A quick Technorati search turned up some other blogs covering the 2006 USBC and SCAA happenings in Charlotte.
Bloviating Recap from Chemically Imbalanced - a nice recap of performances from six of the seven finalists that will give you an idea of what really takes place and how intense the competition is. Included are three video clips featuring the signature drink routines of the top three finishers:
Amber Sather (3rd)
Billy Wilson (2nd)
Matt Riddle (1st)
Photo of Matt Riddle with the Grand prize (he also gets a Krups home espresso maker and a trip to Bern, Switzerland for the World Barista Championships).
Wrap-up post from Smelling the Coffee on the Barista Guild and Clover comments.
Wrap-up posts from All Right Mr. Gekko (apparently an Intelly barista) with many photos.
Podcasts from Portafilter.net (MP3 format - for AAC format, go to main page):
1. From the Counter Culture party with Nick Cho (98+ minutes)
2. From the SCAA exhibit floor with Nick Cho and Amber Sather (84 minutes)
3. Dinner with Zoka Coffee at SCAA with Nick Cho (33+ minutes)
thanks for the linkage. you raise an interesting point (on my site). i wonder what nick cho would think about it, since, you know, he could be perceived as somehwhat of a seattle insider merely operating on the east coast.
the conventional wisdom always has it that hard-core skillz are still migrating east from whence it originated, yet i see no real reason an east-coaster doesn't have every bit as much opportunity as a west-coaster (or chicagoan, for that matter).
it is interesting to note that finals included no one from seattle (though billy hails from portland).
also: more video coming, eventually from all six of the finalists i saw.
Posted by: ben | April 11, 2006 at 08:05 PM
Hi!
My name is Steve, and I have a blog named “All right, Mr. Gekko...You got me...” I am not a professional barista. I am just a caffeine crazed home barista and a coffeegeek.
I am a big fan of Doug and his gang, and it reflects in my blog, perhaps that gave you the wrong impression of that I am a Intelly barista. I sure don’t mind working part time for them though…
Cheers,
Posted by: Steve | April 16, 2006 at 08:43 PM