A massive photo essay looking at the finalists in the 2nd Annual Canadian Barista Championships... and a look at CoffeeGeek's news editor as she competed to an 8th place finish.
Man oh man, being a judge was so fun, but also incredibly stressful. Trying to decide half points here and there, making quick notes during a set. I really enjoyed it. Thanks for the pictures y'all!
There's actually nothing in writing that says it's limited to people who are actual Baristi, behind the counter day in, day out.
That's in there for a reason. If it weren't, Paul Bassett wouldn't have been eligible for last year's WBC. Many folks who were Baristi and went on to do other things in Coffee have competed.
In Jeanette's case, she did actually represent a cafe - Jolly's, down on 4th at McDonald (don't bother going though - she's not working there any longer :) :). But we looked into the rules, and she could have just as easily represented CoffeeGeek officially, or even her own Piano Studio... heck, she could have had "Joe's auto shop" emblazoned on the back of her shirt.
And she did finish 8th.... does it say anything? Probably not. Jeanette had the benefit (if you can call it that) of me training her. She also had the benefit of working on a La Marzocco anytime she wanted. She plowed through probably 75lbs of coffee and about 3 dozen jugs of milk in her training alone, and another couple' dozen at the shop.
Not many amateurs have those kinds of resources if they want to train for a competition.
If we have a situation where amateurs are entering and finishing WAY behind the pack, not completing the competition, etc etc, then I can see it being a problem. But if we have one finishing right in the middle of the pack, where's the worry, except maybe to get some folks thinking that the simple act of banging out a hundred shots a day in a cafe isn't enough to be a competitor - it takes passion for what you're doing as well, which Jeanette had in droves.
I know I'm the least biased person to discuss this, but here's a plain fact. If I knew Jeanette wouldn't be able to keep up and compete with the pros, I would have done everything possible to convince her not to enter. But I was confident she was top-10 calibre, so I saw no problems with it.
I know that no one is bashing on Jeanette. However, in the small sampling I have for comparison, she was an excellent barista. Like Mark said, she has passion and it really shows, even if she is a bit shy. ;)
Did you know that I am not eligible for competition? Why?
Cuz I don't currently have a valid passport! :) Competitors must have a valid Canadian Passport which they must present on demand to competition officials :)
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 