnerable. They know that the only way to further themselves is to admit what they know and what they don’t know. A leader is always a student, honest with the limit of their knowledge, but thirsty to learn more. I possess an optimistic outlook for our industry and craft. I’m open to feedback and desire to further progress our craft through collaborative events, seminars, and training.

What are some accomplishments you would like to see happen in the future of the BGA and/or SCAA?

I’d like to see more streamlined training programs. This year I had the ability to take the BGA Barista 1 exam and the Barista 1 Examiner Certification courses. I drove 400 miles to take the exams and had the side benefit of meeting Heather Perry, Marcus Boni, and Ellie Matuszak. We need to take the knowledge portion of these courses online and certify more representatives in the individual states to administer exams. any smaller localized events using resources available would be more beneficial than one large regional training event. Speaking for Arizona, I’m in the process of organizing “Barista Happy Hour”; where baristas interact outside the walls of their individual shops discussing processes and helping one another grow in knowledge, service, and as coffee ambassadors. The goal is to build relationships within the coffee community and increase our standards and knowledge at the same time. Relationships matter! It is easier to receive feedback from a friend than a stranger. I’d like to see smaller events that bring together both BGA and non-BGA baristas to discuss the craft and ultimately develop camaraderie. These events will help increase BGA membership and retention. One more thing that I would like to see happen in the future of the BGA is a “How to take advantage of your membership” campaign. When you pay into an organization you weigh the opportunity and cost. A “how to take advantage of your membership” campaign would entice prospective members to take their membership development into their own hands.

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A ROOMMATE FOR SCAA'S EXPO/USBC HOUSTON?

2011-04-17T08:52:00.000-07:00

We've been getting lots of request from BGA members looking for others to room with in Houston for Expo/USBC. Are you one of these? Can you host another member or two or three in your room? Are you willing to split the costs? If so, please post below! Post if your looking, or if you can host, and what you can do to make this happen. We look forward to seeing all of you there!

Atlanta Thursday Night Throwdown For Japan. 4/14.

2011-04-12T20:04:00.000-07:00

Atlanta area baristas, we hope you can make it to Octane Coffee for a Thursday Night Throwdown with a purpose. From Octane Coffee Boss Dustin Mattson:

First of all, if you’re into pre-gaming and tailgating, Aly and Julia will be outside with the grill cooking hot dogs, brats, and vegan friendly sausages out on the Octane patio! They’ll be firing up around 5PM, and will go until the wieners run out. That paired with a Thursday $2 draft will set the evening off right.

Octane has been featuring beers from the Hitachino Nest brewery in Japan during the month of April, and a portion of the sales are going to earthquake/tsunami relief. Hitachino is actually shutting down production to produce clean bottled water for the Japanese people, so we are supporting their cause by drinking their delicious brews while they’re still available!

TNT will be hooking up with the Japan relief as well. The standard entry fee will be $5, but any extra money donated by competitors signing up will go directly towards our donation to Japan aid. So, bring your generosity as well as your latte art swag! Sign ups at 8PM, pouring at 9PM, cook-outs and beer until then. The weather will be beautiful!

We at the BGA thank Octane Coffee and many others in the coffee community who are assisting in the tragedy of Japan.

Barista Guild Activities at The Event!

2011-04-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

Thursday Night Throwdown

Thursday, April 28 @ 7:00 pm

The BGA is once again throwing the ultimate Thursday Night Throwdown at the Welcome Reception in Houston, Thursday night from 7-10 pm. The competition will be head-to-head bracket style, and open to 32 competitors with a $5 buy in. If you want to be one of 32 and are open to a few surprises, email Heather Perry at heather@klatchroasting.com or Chris Baca at baca@vervecoffeeroasters.com to secure your spot. Hosted by Java Pura Coffee Roasters!

Barista Guild of America Annual Meeting

Sunday, May 1 @ 11:00 am

Please join us on Sunday morning at 11:00am at the US Cup Tasters stage in the Activities Hall for an up to date briefing on the state of the guild from your elected officers on the BGA Executive Council! From Barista Certification to Barista Camp, be informed on the tremendous growth of the group and take part in the discussion on moving the guild into the future! Open to all current BGA members.

Barista Guild of America Party

Sunday, May 1 @ 7:00 pm

After the US Barista Championship, USBC Brewers Cup, and US Cup Tasters have concluded join your fellow BGA Members and competition champions for the final night party you'll want to change your flight for! This years closing Barista Guild party takes place at Anvil Bar & Refuge, an amazing establishment that skillfully produces spirit-forward drinks and hard to score microbrews. We thought it was very fitting to partner with a venue that focuses on returning to the elegant simplicity of a past era when cocktails were fashioned with pride and bartending was a respected profession that took years of apprenticing to master. Join us for a final evening in Houston and an amazing service experience!

Register for the SCAA's 23rd Annual Exposition, The Event,

at www.scaaevent.org

BGA Elections | Executive Council & Chapter Representative Elections Now Open

2011-04-01T15:06:00.000-07:00

DEADLINE TO VOTE: APRIL 15

VOTE NOW

(Only current Barista Guild of America Members may vote in this election)

*****

CANDIDATE PROFILES

Executive Council Candidates

(3 positions open for BGA Executive Council)

Jesse Bladyka, Maglianero, Burlington, VT

How are you involved with Coffee? How does this role fit into the BGA? I am working to open a shop in Burlington, VT, with the hopes of introducing the city to a new level of Specialty Coffee. After a brief foray in wholesale and roasting, I am recommiting to my roots as a Barista, with the goal of bringing a new level of professionalism and respect to the position both within the industry and from the outside. I have participated in barista competitions including USBC '09 and '10, and plan to begin judging at a regional level this year. I also attended the first annual BGA Retreat, and was absolutely thrilled with the level of enthusiasm and momentum of the organization. I have been a barista for my entire adult life, and since being introduced to the national network associated with the SCAA/BGA, I approach my goal of elevating the quality of coffee preparation with a little more vigor.

Why might you be considered leadership material? I was on Student Council in middle school... I take the position of Barista very seriously and I have spent a lot of time working to communicate the craft to new baristas, as well as to the coffee loving community. I have management experience, and genuinely love human interaction. I think the core values of leadership are expressed in the example that you choose to set. If elected, I will lead a positive attitude, focused on progress and the evolution of our industry and our vision as a guild.

What are some accomplishments you would like to see happen in the future of the BGA and/or SCAA? I am very excited about the BGA certifications. I think it's an extremely valuable resource to the nationwide community and I would like to see it expanded and refined. I would also like to see annual revisions to each level, in order to prevent any sort of complacency with the basics (let's remember how we did things just a few years ago). Also, I would like to see more participation from members, not necessarily just at events, but encouraging online dialogue, perhaps establishing a forum, or a network of blogs. I would also like to see more done to "close the circle" between barista and origin. This could include hosting barista trainings for producers, creating an accessible network of origin trips and fundraising ideas for baristas to make their own trip happen. Finally I would like to see the BGA take a role in the GCQRI. I think that this is a great moment in our industry and I would like to see the BGA take advantage of the opportunity in front of us. There may be opportunities to participate in field research, or to contribute to organizational efforts. This cause is something that will greatly further our knowledge of the craft that we practice, as well as increasing the quality of our product.

David Buehrer, Greenway Coffee Co, Houston, TX

How are you involved with Coffee? How does this role fit into the BGA? I am a Barista owner/operator of Greenway Coffee & Tea in Houston, TX. My girlfriend and I just began roasting coffee (she has caught a liking to the roasting aspect of our business) and we are looking to expand to another location this year. The SCAA and Barista Guild have been a huge inspiration and motivation for us to help the burgeoning Houston coffee scene. I would love to give back to the larger community as much as I can, and being an Executive Council member fits into this theology. I also sit on the SCAA Events council as we try to build awareness in the culinary world!

Why might you be considered leadership material? I am here to build communities. I would be honored to support the Barista Guild by bringing my networking and communication abilities and making them available to the barista community nationwide. For example, I have traveled to numerous coffee centric cities, communicating with as many baristas as I can to further my understanding of what it means to be a barista. I would love to continue campaigning the good cause of increasing awareness of specialty coffee and how it interacts with local communities!

What are some accomplishments you would like to see happen in the future of the BGA and/or SCAA? Some accomplishments I would love to be a part of is the increased growth of the SCAA, and in particular the Barista Guild of America. I believe the Barista Guild has the biggest opportunity to give back to it's members based on the special rate given to baristas, as well as educational opportunities utilizing social media and the internet. I would also love to be a part of introducing an education packet that gets mailed directly to all Barista Guild members, almost like a Continuing Education Guidebook gets sent out to Electrical Engineers annually.

Noah Namowicz, Cafe Imports, St. Paul, MN

How are you involved with Coffee? How does this role fit into the BGA? I am at Cafe Imports, a coffee importer in Saint Paul Minnesota, and I work closely with roasters and baristas on a daily basis. My job is to help convey how specific coffees and flavor profiles fit with what a specific roaster or shop is looking to accomplish with their coffee. I love what I do, and through my experience thus far with the BGA, I believe I bring a unique perspective to the BGA coming from a company that works intimately at origin discovering, developing, and importing coffees. Cafe Imports has built an office culture that is extremely supportive of the BGA, and this year developed a new program to give more baristas the opportunity to travel to origin and delve deeper into their seed to cup coffee education. My goal is to continue to build that seed to cup educational component to the BGA through my involvement.

Why might you be considered leadership material? As noted above, building the new origin trip sponsorship category with Marcus this year is a great example of me spearheading a project and building it to fruition with fellow BGA members. I believe that I am the type of person that can work well with others to envision new and exciting projects within the BGA and have the follow through to make sure they are implemented in the best possible way.

What are some accomplishments you would like to see happen in the future of the BGA and/or SCAA? I would love to contribute more hands on educational components to the BGA and SCAA. The BGA and the SCAA already have a proven track record of offering amazing classes to their members, and I feel like this year we can take that a step further and offer on the ground workshops at origin for BGA members. With the use of sponsorship and existing relationships at origin, I believe that we can create an affordable and in depth educational trip specifically for BGA members, similar to what the Roasters Guild has offered its members for years. I would also like to see more community involvement within each region outside of RBC events. I know firsthand that the Twin Cities coffee community has been invigorated by smaller local events that Cafe Imports has helped put on, and with the help of the BGA and the increased awareness they can bring, I believe these smaller events can be more rewarding and further build community on a local level.

Sarah Dooley, Espresso Parts, Olympia, WA

How are you involved with Coffee? How does this role fit into the BGA? I should start with, I really enjoy preparing and consuming coffee. I'm especially excited to serve coffee. My current involvement with coffee has placed me at Espresso Parts as the Director of Events & Education. What does that mean? I have the privilege of working with the staff of EP and very closely our founder/owner Terry Z. to create and develop educational and public relation pieces. These project push innovation and drive curiosity. The BGA fits into this role by presenting the obvious challenges that I crave to continue growing in coffee; structured education, a bigger network to learn/contribute within and access to a coffee focused team of individuals.

Why might you be considered leadership material? I'm hoping to grow my leadership skills through this experience.

Why might you be considered leadership material? As the BGA body of members continues to grow I wonder how we can utilize our unified voice in non-coffee guilds to influence and generate change. This guild is large enough to voice some pretty serious standard changes for baristas, benefits and employment perks. The certifications are solid! We are creating a great base language for baristas so in turn perhaps owners will be pushed to offer special wages and benefits for BGA members. Everyone deserves a little security, a short paid vacation and the promise of at least one focused training experience like camp, to keep them motivated.

Julie Housh, Independent, Washington, DC

How are you involved with Coffee? How does this role fit into the BGA? I am currently the Mid-Atlantic Chapter Representative for the Barista Guild of America, I am a barista at Peregrine Espresso in Washington, DC, and I coordinate DC's Thursday Night Throwdowns. I also work for the World Barista Championship / World Coffee Events coordinating judges certification workshops and acting as a competitor liaison, among other tasks. As to how all of this fits into the BGA - I am a barista and I'm constantly working to support baristas and the specialty coffee community as a whole locally, nationally, and internationally. I think this fits me pretty squarely into the scope of the BGA.

Why might you be considered leadership material? I am a whole-hearted supporter of the Barista Guild. In my year as chapter representative I've been able to attend a number of local events (MANE Coffee Conference, Thursday Night Throwdowns), help run the first Camp Pull-A-Shot, and volunteer at a handful of regional competitions (next up, Houston!). I'll talk to almost anyone who will listen about the BGA. I have solid skills at planning and organizing events - whether it's the DC Thursday Night Throwdowns or judges workshops - and I'll work tirelessly until everything is done. I'm excited about the possibility to continue to be involved in the BGA - whether it's at the next barista camp or making a BGA event happen somewhere one has never happened before.

What are some accomplishments you would like to see happen in the future of the BGA and/or SCAA? In four words: Benefits, Events, Communication, Camp! I'd like to add even more tangible benefits to BGA membership. (And I don't mean BGA-tshirt-tangible.) I'd like to encourage, help with, and participate in events BGA members have dreamed up, planned, and/or executed all around the country. I'd like to accomplish better and more frequent communication between the executive council/chapter representatives and BGA members. I'd like to make sure Camp Pull-A-Shot 2011 even more awesome than Camp Pull-A-Shot 2010.

Seth Lester, Americano To Go Project, Chicago, IL

How are you involved with Coffee? How does this role fit into the BGA? I've been a professional barista for about 7 years now and pulled my first shots for a little cafe in Raleigh, NC, and then with Counter Culture Coffee in Durham, NC, and then back in another cafe in Raleigh, NC. After a few years in coffee, I also got ensnared by the magic of craft cocktails and beer, and the culture behind all beverage has utterly captivated and fascinated me. Two years ago, I decided that I wanted to discover the regional differences between the way coffeeshops and baristas interact with their neighborhood clientele, and also wanted to build my skills as a barista, so I started a project whereby I work in a different city as a barista for 3-4 months at a time, and move to another city and do the same thing, over and over again. Through this project, I have so far lived in 8 different cities (Raleigh, Charlottesville, Richmond, DC, New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Milwaukee) over the course of two years, and in the remaining two-plus years hope to live in 9 more. In each city, I have worked hard to learn as much as I can from the talented baristas I've encountered, and boy have I been lucky. Through the generosity and earnest kindness of each of these cities' wonderful communities of coffee professionals and baristas, I have learned so much about the way American baristas prepare, serve, and enjoy coffee, and can't wait to learn so much more.

Why might you be considered leadership material? From a purely logistical point of view, I've had about three years experience with coffeeshop management and understand key (but totally boring-sounding) business concepts like "profit and loss," "shrink," and "COGS/Margins." I've worked hard to establish myself as a coffee professional that is knowledgeable, respectful, and above all else, kind. When it comes to BGA/SCAA credentials, I am level-one certified (a certification I picked up last year at the Barista Guild's first-ever retreat, Camp Pull-A-Shot, where I met many wonderful and passionate baristas). I am also an SCAA Lead Instructor and will be doing station instruction work at the upcoming SCAA Exposition in Houston. However, I am also new and a relative outsider to the BGA scene. I have only been in the guild a year, and I have met with and talked to baristas from around the country and want to strive to bring their voices and their opinions to the guild's Executive Council. I think a leader's number one asset is his or her ability to listen, and I promise you that I'm no short of ears to lend to the vibrant barista communities out there.

What are some accomplishments you would like to see happen in the future of the BGA and/or SCAA? Through my traveling, I have had the exciting privilege of connecting baristas working on similar projects (both within coffee and other projects regarding music, art, etc.) I have helped baristas find work as they move or transition from one city to another, and have done my best to share with everyone some of the things I've learned (about coffee and about other things, too) along the way. I have really enjoyed putting baristas in touch and establishing collaborative links within our tight-knit industry, but what I would REALLY love is to see lots of baristas doing this! I think the Barista Guild of America should support this kind of collaboration, serving as a support network and the collective backbone of our industry. With everyone's earnest effort, we can create that in the BGA.

Colin Whitcomb, Alterra Coffee Roasters, Milwaukee, WI

How are you involved with Coffee? How does this role fit into the BGA? I work as a barista and as a trainer. I think the BGA works for the betterment of people making coffee by offering classes and building community. Working for the BGA would kind of be like doing what I do now, but on a larger scale, I imagine.

Why might you be considered leadership material? I am even keel, I dislike quick decisions, but I don't mind debate, I am easy to talk to, I am a great listener, I believe in self-awareness and forward progress. I want people to feel included and part of something.

What are some accomplishments you would like to see happen in the future of the BGA and/or SCAA? I think the BGA has a great thing going right now as the guild positions itself as the well-spring of knowledge, education & professionalism for people making coffee and I think that process should continue. I dream of the day individual cities have monthly BGA meetings. I would love us to grow to the point where we could manage the barista competitions. I would like to see us be able to provide higher levels of professional guidance for baristas and help them achieve goals like opening their own business, whether that be roastery, cafe or even consulting.

Alex Negranza, WhyNotCoffee.com

How are you involved with Coffee? How does this role fit into the BGA? It might sound odd, but I am currently taking a break from working as a barista to submerge myself in the otherside of the imbibe culture-spirits. The goal of this project/sabbatical is to learn from the culture of craft cocktails on how they built their profession and industry. I've somehow managed to find myself working at one of the best bars in the country, Tavern Law, which is also owned by the Chefs/Owners of Spur Gastropub. At Tavern Law I'm starting to learn about molecular gastronomy, food pairing, tinctures and infusions as well as flavor profiling and construction. I'm also at Liberty Bar which also has a coffee program with it. The program has been nothing past average, for specialty coffee standards. My role at Liberty is not only on the bar staff, but also as a program advisor for the coffee program. Baristas work the front lines and represent the final product, so I feel that learning from similar industries is crucuial to not only the BGA but also baristas abroad. When I'm not working at the bars, I'm also a SCAA certified judge at regional and national levels for the past 3 years. Being a judge is more than checking yes's or no's or making diagrams and writing numbers- it's a learning process for the culture and communinty. I am also a coffee blogger and photographer. I started Why Not? Coffee to share my thoughts and ideas with people to learn about the aspects of the industry I didn't understand. I'm happy to say that I've learned a lot through community input, including what my role in the BGA would be.

Why might you be considered leadership material? A while back I made a post critiquing the BGA's involvment in the Seattle area community, and through that critique I learned what my local community is looking for, represenatation for our hard work. I think that I'm an honest personality of the coffee community to speak of what I think we need to develop our craft. A leader in the community is someone who is willing to be honest, transparent, as well as intelligent and inspiring. I feel that I am constantly an ambassador for specialty coffee at an honest level with everyone I talk to. My goal isn't to preach, but to educate; I want to have a dialogue that is educational to all parties and to further what I, and many other internationally, do for a living. I might be young in this industry, but I posess a fresh outlook on where I think we need to go as a craft and profession as well as the energy and dedication to work to get it there. There are a lot of people out there who are willing to critique, I'm willing to work to change my own critiques. A leader can't always lead, they also need to follow and go to places that others aren't willing to go to- I think I'm ready to do that.

What are some accomplishments you would like to see happen in the future of the BGA and/or SCAA? I'd love to see BGA do more with representing the craft. I think it'd be beneficial for the BGA to have regional ambassadors for specialty coffee- baristas certified by the BGA to be specialty coffee spokespeople that the community supported. I also think that BGA competition baristas should be encouraged to give competition beverages at the BGA booth for 30 minutes after their competition; I think these baristas need to be encouraged to be representatives to their community and shown how to do so. Local and national ambassadors to the BGA should be the spokespeople for the craft and profession, while being in tune with the SCAA and BGA's development criteria. I also am a firm believer that barista certifications should not cost ANYTHING to BGA members - the development of our craft should not rest on the shoulders of the baristas willing to pay for the "certification" rather the baristas willing to do something about it. Certifications, unfortunately, hold no benefit to our community yet therefore decreasing the value of said certification. We need to work together at street-level to make sure we're representing our craft. It really comes down to individuals willing to make it happen and working to make our craft a true profession.

Great Lakes Chapter Representative Candidates (States: WI, IL, OH, MI)

Chris DeMarse, Alliance World Coffees, Marion, IN

How are you involved with Coffee? How does this role fit into the BGA? I am the director of Quality Control and Coffee Education for my company. I have been involved in Barista competitions for over three years now as well as assisting with jams and brewing at symposium last year. I have a personal investment in and passion for furthering the barista craft. As the head of a coffee program, I have a high value set on the "ambassadorship" of the barista.

Why might you be considered leadership material? I suppose, though this might be relative to other's perceptions, my current role is a consideration. I have oversight of multiple interns in our roastery and am in direct leadership of the head roaster. I am continuously in a role of training people in many matters concerning coffee and its preparation. I helped train Josh Lindstrom, a finalist in our regional brewers cup. I would see my role as having a continual position of training people, so based on that I think that this might be a qualifying factor.

What are some accomplishments you would like to see happen in the future of the BGA and/or SCAA? I would like to see the certification process begin to involve all forms of brewing. While espresso can be one of the most complex in terms of process, there seems to be an increasing necessity for standardization and training on other forms of brewing. I would like to see that become a centerpiece in future educational events. I would also like to see an increase in the regional availability of certification and training events. I would love to be a part of helping foster that, regardless of my position in leadership on concerning the BGA. Please keep me informed of any way I can serve the organization.

Cara Nader, Cuppa Joe, Traverse City, MI

How are you involved with Coffee? How does this role fit into the BGA? I'm currently a manager for three coffee shops and a trainer. When I'm not working a bar shift, or training fellow baristas I am playing with piles of coffee. Tasting, brewing and experimenting with new techniques and crazy brewing ideas. This gives me a great amount of access to new and interesting tools and techniques all of which I love to pass on to fellow baristas. The Barista Guild is all about sharing knowledge and fueling a passionate community. I already do this on a small scale amongst my staff and local baristas. Doing it on a large scale in the whole Great Lakes region could only be full of fun!

Why might you be considered leadership material? I've been a trainer and manager in the world of coffee for 8 years now, which I believe is invaluable leadership experience. I assisted in organizing a small group of volunteers to help with the North Central Regional Barista Competition this year. (which, everyone should volunteer for next year, because it's a great opportunity to watch the action up close and sneak tastes of the drinks after the competitors have finished!) As the current Great Lakes Chapter Rep since late November 2010 I haven't had much opportunity to prove my leadership skills in this particular role, but I greatly look forward to having the chance to be part of the growth of specialty coffee and a stellar community in the Great Lakes region in the future.

What are some accomplishments you would like to see happen in the future of the BGA and/or SCAA? I would like to see the BGA reconnect with the original mission a little more than we currently are. More focus on regional jams, workshops and labs. Affordable events for all baristas and fun community gathers. Some small and local, and some large regional events. Why don't we get a TNT style event going in Chicago in 2011? There are certainly enough passionate baristas, and enough venues that would be willing to rotate hosting. I want to get back to the basics that Billy Wilson highlighted in his 2003 CoffeeGeek article about the BGA. I want to see a free educational section of the blog or BGA website with free articles, tutorials, faqs, written by BGA Chapter Reps and Executive Council Members. Simple things, for example an article on dosing techniques, or leveling, would be exceptionally helpful to a barista just starting out. Make these things available to members only. Bring back a members only forum/message board. A place for BGA members to communicate and share ideas. I would love to help the Barista Guild as well as specialty coffee grow in the Great Lakes region and the rest of the country. Lets make these things happen!

Cody Kinart, Alterra Coffee Roasters, Milwaukee, WI

How are you involved with Coffee? How does this role fit into the BGA? A working barista helping my coworkers, customers, and fellow baristas get PUMPED about specialty coffee. I'm a regional competitor and #camppullashot attendee who can't get enough of the people in our industry. I plan to incorporate my sociability and years of experience to further the voice of the barista, promote quality standards everywhere possible, and keep our great community moving forward. I cherish my co-guild members and believe the Guild has the opportunity to make the biggest impact on Specialty Coffee everywhere.

Why might you be considered leadership material? I like to bring people together, bring coffee to people, and bring the professionalism to everyone involved in our industry. I have the experience, I have the support, and I have the personality to make a great leader to baristas everywhere!

What are some accomplishments you would like to see happen in the future of the BGA and/or SCAA? I would like to see the BGA grow enough to play an even larger part in the SCAA. With more strength in the barista community, we can put our hearts and our knowledge into progressing the standards of coffee quality. More than ever, there are people who care about the future in specialty coffee and I think we, the baristas, are the answer. Industry wide, I would like to see more public information and awareness coming from the SCAA about current states of coffee.

Colin Whitcomb, Alterra Coffee Roasters, Milwaukee, WI (SEE ABOVE)

Mid Atlantic Chapter Representative Candidates (PA, NJ, DE, MD, DC)

Allie Caran, Woodberry Kitchen, Baltimore, MD

How are you involved with Coffee? How does this role fit into the BGA? I have worked as a barista/coffee somelier at a farm-to-table restaurant, called Woodberry Kitchen, just a little over four years, in Baltimore, MD. Our menu focuses on highlighting Chesapeake Bay classics, with a heavy emphasis on supporting local agriculture through transparent and sustainable relationships. Woodberry is staffed every night with two to three highly trained baristas. Our designated coffee bar showcases Direct Trade seasonal coffee's from Counter Culture. And, our entire waitstaff is educated and well-versed in describing not only coffee processes and flavor profiles, but a certain affect for change and latent potential that coffee holds. I believe that Woodberry can light a spark in not just the Baltimore Barista scene, but to every guest that dines with us every night, though great coffee and an empathetic approach to the guest experience. For the past year, we have religiously held 10:00 am. Friday Public Cuppings inside the restaurant. It has catalyzed incredible communication and conversation between baristas and their guests. Isn't that what its all about? Embracing the diversity of people, networking, and readily available eduction to the community at large? One of the things that we accomplished this year, which ties into that sentiment, is a workshop we held geared towards the Mid-Atlantic Barista & Bartender Community. The event was called Ideas in Food, hosted by Woodberry and Chef Alex Talbot. The two day workshop focused particularly on utilizing molecular gastronomy for competing and/or interested baristas and bartenders. Its goal was to learn the importance of understanding flavor profiles in food and its relationship to beverage though hydrocoloids. For me, I want to deepen the coffee scene in Baltimore for both the baristas and the public at large. I like to think that this is just the beginning of something.

Why might you be considered leadership material? In a way my last answer sort of gets married to this question. I run a successful coffee program. I have hired/trained/loved a staff of baristas, who are quite possibly some of the most incredible people in the world...the kind of people that make you want to be better and work harder. As said before, I run free Public Friday Cuppings geared for first time cuppers. And, I am currently looking to create more classes geared for Baristas, utilizing the tools I have at the restaurant.

What are some accomplishments you would like to see happen in the future of the BGA and/or SCAA? This year has been an amazing year for me in coffee. Camp-pull-a-shot was a very special thing for me because of the relationship I was able to have with El Salvadorian producer, Aida Battle. At Camp, we worked very hard to get our Level 1 Barista Certification. Which we both passed ( WOO WOO)! That relationship has been so special for me...and in alot of ways, pushed me to question more and more things regarding my role in coffee industry. The role of a barista in relationship to roasters and producers. About three weeks ago, I visited Aida....and I'm pretty sure, although I feel as though I am still absorbing alot of that trip....that I have never truly understood the difficulty of producing coffee. In a way, that is the most tangible thing you can do as a barista...pay homage through lazer-like focus, empathetic service, and a curiosity and questioning to all things coffee and food related. But, the hardest part of it all is trying to translate those moments and incorporate them into your every day practice. I think that this feeling would be beneficial for baristas. To maybe have a deeper investigation into those moments and realizations. In order to do this, its necessary to increase the understanding of what the SCAA and the BGA do....or even the fact that they do it all for baristas... and help make all this information more and more available to them. And, with that comes beautiful things....great access to great information, good professional development....and a betterment to the whole coffee world at large. It was essential for me a couple years ago to realize that there was this whole world of coffee outside of Baltimore...and I think that that kind of feeling, the understanding that there are other people in coffee out there, and that they want to interact and learn....well that feeling will build a network that will be the ultimate defining voice of the specialty coffee industry.

Faith Ortiz, Spruce Street Espresso, Philadelphia, PA

How are you involved with Coffee? How does this role fit into the BGA? I am currently co-owner and manager of Spruce St Espresso in Philadelphia, Pa. I have worked in the specialty coffee for 3 years and am still loving, learning, and growing in both the business and the coffee industry. I encourage my baristas to be active members in the coffee community here in Philadelphia (go to other coffee shops, try coffee from different roasters, attend cuppings), as well as SCAA events, such as barista jams, NERBC, and latte art throw downs. My experience in the Philadelphia coffee scene, local and international interaction with coffee shop owners, baristas, and farmers, and my personal love of coffee are simpatico with the goals of the BGA.

Why might you be considered leadership material? I think of leadership as a process versus a finite quality. Responsibilities evolve daily due to new information, clientele, and employees. Communication skills are crucial to a leader. These include the ability to educate, manage, and interact with people both socially and professionally. I feel that leaders need to be constantly updating their skills and information base. This allows them to lead teach by example versus by dictating. The ability to help staff and clients handle change of any kind is crucial to the leadership role. When a leader builds a foundation based on trust and models every expectation that they would have of an employee, they are able to handle the change.

What are some accomplishments you would like to see happen in the future of the BGA and/or SCAA? I'd like to see more baristas become certified and be proud of their craft. Opportunities to learn and share areas of expertise need to explored. The tools that the SCAA and BGA provide a perfect example of how a barista can grow. As a business owner, I know it can be hard to remain current in all areas of coffee and business responsibilities. My baristas often compete with me in regard to coffee information. Lastly, the BGA a networking opportunity for baristas from all over the country to share their knowledge and meet other great coffee folks.

Midwest Chapter Representative Candidates (ND, SD, NE, KS, MN, IA, MO)

Joseph A. Marrocco, Kaldi's Coffee Roasting Company, Saint Louis, MO

How are you involved with Coffee? How does this role fit into the BGA? I am the Coffee Educator for Kaldi's Coffee Roasting Company in Saint Louis, Missouri. This means that I head up our barista training program for all seven locations. I also lead the training program for our wholesale customers, of which we have well over 300. I am actively assisting in developing the training programs for some of the larger multi-location companies that use our coffee. I attend and assist with regional BGA sanctioned events and have some great ideas for even more in the future. I am also involved in the Barista Competitions. I have competed at the U.S. level for the last two seasons and hope to three-peat this year.

Why might you be considered leadership material? That is my job. I coordinate our lead baristas. My job is to ensure that our baristas have the tools and skills needed to not only make great coffee, but to love their job, educate their customers and foster a coffee culture here in Saint Louis. As their leader, I work hard to stay abreast of the trends and progress within our industry. I work also to stay current on what is going on in the culinary world outside of coffee, i.e. cocktails, beer, restaurants, etc...

What are some accomplishments you would like to see happen in the future of the BGA and/or SCAA? My leadership style is: example. I work to refine myself, educate myself and grow as a coffee professional, but more as a person. I work to instill a sense of ownership and self-motivation in those I lead. I know that I can add a lot to the Barista Guild as a community builder and link to other parallel industries. Growth Effectiveness within the smaller communities that are part of our larger communities. More community activity at the ground level. More customer service focus. More training and testing opportunities. More certifications, and more recognition for those who have these certifications. More connection to the rest of our culinary world. For instance, I would love it if the BGA had sanctioned event the were coordinated with wine, cheese, beer, baking, cooking, etc... events at the community and national level.

Robbie Britt, Dynamite Espresso, Morley, MO

How are you involved with Coffee? I have been a barista in specialty coffee for 8 years. For Espresso Parts I provide consulting, training, and education to baristas, cafes, roasters, and start-up businesses globally. I also support businesses through equipment sales and our wholesale program. I have competed in regional and national barista competitions for the last 3 years. As Proprietor of Dynamite Espresso, I will be providing specialty coffee and education in non-traditional settings in the Midwest with mobile espresso and catering. I actively pursue ways to strengthen our barista community both nationally and internationally through travel and social media.

How does this role fit into the BGA? Through Espresso Parts, I talk to baristas daily on the phone and in person. Every topic imaginable is discussed: How to make better espresso, how do I improve station maintenance and waste management, what is the best equipment for my application, how can I implement a manual brewing program in my cafe...My job is to pull from my experience when possible and point people to the right resources and places when able. My job is to help baristas make better coffee, period. Through Dynamite Espresso, I want to do my part to contribute to the specialty coffee experience in the Midwest as a barista and business owner.

Why might you be considered leadership material? At this point in my career, I have worked in multiple leadership positions in our industry: Manager, trainer, consultant, cafe design and layout, etc. I have worked in virtually every position possible in the coffee retailer environment. With this experience I can lead by example, and provide help and support to those who are seeking help in these areas. One of my favorite positions is that of barista trainer. I sincerely enjoy helping baristas make better coffee. I have seen this come to fruition numerous times through the simple adage: passion breeds passion. I also understand that I don't know everything and to be a good leader, I must also be constantly learning and growing in my career. I continually pursue ways to sharpen my skills and knowledge through job experience, other culinary arts, events, competitions, literature, and conversations.

What are some accomplishments you would like to see happen in the future of the BGA and/or SCAA?
I would like to see regional offerings of the BGA Certifications to be able to offer this training to as many baristas as possible. I also would like to see events and education responsibilities shared in such a way that the leadership doesn't have to feel responsible for providing everything, every time. A process for the EC to train Regional Reps and then they can train "District Reps" and so on.

Northeast Chapter Representative (NH, VT, ME, MA, RI, CT, NY)

Juliet Han, Maglianero Cafe & Coffee Lab, Burlington VT

How are you involved with Coffee? How does this role fit into the BGA? I am currently working as a lab assistant at Coffee Lab International (CLI) and will be an assistant manager for a specialty coffee oriented cafe called Maglianero opening in April here in Vermont. I am very excited to be able to assist in nurturing a better coffee culture here (there is room next to the cheeses and beers Vermonters!). Between CLI's emphasis in education and Maglianero's mission statement about community, I can't see a better fit within BGA's ideals with baristas and its community. Everything I've Iearned and continue to learn as my "role" with coffee evolves, should be shared.

Why might you be considered leadership material? Loving what I do is enough motivation to want to learn more and do it right while sharing that with others! I am self motivated and rather than waiting on others to make it happen, I rather do it myself (call me impatient or the oldest sister of two younger brothers) and learn from those mistakes. I believe communication and honesty is key in any project.

What are some accomplishments you would like to see happen in the future of the BGA and/or SCAA? I attended the 2010 RI Barista Conference and left completely inspired. I would like to see more of those happen. In a very general sense, I would like to see more barista oriented events that provide education/mentors/tools for baristas to take back to teach their peers and customers.

Todd Mackey, New Harvest Roasters, Pawtucket, RI

Brian Clemens, Mulch Coffee, Scottsdale, AZ

Find answers to your questions

2011-03-25T13:27:00.000-07:00

It's not guaranteed that every question will have an answer, but on the SCAA expo website there is a FAQ page with a healthy dose of answers.

And even if you weren't pondering a question, reading through some of these answers is a great way to learn how our specialty industry works.

* There is a Professional Development section about half way down on the page that may be most useful to BGA and other info related to what is behind the curtain of Professional Development.

CLICK HERE

Currently on the Event Calendar

2011-03-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

Hello Baristas,

Just a friendly reminder here to check out our upcoming events page. There's been a handful of new events added.

April 1 - BGA level 1 testing and CP103 intro to customer service available in Seattle
April 3 - Atlanta Manual Brewing Battle
April 3 - Kansas City Rosettas for Relief
April 7 - NYC Rosettas for Relief
April 9 - NYC Coffee People Party
April 28 - May 1: United States Barista Championship, Cup Taster's Championship, & United States Brewer's Cup

Don't forget - you can also use your BGA Membership to login to scaa.org where you can see more detailed information about these upcoming events.

If you're a bga member and have an event you'd like us to communicate you can email your chapter rep, an EC member, or me, scottlucey @ gmail . com

Get Started on your Barista Guild Certification at the SCAA Event!

2011-03-23T18:08:00.000-07:00

Barista Guild Level 1 Certification

Did you know? All five of the required courses and the Level 1 Certification Exam will be available at the SCAA's 23rd Annual Exposition, The Event, held in Houston, Texas April 28 - May 1.

Sample Itinerary for completing your Level 1 Certification:

Friday: Take CP151 (Introduction to Coffee Brewing & Extraction) in the morning and CP103 (Introduction to Customer Service) in the afternoon.

Saturday: Take CP101 & CP102 (Introduction to Espresso Part 1 & 2) (this is a 6-hour class with a 90-minute lunch - experienced baristas can take the Level 1 Exam during the lunch break)

Sunday: GE103 (Introduction to Cupping) in the morning, and then join us for USBC and USBC Brewers Cup Finals in the Activities Hall!

* Please note: experienced baristas can choose to pursue and obtain Level 1 Certification by achieving a passing score in CP190 AND attending CP103 (may test out of all other requirements).

Barista Guild Certification courses for Levels 2 & 3 are also available. To see the list of available courses that will be given at the SCAA's 23rd Annual Exposition, The Event, click here!

View the complete list of requirements for BGA Certification Levels 1, 2 & 3

NYC Coffee People Party - Saturday April 2

2011-03-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

Head over to shotzombies.com for a bit more info & a helpful map.

It's open nomination time for new leadership

2011-03-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and members of the Barista Guild of America.

Spring is the time of the year for our annual SCAA expo, which is also the time of year we cycle through the members of our leadership who have spent they're required time as either an executive council director or chapter representative.

Both executive council directors and chapter representatives commit to a two year term.

The BGA will have 3 open spots on the executive council and 4 open spots as chapter representatives. The regions for our chapter representatives will remain the same despite regional changes to the USBC organization. The four regions open for new representatives are: The Great Lakes, Northeast, Southwest, and Mid-Atlantic.

If you, or someone you know would be willing to commit to the responsibilities of being a BGA leader, fill out the nomination form which can be found on the home page of the BGA website - or you can simply click here.

To learn more about the responsibilities asked of BGA leaders, have a look at the guild's by-laws, which are found on the about page of the BGA website, located in paragraph one. Or you can simply click here to see the by-laws.

Nominations for new leaders will close one week from today - March 28.

You our members will vote for our next round of leaders. Voting will be open from April 1 through April 15.

It's always an exciting time to see who is willing to step up and why. We look forward to processing nominations, and stay tuned for your online ballots.

remember when...

2011-03-11T10:17:00.000-08:00

The year: 2003. The Barista Guild of America was just about to be born. Barista Billy Wilson wrote an article for the website coffeegeek.com.

In it, he specifically speaks of the importance for all baristas to be involved, especially the most awarded. He says this about then US Champion Heather Perry,

"Perry is a skilled competitor and trainer, and obviously has passion for the art of the Barista, yet she has no visible presence in the Guild, nor has she indicated any interest in the Guild. The SCAA has an active Barista bulletin board, but Perry's voice is not heard there, nor here in CoffeeGeek's community forums. I recognize that no one is compelled to join the Guild (or to participate in the online Barista community); but it will be harder to advance our craft unless the established (and award winning) Baristi are all on board. It would be a boon to have Perry taking an active role, and I am sure the hand is always extended, should she choose to get involved."

Read the rest of the article here

If there ever were evidence that anything can happen that would be a good example. To those who might not know, Perry went on to join the leadership council and work her way up to the chair-holder role.

Don't forget, Mr. Dominy in the post below is asking to hear the voice of our members. This is a guild founded by members for members. We'd like to hear from you.

We Need Your Input! What Do You Want From The BGA?

2011-03-01T17:13:00.000-08:00

I am currently working on my 2011-2012 initiatives for the BGA to be unveiled at Expo in April, and I need your help. As you know, the BGA is member-driven and member-run. So, with that, I need some input from you as to what you want out of the BGA. What do you see as important needs in your area? How can the BGA better support you where you live? We certainly have our own ideas and thoughts, but unless they match up with what our membership is looking for, we're wasting our time. So, give me your thoughts below in the comments section. I can assure you each one will be read and contribute to the Executive Council's plans for continuing to push the BGA forward to the guild we all want and are proud of. Thank you in advance, and thanks for your continued support!
jason dominy,
incoming chair.

SWRBC Barista Buddy Guide Now Online!

2011-03-01T15:40:00.000-08:00

The BGA Barista Buddy Guide for the South West Regional Barista Competition is now available online! Check out Mac Pearce's tips and hints for navigating the Los Angeles area while you're in town this weekend.

VIEW BARISTA BUDDY GUIDE NOW

Check out fun local hot spots, restaurants, cafés, places to pick up last minute supplies for the competition, and read about why Mac loves coffee, the BGA and Southern California!

Real Coffee Community Building In Dallas.

2011-02-22T16:07:00.000-08:00

On February 7th, over 40 baristas and coffee lovers gathered at one of Dallas' newest shops, Stir Coffee, for the first in what will become monthly Dallas/Fort Worth-area Barista Jams.

The Jam kicked off with a comparative brew method tasting led by Nathan Shelton of Cultivar Coffee & Stir Coffee. Guatemala Finca Vista Hermosa "La Vega" Microlot was brewed using the V60, Chemex, & Press Pot to highlight the subtle nuances of the coffee that were brought forward or masked by each manual brew method.

David Buehrer, owner of Greenway Coffee in Houston, TX and SCAA allied events committee member talked about the SCAA Event in Houston this year and what it means for the Texas coffee community. David encouraged everyone to volunteer and take advantage of the coffee classes that will be offered at the Event. (Houston Event committee member?)

Lorenzo Perkins, current South Central Regional Barista Competition Champion came up from Caffe Medici in Austin to talk about competition, and shed some light on what it takes to compete in the Barista competition. Lorenzo along with Jonathan Meadows (5th place SCRBC) of Cultivar Coffee encouraged more baristas from Dallas to compete this year, stressing how much preparing for and competing in the barista competition had helped them grow as coffee professionals.

The night was topped off with a 16 barista head-to-head Latte Art Throwdown. Nathan Shelton took 3rd and a free BGA membership. Jared Hamilton of Global Peace Factory took 2nd and a gift card to Good2Go Tacos(the restaurant that hosts Stir Coffee). Lorenzo Perkins walked away the winner of this throwdown with pride(and the money pool).

It was a good night for the Dallas coffee community.

BGA Members Only Party at SERBC! Sat. Feb. 12th!

2011-01-31T18:10:00.000-08:00

Friday, February 12th from 8pm-11pm. Octane Coffee, Atlanta.
BBQ from local favorite Fox Bros. BBQ.
Drink Specials from our friends at Octane.
Manual Brewing Throwdown. We will have Clever, Chemex, Aeropress, V60, beehouse, French Press and Siphon.
And more fun than you can shake a stick at.
BGA Members plus one guest.
BGA Memberships will be available at the door.
More details will be posted when becomes available. You won't wanna miss it.

Barista Buddy Program Returns for 2011

2011-01-17T13:05:00.000-08:00

Do you remember the barista buddy program we created for the WBC in Atlanta? Well the idea is back for the 2011 regional barista competitions as well as the USBC in Houston.

If you're thinking about getting involved with barista competitions, think about helping as a barista buddy.

The idea is to provide all competing baristas with a buddy that will be there to support and assist, whether it be making a run to the closest market or helping to iron a table cloth, your help will be greatly appreciated.

We're currently working on creating "barista buddy" as an option on the volunteer registration page, but for now feel free to register to volunteer at your regional's page, which you can find at usbaristachampionship.org.

If you're interested in being a buddy you can also email BGA Chair Scott Lucey at scottlucey@gmail.com to discuss further and get connected to your chapter representative, or of course contact your chapter representative directly. Contact info can be found at baristaguildofamerica.net/contact.html

Here's a brief overview of the Buddy Code of Conduct and Expectations:

- Do Not answer any competition or score sheet questions, please direct those questions to an organizing member of the SCAA.

- Attend competitor's meeting taking place the Friday and Saturday mornings before competition.

- If you've made any commitments prior to the competition, please make it a point to communicate that information to an organizing SCAA/BGA member in your region.

- Be available during practice time slots for competitors.

- Always be available during the hours of competition.

- Be there for the announcement of the finalists and winners if possible.

Competitor's Code of Conduct

- Please be upfront with your Buddy about how much help you would like.

- Please do not expect your buddy to purchase anything for you without you reimbursing them.

- Please respect your buddies time.

We thank all who may be interested in helping, it's with your help that our coffee community is as great as it is.

Five Questions With A BGA Member- Jessica Brooks.

2011-01-09T14:14:00.000-08:00

This installment of Five Questions features Jessica Brooks, whose the Education & Training Specialist for Allegro Coffee Company in Denver, Colorado. She like long walks on the beach, listening to Gomez, and drinking good hard cider. She also wears glasses, but that's irrelevant. She competed in last year's USBC, and Here's her five questions. Enjoy, and if you live near her, buy her a cup of coffee the next time you see her.

1. Why are you a BGA member?
It makes me want to be more involved in the barista community both locally and on a larger level. There are so many baristas out there doing some really great things - they make me want to be better. That's really the whole point, right?

2. What's the best part of being in the coffee industry?
I am always learning something. Just when I think I know what I am tasting or talking about with some level of certainty, I learn something new that keeps me on my toes. It's really limitless.

3. What's your favorite cheese?
A nice sharp English farmhouse cheddar, served with some crusty bread and pickles.

4. If you could make coffee for anyone, who would it be and what and how would you make it?
I would make Bolivian Café Takesi brewed on a Technivorm or a vacuum pot. Delicious. I would make it for no one in particular, just anyone willing to try it. On second thought, anyone willing to try and maybe for Steve Martin if he brings his banjo.

5. Who's your favorite band or artist?
I am slightly obsessed with the band Gomez. Great live show and they don't take themselves too seriously.

New 2010 NWRBC Info Session!

2010-12-28T11:50:00.000-08:00

After the success of our Seattle NWRBC Seattle info session, BGA EC members Sarah Dooley and Anne Nylander, along with USBC judge Heather Ringwood are bringing the event to the Batdorf and Bronson Training Facility in Olympia, WA. RSVP with Sarah Dooley at sarah@marketcoffeeproject.com.

NWRBC Info SEssion - Dec. 22nd 2010 Seattle, WA

2010-12-15T17:53:00.001-08:00

Now that registration for the 2011 NWRBC is open, we wanted to share a new event next week at Visions Espresso in Seattle:

SE vs. PNW Manual Brewing Battle? At least ATL vs OLY.

2010-12-13T18:38:00.000-08:00

January Manual Brewing Battle. Atlanta vs. Olympia! Jan. 16th.

January, Atlanta and Olympia will play host to the first Coast to Coast Manual Brewing Battle. Batdorf & Bronson has been hosting Manual Brewing Battles out of their Atlanta Roastery since June, and their Olympia Roastery has organized two there. January's event will pit the best baristas from around the Atlanta (and surrounding) area against baristas from around Olympia (and surrounding areas.) How's that possible?

There will be three judges per side of the country. One coffee professional, one average coffee customer, and one local chef. Brews will be blind judged based on the attributes of aroma, flavor, body, and balance. All baristas will use the same coffee, available to be picked up for practice a week before the event from the respective Roastery. Baristas may use any manual brewing method they wish. They will have 10 minutes to submit their brew to the judges via runner.
All scores will be tabulated on each coast, and winners will be those with the highest individual score irregardless of location. This is not a team event. Judges will be in contact via Skype Video on each coast.
There will be great prizes for First, Second and Third Place.

The special guest chef judge in Atlanta will be Chef Steven Satterfield, of the highly acclaimed restaurant "Miller Union." Miller Union was named one of the "Top Ten New Restaurants of 2010" by Bon Appetit Magazine and Esquire Magazine. They were named the "Best New Restaurant for 2010" by Atlanta Magazine.

Special Guest Coffee Professional Judge for Atlanta will be Ben Helfen, from Counter Culture Coffee, formerly of the amazing Octane Coffee.

Special Guest Coffee Customer in Atlanta will be Matthew Campisi, a local coffee fan who frequents all the local coffee shops in Atlanta.

Special Guest Coffee Professional Judge for Olympia will be Sarah Dooley, from Espresso Parts NW. She also represents the BGA.
Other Judges for Olympia will be announced.

There will be live music at both Roasteries. In Atlanta, Chimp Attack, featuring Aaron Shively and Bryan Martin, both roasters at our Atlanta Roastery. Olympia band Pinniped will be dropping mad Celtic-inspired musical madness in OLY. There will also be food and drinks.

We want to see as many baristas as possible compete! Especially baristas from around the SE who've been in the shadow of our Pacific NW brethren for so long.

More info on the event can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=110626709009935

Louisville Coffee Community Gets Some Love

2010-12-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

Head over to the Prima-Coffee web site and read up on their recent "Barista Bash." They've got a nice recap and a handful of great looking photos to tell the story of their Friday night event that, by the sounds of it, was a smashing success.

And don't forget! We love helping our members promote their events. Get in touch w/ your region's chapter rep or you can email Maria Hill at mhill@scaa.org and she'll coordinate BGA leaders to at least throw up a blog post, email blast, or both!

Five Questions With A BGA Member- Jaime Caylor.

2010-12-08T16:38:00.000-08:00

I gotta be honest. I don't know Jaime. I wasn't able to find a picture of them. I'm not totally sure where they work, but I know they live around Milwaukee. I do know that Jaime's a BGA member, and probably works at a Fiddleheads Coffee Roasters shop. If you know Jaime, tell them they made the big time with this blog post, and should consider getting some pictures out there on the internet along with some info bout what they're doing up there. Cheers Jaime!

1. What's the best part of being a barista?
I am in it for the money. Hah, joking! I love pouring out my heart (or rosetta) for customers every day!
2. What coffee has you excited lately?
I have been ecstatic to be a part of a coffee cafe that is celebrating one delicious year of its roasting endaevors. If you know anything about coffee in the Milwaukee area, you know that Alterra and Stonecreek have had the market cornered. Its awesome to see Fiddleheads Coffee Roasters get on the scene with some of the freshest, roasted to order coffee out there!
3. What's your favorite reality show?
Cheaters. If I'm not pouring lattes, I'm watching Cheaters.
4. Why are you a BGA member?
Its the best way to stay connected, and you get a cool membership card.
5. What's the coffee community like in your neck of Wisconsin?
Milwaukee is where its at! Its an exciting time to be a barista in this city. I had the privilage of standing next to Gianni Cassatini while watching Mike Phillips work is magic on the bar at the Great Lakes Regional Barista Championship this year. A few short months later, a local shop held their annual Barista Jam, I was unable to attend (working my own magic on the bar at Fiddleheads) but I heard it was fabulous! Milwaukee has great coffee and talented baristas and its wonderful to be a part of it

Welcomes and Thanks.

2010-12-08T14:28:00.000-08:00

We'd like to take a second and introduce you to our newest members of our BGA Leadership. Our newest member of the Executive Council is Sarah Dooley, who resides in Seattle, and works for Espresso Parts NW. She's been a big fan of the BGA for quite some time, and has been extremely active in the Pacific NW in helping create a better barista culture. She also started the Seattle Disloyalty Card, as well as putting on many great events in that area. We are excited to have her on the EC for the passion and wealth of knowledge she brings.

(Baca and Dooley.)
With that being said, we want to personally acknowledge the service of Ben Helfen, from Octane Coffee in Atlanta, who recently stepped down to devote more time to his job at Octane, opening a new shop for them, and more importantly, to his wife and unborn son. Ben has worked tirelessly over the past couple of years for the BGA, and if you were at Expo-Anaheim, you saw the amazing amount of work he did to pull off the BGA Cafe which was a huge success. He is one of the best baristas in the country, a great leader, and a great friend to many, including myself. So, shoot him a message and tell him how much you appreciate his service to the BGA.

(Ben and his lovely wife Brooke.)
We also elected a new Chapter Rep for the Great Lakes is Cara Nader, who lives in Traverse City, Michigan and manages at Cuppa Joe there. She's been in coffee for the past 7 years, and has been a competitor both at regionals and the Millrock Latte Art Competitions. She's been very active in the Great Lakes, and will be an incredible asset to the BGA in that region. Welcome her when you get a chance!