Cuvee Coffee

When I decided to compete at the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s South Central Regional Barista Competition, most people were curious, some in disbelief, but all in all everyone was supportive. I am very fortunate because I have been actively involved in the SCAA for several years. In that time I have formed professional and personal relationships with some very smart, talented and accomplished coffee professionals. I also have the privilege of working next to some of them. The week leading up to SCRBC was a non stop buzz. People were coming and going all hours of the day and night. They were using my training center to practice their performances. Another huge benefit for me. I got to watch and learn from some of the best barista competitors in the South Central Region. Mainly Clancy Rose and Lorenzo Perkins. Watching these guys, learning from them and listening to them was like a masters course in competing at SCRBC.

A brief history of the SCRBC…3 years ago we had about 8 competitors. This was the first SCRBC. 2008 was our second competition and we had about 16 give or take a couple. Last weekend was 26 in all and I must say that this was easily the most skilled group of baristas yet.

Now, back to the point. As I prepared (and I use that term loosely) I worked on my speech, presentation, making drinks, etc. Dan Streetman is a very accomplished judge and he gave me some guidance and suggestions. As did Clancy. I talked on the phone with Ellie Matuszak and got her input. You would think that this alone would ensure a solid performance…assuming a reasonable amount of practice, right? I mean, I make espresso every morning at work. At least 3 a day. I even pour a cappuccino about once a week. The reality is that I am not, nor have I ever been a professional barista. This is a very big disadvantage and one I took for granted. The other huge mistake was in all my practice runs, I never practiced my set up time. I mean, for real? Can it take 15 minutes to put on a table cloth and set up some glasses? The answer is yes, if you don’t have a plan and have not practiced. The end result was no time to pour shots and I ended up serving ¼ ounce espressos…uuugggghhh! The judges kept it real and scored my performance very accurately…not pretty. So other than the horrid drinks, everything went well. All the stuff I practiced worked out so in the end. If I would have practiced the whole package, I might have eked my way into the finals, but all in all, I am not at all unhappy with my 7th place finish. The only thing that really bothers me still is that I did not present this amazing coffee properly. Fortunatley for me, there were plenty of other competitors, using Cuvee, who did a much better job. Including finalist Clancy Rose and the champion Lorenzo Perkins. This leads me to the thing that I am most proud of. Out of the 9 winners (1st, 2nd, 3rd each of the 3 competitions) 6 were using Cuvee Coffee and all 3 first place finishers used our coffee. So what I learned is that it was not the tool, it was the carpenter. If I do this again, I will absolutely practice the whole routine, start to finish and make sure that I represent the coffee as it deserves to be represented.