Did you have an overarching theme for your presentation?

“Reducing C02 output and wastewater pollution by teaching farmers how to properly develop natural and honey processed coffees in addition to washed coffees thus promoting an environmentally sustainable coffee industry.”

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

“No name…”

* 70 grams Los Lajones Cascara/orange pith infusion. 10 minutes total infusion time.
* 6 shots Los Lajones totaling 126 grams
* 4 cara cara orange slices totaling 72 grams
* Put it all in a NO2 canister and charge with NO2 for 30 seconds, vent out NO2, and strain
* Flame cara cara peel over the top for aroma, portion, and serve.

What coffees did you use for your competition?

“Los Lajones by Graciano Cruz, from Boquete, Panama 2,100 meters above sea level. Nautrally processed Geisha varietal. It’s better than whatever you’re drinking right now.”

You’re a competitor with lots of competition history. Lay it all out for us.

“I like to take seasons off to keep it fresh. Started in ’06 as a loner with no support and no skill; mediocre at regionals, bombed nationals at Charlotte and pretty much no one was nice to me. Since then: three time USBC finalist (’08, ’10, ’12) three time Regional finalist (’07, ’08, ’10,) one time regional champ (’08). Took off ’09 and ’11 just for kicks and didn’t do regionals this year…just USBC.”

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?

“Pushing around the block on Teezy’s skateboard Sunday night. My first time on a skateboard since I snapped my
achilles last year. The world was pretty much perfect right then.”

What do you do to get pumped before competition?

“Watch Marshawn Lynch’s 67 yard touchdown run against the Saints with epic commentary.” (NSFW or New Orleans Saints fans)

Shout-outs? Special thanks?

“Special thanks to Graciano Cruz for flying me this amazing coffee just one month off harvest. My dad for making my place settings and Kevin Tudball for realizing the art concept for the place settings. Amy Billings for sewing my tablecloth and napkins. C Barr and Ryan O’Dezzy for supporting me. Truby for inspiration. My wife for not killing me. Mike Eyre for crunching numbers and Purvis Nation for crunching the competition. Also the crew at Barista on Alberta for providing the best home away from home any coffee shop could hope to be!”

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

We sat down with Jared Truby, one of two Verve Coffee Roasters competitors to place in the finals at this year’s United States Barista Championship. Soft-spoken, faithful, and gifted, Mr. Truby was kind enough to let us in on some of his favorite competition moments and memories.

Did you have an overarching theme for your presentation?

Character: complexity of coffee, how processing, myself and farmer’s character effect the product.

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

No name.

For spro foam: 6oz cream, 2oz spro, 1/5 vanilla bean, charged as whip.

Cherry sphere: cherry, apple, pear juices, corn starch, xanthan gum and calcium lactate. Drop it in sodium alginate and water.

1 teaspoon of cascara molasses tea.

What coffees did you use for your competition?

Asdrual Chavez’s Final de Cosecha.

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

I’ve made 5 regional appearances, 4 USBC’s.

Share with us a favorite moment from USBC 2012.

Getting together with Devchap, Kevin B, Sam P, and Chris D, and having a pre-comp powow.

What do you do to get pumped before competition?

Find an amazing coffee.

Whom would you like to thank?

God, my wife, Verve, Pete Licata, Tyler Stevens, Devchap, Chris Demarse, Kevin B, Julia and Todd, the Baca’s, Barr-tron, Odeezy, and Sean White.

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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!

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Here’s a complete list of finalists for USBC and Brewers Cup Finals Sunday. All times PST.

2012 USBC Finals:

1. 12:15 Katie Carguilo, Counter Culture Coffee,  NYC – @katiecarguilo, @counter_culture

2. 12:45 Devin Chapman, Coava Coffee Roasters, PDX – @devchap, @coavacoffee

3. 1:15 Jared Truby, Verve Coffee Roasters, Santa Cruz, CA – @jtrubaca, @vervecoffee

4. 1:45 Charles Babinski, Intelligentsia Coffee, LA – @charlesbabinski, @intelligentsia

5. 2:15 Travis Beckett, Peregrine Espresso, DC – @juicegarden, @peregrineDC

6. 2:45 Chris Baca, Verve Coffee Roasters, Santa Cruz, CA - @trubaca, @vervecoffee

2012 Brewers Cup Finals:

1. 12:00 Mike Marquard, Half & Half, St. Louis, MO – @mikenorth

2. 12:30 Lorenzo Perkins, Cuvee Coffee, Austin, TX- @lorenzoperkins, @cuveecoffee

3. 1:00 Andy Sprenger, Ceremony Coffee Roasters, Annapolis, MD @ceremonycoffee

4. 1:30 Robbie Krask, Caffe Streets, Chicago – @caffestreets

5. 2:00 Dut Goodman, Independent, ATL – @dutgoodman

6. 2:30 Jon Ferguson, Independent, Lincoln, NE – @joneferguson

Our coverage of the 2012 United States Barista Championship is sponsored by Stumptown Coffee Roasters.

The post 2012 USBC & Brewers Cup Finals Schedule appeared first on Sprudge.com.

1. 10:17 Trevor Corlett, MadCap Coffee Company, Grand Rapids, MI – @tjorlet @madcap

2. 10:36 Charles Babinski, Intelligenstia, Chicago - @charlesbabinski, @intelligentsia

3. 10:55 Katie Carguilo, Counter Culture Coffee, NYC – @katiecarguilo, @counter_culture

4. 11:14 Travis Beckett, Peregrine Espresso, DC – @peregrineDC, @juicegarden

5. 11:33 Devin Chapman, Coava Coffee, PDX – @devchap, @coavacoffee

6. 11:52 Lorenzo Perkins, Cuvee Coffee, Spicewood, Texas – @lorenzoperkins, @cuveecoffee

7. 12:11 Lem Butler, Counter Culture Coffee, Durham, NC – @sexyfoam, @counter_culture

8. 12:30 Chris Baca, Verve Coffee Roasters, Santa Cruz, CA – @trubaca, @vervecoffee

9. 12:49 Charlie Habegger, Intelligentsia, Chicago – @brainofcharlie, @intelligentsia

10. 1:18 Ryan Knapp, MadCap Coffee Company, Grand Rapids, MI – @knappMADcap, @madcap

11. 1:37 Tyler Stevens, Barista, PDX - @tyler_stevens

12. 1:56 Laila Ghambari, Stumptown Coffee, PDX – @lay_luh, @stumptowncoffee

13. 2:25 Lindsey Kiser, Peregrine Espresso, DC – @peregrinedc

14. 2:44 Robbie Britt, Espresso Parts, Morley, MO – @robbiebritt, @espressoparts_

15. 3:03 Jacque DesMarais, Kaldi’s Coffee, St. Louis, MO - @jacquedesmarais, @kaldis_coffee

16. 3:22 Jared Truby, Verve Coffee Roasters, Santa Cruz, CA – @jtrubaca, @vervecoffee

17. 3:41 Jordan Barber, Intelligentsia, NYC – @barber_jordan, @intelligentsia

18. 4:00 Courtney Marie Vaquera, MadCap Coffee Company, Grand Rapids, MI – @madcap

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