Moreso than the past two years, this year's preparation for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Barista Competition (which start Friday) has been trying. Much of this has to do with the organization of the event itself and the lack of and tardiness of information related to it.
UPDATE: We posted this shortly after midnight. The schedules came in at a quarter to three in the morning. Belle is first up at 12:30pm Friday (despite Pittsburghers having the farthest to travel). Emily is at 2:02, John is 3:34, Braden is 4:42 and Sonja at 5:52. There are 25 in-region competitors with seven from Pittsburgh - we see from the schedule that Katy and Michael from Blue Horse are also competing. Good luck to all seven Pittsburgh representatives. Which means a Pittsburgh sweep is actually possible.
Which is not to say we won't try to make the best of it. The bright spots have been working with Enrico's Tazza d'Oro on joint practices and having one of the nicest guys in coffee pitch in last night with some valuable feedback (thanks again Jack, Alex and Shelley for stopping by!). That and having more folks in the regional barista community more interested in the competitions than ever before.
Our team leaves this afternoon and will be in DC by nightfall.
We hope you'll wish Belle, John, Sonja, Braden and Emily (and Katy and Michael) luck as they try to bring the title to Pittsburgh.
Today, Rich started building up his coffee tolerance in anticipation of judging duty this weekend. Starting with some Jake's Java samples in the morning, an afternoon that included LaPrima for espresso, 21st Street for a couple of Clovers and an evening tasting three practice rounds worth of drinks was a good start.
We're beginning to wonder if we're nuts for investing the time, money and energy involved in doing this. Hopefully we can host this competition in Pittsburgh next year and run it the way it should be run. All we need is the right space at the right price. We tried this year but we couldn't afford the venues we felt were necessary. Any suggestions welcome.
I'll be in DC cheering and supporting all of you. I know Aldo's is very well represented. My best wishes to all of you--Sonja, John, Emily and Braden and, of course, Belle, my beautiful and talented daughter-in-law! Safe travels and bring home a winner!
Posted by: Silvia | February 14, 2008 at 07:54 AM
Umm. So who's making my latte tomorrow morning? KIDDING. I think it's wonderful that so many Pittsburghers are competing. It's comforting to know that if I need a good latte somewhere outside of Lebo, I can get one. But I'm rooting especially hard for "our" baristas.
Posted by: Sibyl | February 14, 2008 at 08:24 PM