Our coverage of the 2012 United States Barista Championship is sponsored by Stumptown Coffee Roasters. Photography by Sprudge contributor Alex Negranza.
1. Trevor Corlett, MadCap Coffee Company, Grand Rapids, MI – @tjorlet @madcap
10:18 mr. corlett heads up @madcap in DC, but he’s a michigan “map on the hand” MOO-ville dairy guy through & through
10:25 mr. corlett competes using s two bean blend from @madcap – colombia san sebastian and brazil fazenda rainha
10:29 calls time at 15 flat
2. Charles Babinski, Intelligenstia, Chicago – @charlesbabinski, @intelligentsia
10:37 mr. babinski is an education coordinator for @intelligentsia in LA -he placed 2nd in the 2012 southwest regionals
10:38 charles competes using @intelligentsia‘s pricy bolivia takesi microlot – clean white grape, floral aromatics
10:40 pulls shots 30 grams, 25 seconds, to accentuate “soft silky body for the floral characteristics”
10:48 calls time at 14:58 with another kangaroo hop – read about his coffee here
3. Katie Carguilo, Counter Culture Coffee, NYC – @katiecarguilo, @counter_culture
10:53 ms. carguilo competes using two different ethiopian coffees sourced by @counter_culture – first is idido natural
10:54 idido natural processed ethiopian employed by @katiecarguilo for her capps – “strawberry & cocoa”
10:57 2nd coffee is washed ethiopian from haru grown and processed at 2000 meters – “classic washed yirg characteristics”
11:02 sig drink: nectarine, lemon, jasmine green tea – carbonate water, vinegar – on top of that = haru washed espresso
11:06 “coffees are indigenous to ethiopia; you could argue they’re meant to be there. it’s the champagne of coffee…”
4. Travis Beckett, Peregrine Espresso, DC – @peregrineDC, @juicegarden
11:10 mr. beckett uses 65% ethiopia idido natural, 35% la frontera peru washed – sourced & roasted by @counter_culture
11:13 we’ve wondered: why does serene, calm, relaxing competition service seem a less common trait in men? @juicegarden refutes this.
11:15 this is a really charming performance. blood pressure falling… he’s offering so much knowledge…
5. Devin Chapman, Coava Coffee, PDX – @devchap, @coavacoffee
11:39 “5 days a week i’m a barista. i stand on the shoulders of producers”
11:40 sig drink: caramelized brown sugar, smoked salt, espresso – then 2 chemex brews 18% extraction and 22% extraction via paper & kone
11:42 18% extract gets wildflower honey – 22% @ablebrewing kone-brewed coffee gets aerated to enhance juiciness
11:43 sig drink recap: spro with sugar & salt, + two distinct chemex brews – paper & kone – kone brew aerated, paper brew gets honey
6. Lorenzo Perkins, Cuvee Coffee, Spicewood, Texas – @lorenzoperkins, @cuveecoffee
11:50 on espresso: “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” – this is a mirror routine of his SC region winning performance
11:51 two-part sig: tangerine, glacier hops, espresso- “this will exhibit characteristics brought by the washed process”
11:52 sig pt. 2: a dark cherry foam with buckwheat honey over clever brew, paired with a simple “emulsion”, or americano
11:55 me. perkins competes using @cuveecoffee el salvador reserva, from los naranjos region. learn more
7. Lem Butler, Counter Culture Coffee, Durham, NC – @sexyfoam, @counter_culture
12:07 mr. butler competes using @counter_culture PNG bantu, a one-day pick sourced via CCC tairora cherry project
12:10 mr. butler asks the judges to sip espresso, sip sparkling water, “then come back to the espresso for a more personal experience”
12:24 though it’s been said, many times, many ways, @sexyfoam is really a lot of fun to watch.
8. Chris Baca, Verve Coffee Roasters, Santa Cruz, CA – @trubaca, @vervecoffee
12:28 this routine is a love letter to the organic natural & honey processing methods at los lajones panama estate
12:29 learn more about los lajones here: http://www.loslajonesestate.com/eng/ @trubaca #usbc2012 #2legit2quit
12:39 sig drink: cascara, nitrogen processed orange juice, orange peel aromatics caramelized with a lighter, espresso
12:41 mr. baca punches in time at 14:58 – clean, composed routine, with a serious message of environmental stewardship
9. Charlie Habegger, Intelligentsia, Chicago – @brainofcharlie, @intelligentsia
12:52 charlie habegger competes using costa rica san pedro, from the coope dota cooperative – not yet available, look for it via @intelligentsia later this spring
12:54 “The entire sensory experience of a single tea, from start to finish” – @brainofcharlie coffee meets tea service at #usbc2012
12:57 anything can go wrong with sig drinks, they’re all difficult, but with @brainofcharlie and his tea service “espresso flip”..the tiniest tactile slip = disaster
1:00 can i geek on competitors-as-baseball-stars for a second? @brainofcharlie an essential 3rd guy in your starting rotation
1:02 projecting habegger 2012 MLB stats:17-5, 3.82 ERA, +4 WAR, pulling 7mil / 3 years on the market – key component in @intelligentsia’s AL West pennant chase & playoff run
10. Ryan Knapp, MadCap Coffee Company, Grand Rapids, MI – @knappMADcap, @madcap`
1:24 mr. knapp is a green buyer and roaster for @madcap – he’s this year’s north central champ, and he won in 2011 as well
1:37 ryan competes using @madcap‘s el salvador elefante – only 40 pounds were produced this year
11. Tyler Stevens, Barista, PDX – @tyler_stevens
1:42 “i hope my city’s treating you well, it’s been fantastic being your host. my name’s tyler…”
1:47 mr. stevens competes using @stumptowncoffee colombia piramide reserva
1:52 sig: caramelized honey gastrique, cascara, aged all together in an oak barrel. burnt oak tips resin on the glass
1:54 chills his drink with a dense cold-draft ice, to prevent excess dilution in the glass – crafty bartender trick.
12. Laila Ghambari, Stumptown Coffee, PDX – @lay_luh, @stumptowncoffee
2:03 this routine is, in a very real way, a trip to finca el injerto – little details, maps, smells, tastes
2:12 “el injerto was the first coffee i fell in love with…and arturro, the farmer, is here right now”
2:16 “i come back to this coffee every single year because i believe in it. thank you.” time called at 14:55
13. Lindsey Kiser, Peregrine Espresso, DC – @peregrinedc
2:19 “coffee is as complex as the humans who consume it.” – ms. kiser competes using PNG baroida from @counter_culture
2:21 “it’s like tasting the color purple. sassy & sweet” – lindsey on her PNG espresso – she grinds first, gives it to the judges to sniff
2:32 lindsey’s sig: baroida shot, coconut and passion fruit mixture – stir – then taste some yummy ginger “candy floss”
14. Robbie Britt, Espresso Parts, Morley, MO – @robbiebritt, @espressoparts_
2:47 …he’s like the best science teacher you had in high school. you could ask for help after class and he’d be cool.
2:48 robbie competes using @handsomeroaster‘s colombia san sebastian – part of our #colombiana cupping table last month!
15. Jacque DesMarais, Kaldi’s Coffee, St. Louis, MO – @jacquedesmarais, @kaldis_coffee
2:59 ms. desmarais took third place in this year’s competitive south central regionals, her second straight SE region finals appearanc
3:00 ms. desmarais competes using @kaldis_coffee brazil sertaozinho, sourced by @cafeimports – learn more
3:01 “Sensory judges, i’d like to go ahead and apologize to you for not being taller”
3:07 on her brazil sertaozinho espresso: green apple acidity, plum sweetness, bittersweet cocoa finish
16. Jared Truby, Verve Coffee Roasters, Santa Cruz, CA – @jtrubaca, @vervecoffee
3:26 mr. truby is your projected opening day starter: 22-6, era 2.90, WAR +7, in consideration for cy young award #usbc2012 @vervecoffee #baseballnerd
3:28 mr. truby competes using @vervecoffee‘s Costa Rica Finale de Cosecha microlot – very unique lot sourced by colby barr
3:29 learn more about @jtrubaca‘s competition coffee here: https://sprudge.com/my-aim-is-truby-verves-hometown-hero-wins-swrbc.html – francisco mena’s costa rica micromill revolution
3:31 sig drink: vanilla bean cream espresso foam – over a “reimagined coffee cheery”, a sphere made with fruit juice
3:31 then cascara and molasses tea to focus on accentuating sweetness and body – “puts an exclamation point on this beverage”
17. 3:41 Jordan Barber, Intelligentsia, NYC – @barber_jordan, @intelligentsia
3:46mr. barber competes using an organic processed coffee from @eccocaffe – bolivia hipolito – learn more
3:50 you gotta love the stream of dialogue from @barber_jordan on stage – his one-sided conversation with the judges never feels forced
3:52 there’s a culinary utilitarian simplicity to his stage set – stainless steel co2 container, simple hotel ramekins
3:55 sig drink starts with a 130 degree americano – “to open the coffee up” – then skims the drink – “a little trick i picked up abroad”
3:56 he pairs these skimmed americanos with a danish dessert drink of buttermilk, egg yolk, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice
18. Courtney Marie Vaquera, MadCap Coffee Company, Grand Rapids, MI – @madcap
3:59 your final competitor of the day is courtney marie vaquera, one of three semi-finalists from @madcap
4:04 courtney marie drumming along to her music on the portafilters – san sebastian colombia espresso w/ jasmine florals, molasses sweetness
