Have you ever dreamed of naming an espresso blend? It would be weird if you had – you ought to be dreaming about far more interesting things. But as far as your waking hours are concerned, having a chance to name an espresso blend actually sounds pretty cool. Turns out the folks at Taylor Maid Farms Coffee & Tea – recently featured at our Cupping California extravaganza in San Francisco – are ready and willing to offer the public just such a chance at titular blended glory.

Spotted via Barista Magazine’s essential Facebook Wire:

CONTEST ALERT! We’re launching a new espresso this fall, and WE WANT YOU TO NAME IT! Submit entries to marketing@taylormaidfarms.com through September 16 including your name, email address and phone number. Winner enjoys epic bragging rights, 25lbs of our new espresso and your mug shot on our website. Send as many entries as you like, from the silly to the sublime. We have Central and South American Arabicas, both natural and washed processes represented in our new espresso. Think juicy berry and stone fruit notes with a buttery viscosity and a chocolatey mouth feel for the flavor!

Well that sounds great! It got our faculties burning but we want you, our readers, to win big on this competition. We’ll help you prime your pump! The best way to win big is to draw inspiration from others! What are some common themes for how espresso blends are named? We’ve isolated a few trends:

• Woodland creatures and quirky rodents  (e.g. Red Fox Blend)
• Children’s activities (e.g. Pizza Party!)
• Old timey slang (e.g. Dagnabbit Blend)
• Viral Internet memes (e.g. Honey Boo Boo Blend)
• Fads from the 90s (e.g. Roller Blade Blend, Urkel Blend, Slap Bracelet Blend, POG Blend, Big League Brew, etc.)

Happy naming and good luck! Send those entries to this here e-mail address.

The post Name That Brew: A Contest That’s Taylor Maid For You! appeared first on Sprudge.com.

Our friends at Soyuz Coffee Roasting have done it again! Barista champions from all over the world are flying to Moscow to take part in the Spasskaya Tower international Military Music Festival, where thousands upon thousands will descend upon their service station in Red Square to order up specialty coffee by the gallons. There will be fireworks! Marching bands! Latte art! Champagne! Signature drinks! It’s a wild worldwide whirlwind of wondrous whimsy! Here’s the list of big-time champion baristas:

Appearing September 1–4:

• Raul Rodas, Guatemala, 2012 World Barista Champion
• Alejandro Mendez, El Salvador, 2011 World Barista Champion
• Daniel Mendez, 2012 Barista Champion of El Salvador
• Monika Palova, 2012 Barista Champion of Slovakia
• Francesco Sanapo, 2011 Barista Champion of Italy

Appearing September 5–8

• Chris Loukakis, Greece, 2011 World Latte Art Champion
• Coen van Sprang, 2012 Barista Champion of the Netherlands
• Ricardo Azofeifa Mora, 2012 Barista Champion of Costa Rica
• Javier Garcia, 2011 Barista Champion of Spain
• Stefanos Domatiotis, 2012 World Barista Championship Finalist, and 6-time Barista Champion of Greece

Sounds amaaaaazing! Last year we covered the event from head-to-toe, including exclusive interviews with each of the participating baristas and an in-depth look at the festival’s enormously popular signature drink. You can relive our exhaustive coverage here. This year we’re unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts, so we’ll be following along with Barista Magazine’s Pasteboard weblog for all the down-and-dirty details!

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