We had a chance to sit down digitally with Devin Chapman, of Portland’s Coava Coffee Roasters, one of 6 finalists in the 2012 United States Barista Championship. Mr. Chapman was the 2012 NW Regional champ; be prepared to deal with Devin as a competition threat for years to come.

Did you have an overarching theme for your presentation?

“Yes, I focused on the barista’s role in translating knowledge into a sensory experience.”

Did you have a name for your signature drink? Can you give us the recipe?

“Err…. no name. Here’s the recipe.”

HELP CARDS

What coffees did you use for your competition?

“Reinelio Lopez from the Monserrate community in Huila, Colombia.”

Can you tell us a bit about your competition history? How many total competitions, appearances at USBC, etc.

“2 NW Regionals and 2 USBCs to date. Finished 10th and 18th my first year; 1st and 4th my second.”

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?

“Spent some really good quality time with Kevin Bohlin & Jared Truby in the back before both rounds just getting focused and settled. Precious!”

What do you do to get pumped before competition?

“Watch cheesy underdog movies, listen to hip-hop during my practice time, walk and talk, drop it like it’s hot, hide-out, listen to Dashboard Confessional (it could be worse…), focus really hard on things, write lists, pretend I’m Rocky Balboa, pretend I’m Eminem in 8 Mile, pretend I’m Icebox from Little Giants, pray, pee a bunch, smash bananas, potassium pills, pushups for the camera… I could go on, it’s different every time.”

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

“All the judges for giving their time and sanity to let competitions happen; the SCAA for putting it on; my wife for all her hours of hard work and support and for putting up with way too much; Matty O’Higgins for supporting me financially and keeping me around; Matt, Sam and Keith for teaching me everything I know about making and serving coffee; Clive Coffee and Mark Hellweg for basically sponsoring my wares (I’ll pimp you for life!); Amber Penn for being the yin to my managerial yang and connecting the dots in my absence; Sarah P. for her hours of listening, feedback, backflushing and dish washing; all the crew at the shop for rolling hard through a really busy weekend and for working with dignity and pride; all my friends that showed up to support me this past weekend; and all our loyal customers for being proud to drink Coava’s coffees. Here’s to next year!”

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

We’ve received an outpouring of support and thanks for our coverage of the 2012 NWRBC. Your kind words mean the world to us. It was an honor and a privilege to cover this event, and we are humbled to document the dedication, talent, and unfathomably hard work put forth by every last one of these competition baristas. We do this because of you. This is the kind of media coverage you deserve.

It is our sincere hope to cover all five events in this year’s United States Barista Championship cycle. Stay tuned. We hope you enjoy this day three recap.

(Ed. note: The following NWRBC Finals Sunday coverage includes both Brewers Cup and NWRBC competitors. An archived 2012 NWRBC and Brewers Cup finals schedule is available for reference here.)

10:26AM last day of #nwrbc – live-tweets, videos and interviews all day, clogging your twitter feed…have a coffee, wake up, it’s #nwrbc finals

10:43AM @neiloney shows up and starts dropping knowledge on the @wilburcurtisco gold cup brewer – #theoneandoney

10:44AM aaaaand we’re underway – @devchap’s first routine of the day – first #brewerscup competitor, last #nwrbc competitor – #gatoradesqueeze

10:47AM “i’m gonna brew coffee – i will talk to you about how that impacts the coffee, and why i’m doing what i’m doing” – @devchap #brewerscup

10:48AM using a brew method that requires “only 40 seconds of my attention” – @devchap brings a busy bar functionality to #brewerscup

10:50AM @devchap uses chemex with classic paper filter for #brewerscup – pouring in rings and zig-zags, pulling coffee off the side of the filter

10:54AM @devchap offers just two aromatic notes – honeydew and vanilla – and shows the judges how lovely the coffee looks in bean form #brewerscup

10:57AM @devchap has a mantra – “winner winner, chicken dinner” – also, dang, that’s a pretty high bar to set for an opening #brewerscup performance

11:04AM @tyler_stevens up next, with a pretty serious cheering section in the front row. “tyler = good

11:10AM i said this yesterday, but yeah, the band’s “get up, jake” is a really excellent song choice by @tyler_stevens

11:13AM @tyler_stevens competing with El Tanque, Injerto Farm from @stumptowncoffee – a dwarf bourbon variety

11:17AM “are you guys still drunk from last night?” – @tyler_stevens to his cheering section at #nwrbc

11:24AM @tyler_stevens calls time at 14:57, uses full last minute of routine time for clean-up, chat with the judges, gold star jokes…#nwrbc

11:28AM will frith of @olympiacoffee up now for #brewerscup

11:35AM will frith uses a kind of modified cupping method – 10oz bodum pitcher, grinds cleared with dual spoons – then poured through woodneck

11:37AM “i feel like the most expensive thing the consumer should buy is the coffee itself, for lots of reasons. and a good grinder.” #brewerscup

11:39AM will frith’s routine – educational, understated, calm, controlled. #brewerscup finals have been a real treat so far.

11:50AM @sterling_collin using beneficio san vicente, honduras roasted by @sterlingcoffee

11:51AM @sterling_collin everything is so subdued and calm from the neck up, but the man’s hands are a blur – fast, technical, precise

12:00PM sig drink = vicente reduction, dark chocolate, graham cracker cream with honey, lemon oil saturated sugar, pinch of sea salt #nwrbc

12:02PM @sterling_collin calls time at 15:08

12:O5PM up next for #brewerscup is oliver stormshak of @olympiacoffee

12:10PM oliver’s method – brew 4 minutes a la cupping- break crust, skim, let the coffee settle – then filter the coffee through cloth – #brewerscup

12:12PM oliver’s coffee is @olympiacoffee san sebastian reserva from huila, colombia – pablo zuniga microlot #brewerscup

12:34PM @sampurvis up now – like an empire state building construction worker or a knickerbocker knuckle boxer, or something else from 100 years ago…#nwrbc

12:40PM @sampurvis “we can define and even score coffees, but sometimes we just need to stop – and let ourselves be captured by coffee”

12:41PM “the pleasure has been mine. time” – called at 14:59 @sampurvis

12:48PM honor forte of @olympiacoffee up now, rocking the kalita wave #brewerscup

12:53PM honor also competes with the pablo zuniga microlot from @olympiacoffee

1:05PM @lay_luh up now: “i said it once, and i’ll say it again – this is the coffee that made me fall in love with coffee” #nwrbc @elInjertoCoffee

1:13PM 3 years of competition with @elInjertoCoffee – “it’s like visiting an old friend” – @lay_luh

1:19PM @lay_luh calls time at 14:25

1:24PM sam schroeder of @olympiacoffee is up now for #brewerscup – another member of oliver’s army

1:28PM most polite audio request of the #nwrbc weekend – “you could turn up my audio just a tiny bit, if you like” – sam from @olympiacoffee

1:37PM “bloom isn’t really a time…you sort of have a dialogue with your coffee.” -sam @olympiacoffee

1:40PM “can everybody hear me? i know my beard is really thick” – marty lopes

1:45PM marty lopes uses finca los andes from producer ernesto mendez – same producer who supplied la ilusion used by wbc champ alejandro mendez

1:50PM marty lopes of @baristapdx – his routine is silky smooth, with a wonderful economy of motion…deconstructed con panna sig drink next

1:56PM huge cheer for marty of @baristapdx as he’s out – calls time at 14:57 #nwrbc

1:58PM last #brewerscup competitor up next – chad bledsoe of @sevenvirtuespdx

2:06PM apricot, plum, rich chocolatey ovaltine, dry apple cider – that’s a complex v60 from chad bledsoe and @nossacoffee

2:16PM somebody brought us sandwiches again! #nwrbc #coldcutcombo #munchmunchmunch

2:19PM @devchap #emopowered

2:28PM @devchap “as we move into cappuccinos, we’re going to focus on that richness – look for flavors of toasted almond and butterscotch”

2:32PM everyday @devchap is hustlin’ #nwrbc #finalminute

3:25PM #brewerscup announcement happening now – big ups to katie, jared and phuong for judging all weekend

3:26PM 3rd. Oliver Stormshak, @olympiacoffee

3:26PM 2nd. Sam Schroeder @olympiacoffee

3:27PM 1st. Devin Chapman @coavacoffee

3:28PM congratulations to @devchap for winning the #BrewersCup at Tacoma regionals! #tacomabystorm

3:30PM NWRBC announcements coming now…

3:34PM 3rd. Tyler Stevens, Barista PDX (total score 607)

3:35PM 2nd place – Laila Ghambari, Stumptown Coffee (total score 616)

3:35PM 1st place – Devin Chapman, Coava Coffee (total score 630.5)

3:36PM that makes it a rout for Devin Chapman @devchap – the FIRST TIME ever the same competitor has won #nwrbc and #brewerscup – in a word, wow.

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