Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood stole our hearts with his 6th place finish at the 2012 World Barista Championship in Vienna. We’d never heard of the gent before that weekend in Vienna, but we wound up learning all there was to know about Mr. Colonna-Dashwood and his Bath, UK based cafe, Colonna and Small’s. C&S has a well-written blog, and we’re particularly keen on this recent post from Mr. Colonna-Dashwood on the value of barista competitions, especially when it comes to distinguishing truly special coffee experiences with plain old coffee time. Take it away:

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[quote style=”boxed”]Treating speciality coffee as a specialist product and displaying it in an appropriate way is exactly what the competitions achieve.[/quote]

Yes! Our thoughts, exactly.

Tell us more! [quote style=”boxed”]When I think about it, the model our shop has developed resembles a hybrid cross between an efficient hospitable coffee shop and the presentation of a barista competition, coupled with a few other devices to prep expectation.[/quote]

This makes us really want to visit Colonna and Small’s, and it might well do so for you. But in the meantime, read the rest of his spot-on post “What Barista Competitions Have To Say About Serving Speciality Coffee”.

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