The Metro may be closed in DC, but that’s not stopping droves of java seekers from finding their buzz at Peregrine Espresso. According to Peregrine’s Twitter feed, both MidCity and Eastern Market locations will stay open until 9PM tonight. Petula Dvorak of the Washington Post reports:

Baristas carpooled, bicycled and walked to work to help caffeinate the masses.

“A lot of our employees live nearby, so they could walk,” said Randy Kindle, as the wind howled outside and he poured another espresso.

Peregrine had a little fun at Dvorak’s expense, quoting a real humdinger of a line on Twitter:

My country tis of thee, sweet land of coffee, for thee I brew.

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It takes around three hours to travel between Philadelphia and DC. It’s takes around four to five hours if you stop for John’s Roast Pork sandwiches, a tiny hole-in-the-wall that is littered with James Beard awards and “Best Sandwich” placards. You might also lose a little extra time if you stop at the gas station for Jalapeno Ranch Blast Ruffles, “real cheese” Toasted Sandwich crackers, and Sour Patch Kids. Oh, and do take an extra half hour to pay your respects to the late Divine at her grave in Towsen, Maryland (don’t forget to “leave makeup, food, and graffiti“).

So all-in-all, it takes around 6  hours to travel between Philadelphia and DC.

IMHO, the Counter Culture Coffee DC Training Center is perhaps the most refined of the bunch, located as it is on the second floor of a beautiful building in the middle of Adams Morgan. The view from the roof is just stunning, and the space itself is just so darn charming. Fermentation & Fruit Bombs continued its tour here in this space, bringing together around 45 DC residents, including newcomer Faith Ortiz, formally of Spruce St. Espresso in Philadelphia.

So how was my evening? Well, Tim Hill busted out his cupping (profiled in Philly here and Boston here), then Katie Carguilo busted out her fermentation presentation (profiled here and here). How was yours?

We threw together a little video of Katie’s signature beverage presentation, which BTW is caps lock DELICIOUS. Check it out:

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Stray Observations:

• Julia’s Empanadas are great. But if you’re going to go across the street from the Training Center to the Jack Rose Dining Saloon, it’s best to eat at least ten or fifteen of those empanadas first, especially if you’re going there for an endless whisky/scotch tasting flight. Oy. 
• A cafe called Tryst in Adams Morgan is chockablock with DC power bloggers. Most were sipping a beverage called the Chaipuccino, which is like a frozen dirty chai. It’s absolutely the most perfect hang over treat.
• You absolutely have to check out the new Peregrine Espresso at Union Market, which is like the Ponce City Market, which is like the Chelsea Market, which is like the Ferry Building.
• When I get back home, I’m going to start hanging all of my brewing equipment up like this.

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We sat down digitally with one of this year’s USBC Finalists, Travis Beckett, of Peregrine Espresso in Washington, DC, to discuss his 2012 USBC run. In all honesty, we didn’t know a lot about Mr. Beckett coming into the national competition in Portland, but we’re sure familiar with Peregrine, a fine Counter Culture Coffee cafe located in a space formerly occupied by murky coffee, Nick Cho’s mid-2000s third wave bellweather shop (where 1/2 of Sprudge.com once toiled, along with 2012 USBC champ Katie Carguilo and many other industry notables). This was Mr. Beckett’s first time at nationals, and only his second competition season overall. But his was not a “dark horse” run; playing to a packed house on Finals Sunday, Travis exuded the same easy grace and gentle hospitality you’d find at a garden party, or a slow afternoon at your favorite cafe. For us, Mr. Beckett’s routine at the United States Barista Championship was a revelation of his talent, and a highlight amongst a very competitive and entertaining field. Let’s chat with him, shall we?

Hey Travis, thanks for your time. First – did you have an overarching theme for your presentation?

The environment I wanted to create was that of a backyard cocktail party – relaxing, classy, pleasant. This helped me choose the table settings, the music, and dictated my demeanor. The theme for my presentation was the ‘aha moment’ with coffee… I feel like every coffee person has a story about that first cup that changed their perspective and made them fall on love with coffee. The coffee I used was one that had previously given me one of these moments of illumination.

Did you choose to name your signature drink? Can you give us the recipe?

I tend to name things literally, so we’ll call it ‘sparkling iced coffee with a float of espresso and berry/malt reduction.’ The ingredients in this were meant to go with the super-fruity Idido sundried, so keep that in mind if you use a different coffee…

-Make 16 oz japanese-style iced coffee and place it in an isi whip cream whipper. Charge the coffee with a N20 (cream) charger and gently agitate to let the gas dissolve.

-Macerate an even amount of blueberries and strawberries, then strain through cheesecloth. Weigh the juice and add an even amount of barley malt.

-bring these to a boil together, then chill and strain again.

-Pull your shots of espresso and combine ~10g of the reduction for each shot.

-At the last moment, de-gas the iced coffee and portion it out into rocks glasses. Float the espresso/reduction mixture on top of the idido using (what else) a cupping spoon.

Yum. What coffees did you use for your competition?

The espresso was a blend of 65% Idido Sundried from the Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia, and 35% La Frontera from Jaén, Peru. I also used the Idido for my signature beverage. All my coffee came from Counter Culture Coffee.

Can you tell us a bit about your competition history? 

This was my first time at USBC. I competed in the SE region in 2011 and 2012, with problematic performances both times.

Share with us a favorite moment at USBC 2012 – doesn’t have to be competition based, but certainly can be. What stands out in your memory?

In truth, it was amazing getting through a full performance without spilling an espresso or going over 16 minutes like I’ve always done before.

What do you do to get pumped before competition?

I spent the morning polishing and listening to “speedwood” (think acoustic speed metal), and then once I had my apron on and my tablecloth in my hand it was time for some aerobics!

Whom would you like to thank? Use this last question for essential shout-outs, and thanks so much for sharing this time and info with us.

Ryan Jensen, owner at Peregrine Espresso, has created an amazing work environment that encourages baristas to become coffee professionals. Can’t thank him enough. Jeremy Sterner was the competition coach this rear, and completely changed the way i approach competition. The competition team, Lindsey Kiser and Randy Kindle were amazing support, as were Meredith Taylor, Monique Sommers, and Judith Mandel. And a special thanks to Brian Duggan and Alex Brown, the DC Counter Culture guys, for letting us continually trash their training space!

The post USBC Finalists: An Interview With Beckett appeared first on Sprudge.com.

From the Peregrine blog:

Remember when Lindsey, Travis and Randy went to Atlanta to compete in the Southeast Regional Barista Competition? Well, it is now time for the US Barista Championship, happening next weekend in Portland, OR. We are excited to have Lindsey Kiser and Travis Beckett representing Peregrine Espresso at the USBC and they’ve been working very hard to polish their routines.

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