At the start of the month, we were only aware of one Pittsburgh-area barista who was planning to compete in this year's Mid-Atlantic Barista Competition, which is being held next weekend at The Meadowlands in Hackensack, NJ.
It turns out our region will comprise about half the eligible field of competitors - 9 of the 19 in-region entrants will be from Western PA - including some old friends and alumni.
On Friday, five area baristas will give it a go:
- Jessica Learish, Ironstar Roasting (Coffee Tree)
- Alexandra Szep, Caffe Amadeus, Indiana (daughter of Aldo alumni Andi Szep)
- Drew Von Arx, 21st Street Coffee & Tea
- Jake Leifer, Beaver Falls Coffee & Tea
- Josh Sklar, Coffee Tree Roasters
On Saturday, four more:
- Rachel Shope, Coffee Tree Roasters
- John Casamassa, Espresso Solutions (Coffee Tree)
- Sonja Schutte, Aldo Coffee Co.
- Amanda Paul, Fox Chapel Coffee Co. (Coffee Tree)
They'll be joining baristas from Washington DC, Annapolis and Philly to vie for the regional championship, several of whom are former finalists, so it'll be challenging to make it to Sunday's finals.
We're happy to see Coffee Tree (and it's various subsidiaries) is in this year, especially the return of Johnny C. to the stage. We're sad to note that some other local shops decided not to participate this year. We'll also note that the list of MARBC competitors is about 25% smaller than last year's competition at Cranberry. Must be the drawing power of Pittsburgh!
There is still time for more baristas to enter last-minute registraitons. Could this be the first-ever MARBC without a Jay Caragay sighting?
Well, We wanted to participate, but with only 2 of us running the shop it makes it near impossible to travel for so many days. We'll be cheering for you guys, and we hope that things will pick up for us that Barb and I can both get away next year as I'd like to participate and experience it for myself!! We'll be watching!
Posted by: Amelie | February 26, 2010 at 01:08 PM