With no US coffee competitions taking place until at least the last quarter of 2021, what is a coffee competition love to do? For Glitter Cat Barista Bootcamp, the answer is simple: throw a DiGiTiTiON. Or perhaps more correctly, DiGiTiTiONS, plural—six in fact. Over the course of the month of November, Glitter Cat will be holding digital events corresponding to the six major coffee competitions: Barista, Brewers Cup, Coffee in Good spirits, Cup Tasters, Latte Art, and Roasting, with a focus on accessibility and underrepresented groups in the coffee industry. Applications are now open.
Started in 2018 by USBC competitor and multi-time finalist T. Ben Grimm, Glitter Cat provides bootcamp-style training as access to competition resources to competitors typically underrepresented on the competition stage. The program has since blossomed to include training programs for the five current US Coffee Championship disciplines (the odd one out being Latte Art). Like so many in-person initiatives upended by COVID-19, Glitter Cat has moved their program online, creating the DiGiTiTiON in response.
And the DiGiTiTiON is trying to remove all barriers of entry for competitors. Per a press release, “materials, equipment, coffee, and ingredients stipends will be provided free of charge to all competitors.” Continuing in their partnership with Pacific Foods Barista Series to help competitors get all their competition necessities, Glitter Cat has always brought on Atlas Coffee Importers to provide green coffee for Roasters and Rancilio, who has agreed to provide single-group espresso machines for the six competitors in each of the Barista and Latte Art competitions. Per the press release, the DiGiTiTiON will include an “all BIPOC judging panel calibrated to acknowledge diverse taste and sensory experiences.”
Each competition will have six competitors who will “film routines and instructions for judges to recreate in their own setting” that will then be released via the Glitter Cat Instagram.
Competitors of all skill levels are encouraged to apply for any of the six competitions taking place. Applications are available now until September 18th. For more information on the DiGiTiTiON, the selection process, or to fill out your application, visit the Glitter Cat official website.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
Top image via Glitter Cat
