Taking Barista Competitions to the next level?

[miKe mcKoffee]

Some don't find value to the "specialty drink", especially if it's not a drink that could be served daily off the menu in a cafe. I tend to disagree with that opinion from an espresso as a culinary art stand point but not the point of this post.

Make a ristretto an additional competition item! (with additional time added of course) Sure a good normale shot is hard enough to find, but a good ristretto shot is almost impossible to find out there! Oh some places will pull a short shot chopping the end or beginning and end for a center of the shot ristretto shot, but not a finer grind longer pulled ristricted flow reduced volume ristretto shot.

[OlywaDave]

Yeah I don't know that I would want to see the signature drink removed from the competition. It is for me an expression of creativity and of taste level. Its unfortunate to think it might cost you the competition but you need to pay attention to every detail and the barista know it. From what I've seen over the past couple years its the relatively subtle twist on a concept designed to compliment the coffee. That seems a simple enough idea but I know it would be difficult to design something subtle that impresses the judges, compliments the coffee, and yet different enough to call your own. Yikes!

I do like the ristretto idea... Just the way I like it done.

[HB]

I dunno, a true single ristretto would be pretty tiny. And keep in mind one set will sit for a short spell, which is harder on the little guys. As a sensory judge, I look forward to the signature drinks. The barista's challenge is to be innovative and the signature is all about their skill, knowledge, and passion.

[OlywaDave]

That is true. Hard to judge or not, it is an important part of a professional barista's skill set.

[John P]

I vote for "natural spring water infused with the holographic essence of coffee"

Fill glass with water, place perfectly roasted coffee in a glass jar (made from natural silica, no foreign 'essences') shine a natural light through the jar and allow the coffee to project its shadow into the glass.
Wait a few moments while the water absords the holographic essence of the coffee.
Serve. Pure and smooth.
Even better... it is easily added to the menu.

[luca]

Personally, I think that if you're going to have a signature drink, it should be as relevant as possible to cafes out there that serve signature drinks, which means removing the alcohol ban. In the Australian environment, people will not pay a fair price for a non-alcoholic signature drink. For the vast majority of cafes, it is simply not worth having such a flow breaker on the menu (although, to be fair, Matt's looked pretty reasonable). The places that would serve a decent espresso based alcoholic sig drink are few and far between, but at least it's something with a commercial application. Now, I know that this introduces a whole bunch of its own headaches, not the least of which is that you might well end up with more of a bartending competition than a barista competition (although remember that barista = barman in italian), but at least it would be somewhat relevant to the real world. It just seems to me that the sig drink, as it stands, is a half measure. It isn't something that's that usefully put on the menu, and the barista is denied the use of a whole bunch of ingredients that are great for adding a whole host of flavours.

That said, judging the sig drinks is still a lot of fun!

Just my $0.02,

Luca

[miKe mcKoffee]

While I agree to the validity of alcohol as a viable ingredient in signature drinks, here in the US serving alcohol is regulated by the Gov and limited to licensed liquor establishments with much different and stricter licensing requirements than a coffee cafe. And hence coffee drinks with alcohol are never found in commerical coffee cafes so the competition ban does in fact mirror real life for the vast majority of baristi in the US. Those that work in bars or restaurants with a liquor license would be the only exception.

Taking the thread idea of being a true test of barista skill a step further, in addition to ristretto being added to the judged beverage menu how 'bout all barista being given the same single origin coffee and required to pull a shot from it. Not some middle of the road mild mannered SO, but make it something on the bright side that really requires tweaking the shot temp. This type of thing is something many home barista do all the time and is much more difficult than always pulling shots of the same blend. I have seen a few third wave shops who have added SO shots to their menu so this does seem a reflection of high achieving commercial trends.

[ThaRiddla]

IMO, the signature drink is still a valid portion of the competition. The only limitation that i might want to see relaxed is the "drinkable" part. I think that is the most limiting factor...maybe the verbiage could be changed to something that would include mousses, gels (gelatin, etc.) and other, thicker yet still not solid forms of food. Even with the "drinkable" restriction, it's still pretty wide open. The real emphasis is on the barista's skill set and creativity.

I don't think that the allowance of alcohol would enhance anything. I'm sure that a good barista can find the flavor that they liked in the spirited version of the liquid and reproduce it in a non-alcohol form. (Jon Lewis' espresso beer from 2005 USBC, for one) The whole idea is to find something that enhances the natural flavors of your espresso and creates a new and innovative tasting experience. There are a myriad of flavors out there, it's up to the barista to find what works.

[miKe mcKoffee]

While I agree to the validity of alcohol as a viable ingredient in signature drinks, here in the US serving alcohol is regulated by the Gov and limited to licensed liquor establishments with much different and stricter licensing requirements than a coffee cafe. And hence coffee drinks with alcohol are never found in commerical coffee cafes so the competition ban does in fact mirror real life for the vast majority of baristi in the US. Those that work in bars or restaurants with a liquor license would be the only exception.

MY BAD! Re-reading the NWRBC Judges Rule & Regs it just hit me you weren't necessarily talking about liquor, but the ban of any alcohol like commonly found in most extracts. Now that does seem abit absurd and out of touch with coffee cafe reality.

[HB]

Make a ristretto an additional competition item! (with additional time added of course) Sure a good normale shot is hard enough to find, but a good ristretto shot is almost impossible to find out there!

While trolling the Internet, I noted blogger Ben C. took exception to your commentary in barismo.com's There is no standard!

Ppl just DON'T GET IT!!

Ristretto is NOT automatically better than a Normale. In fact, I HATE those two words. The dosage and resulting liquid is much much more meaningful than putting label on drinks. Who cares what you call it... just have good espresso. Each bean/blend has an optimum range of flavor that the roaster wanted to express. It's up to the Barista to choose what he/she wanted to present, from that range of flavor, to the customer. This is what makes this brewing method interesting.

Using a singular apporach is just plain wrong!

So many ppl are polluted by what are presented in the media/online forums to think that ristretto = good. Well, why is that? Because most of the bean/blends are CRAP! They are usually over-roasted to cover up the off-flavor and defects from the junk beans in it. In this case, pulling a "ristretto" helps to make it pallatable because when you up the dose and pull it short, you kill the overwhelming roast flavor (think burnt stench). And because it's a duller coffee (due to the darker roast), flavor gets amplified enough to be notice w/out being over-bearing. The result is a mellow (or dull, depends on your definition) shot that is somewhat muddy (from the roast) but viscous and enjoyable.

(cont'd)

It's interesting to note that Mark Prince frequently refers to a ristretto as a "crutch drink" because they're easier to pull. I'm with Ben in the sense that I characterize a ristretto more by the way it pours and the taste profile than an arbitrary volume definition. As for your comment about ristrettos in competition, I'm reminded of Aubrey Morris' signature drink at last year's SERBC: A ristretto Toscano with a teenie dab of cayenne pepper. She wanted to contrast the sweetness of the espresso with hot spiciness. She even had two grinders with one dialed in for her signature drink. Unfortunately she got them mixed up and spent precious minutes re-dialing in the one that was setup for doubles!

[HB]

The only limitation that i might want to see relaxed is the "drinkable" part. I think that is the most limiting factor...maybe the verbiage could be changed to something that would include mousses, gels (gelatin, etc.) and other, thicker yet still not solid forms of food. Even with the "drinkable" restriction, it's still pretty wide open. The real emphasis is on the barista's skill set and creativity.

From a scoring perspective, keeping the drinks drinkable probably helps judging consistency. The reactions to unconventional drinks can vary wildly, as it did for Billy's "espresso spuma":


Espresso and eggwhite-based foam created with nitrogen

I don't think that the allowance of alcohol would enhance anything. I'm sure that a good barista can find the flavor that they liked in the spirited version of the liquid and reproduce it in a non-alcohol form.

A recent SERBC competitor ran aground for serving alcohol in an espresso as part of an extract. For the record, yes, ethanol is a type of alcohol.

[cannonfodder]

I believe Jim did something with a foamed gel in his signature drink.

[another_jim]

It's interesting to note that Mark Prince frequently refers to a ristretto as a "crutch drink" because they're easier to pull. I'm with Ben in the sense that I characterize a ristretto more by the way it pours and the taste profile than an arbitrary volume definition. As for your comment about ristrettos in competition, I'm reminded of Aubrey Morris' signature drink at last year's SERBC: A ristretto Toscano with a teenie dab of cayenne pepper. She wanted to contrast the sweetness of the espresso with hot spiciness. She even had two grinders with one dialed in for her signature drink. Unfortunately she got them mixed up and spent precious minutes re-dialing in the one that was setup for doubles!

I used to think ristrettos were a crutch; they work that way in blends low in sweetness, doing them short and slow picks up the sweetness. On the other hand, blends that can get a bitter edge are usually tougher to do ristretto, since the bitterness picks up.

From a competition standpoint, having either limits on shot sizes and time as now, or requiring multiple types of shots as Mike proposes, limits the coffees that can be used for competition. Certainly the best coffees I've had this year would have been unsuitable SO in barista competition, since they either had too much crema color variation or didn't taste right at the prescribed measure and time.

My (very selfish) standpoint is that these competitions should ideally showcase the best espresso SOs and blends conceivable. The rules should be constructed to permit this.

[miKe mcKoffee]

From a competition standpoint, having either limits on shot sizes and time as now, or requiring multiple types of shots as Mike proposes, limits the coffees that can be used for competition. Certainly the best coffees I've had this year would have been unsuitable SO in barista competition, since they either had too much crema color variation or didn't taste right at the prescribed measure and time.

My (very selfish) standpoint is that these competitions should ideally showcase the best espresso SOs and blends conceivable. The rules should be constructed to permit this.

I don't disagree. The idea of having the same SO supplied to each competitor would indeed require rules changes, not only in prescribed volume and time but quite likely removing the ban on adjusting espresso machine temp or pressure. I don't know if the rule is standard for all SCAA comps but the stated NWRBC calibrated shot temp standard seems to me pretty wide 195-205f. I don't know if a competitor is allowed to have their station's machine adjusted to their desired shot temp during prep time but doesn't seem so. Unless not being their ideal shot temp would be considered under a "technical problem".

The SO idea could be something along the lines of Iron Chef America were the competitors are given three possible "secret ingredients" in advance. They find out which one of the three is to be used competition time. In this case given three possible SO's with roast profile for each specified. Sure without advance samples of the exact SO lot and roast they'd have to rely on their knowledge of similar SO's, but seems that's part of testing coffee knowledge. Seems appropriate they would be supplied the exact SO during prep time to dial it in, including adjusting espresso machine if deemed needed.

Now the problem of espresso machine setup for SO not being ideal for their blend...another technical issue to work out. IIRC some commercial multi-group machines allow individual group temp settings but don't believe the LM GB5s being used at NWRBC would. And expanding grinder limit from two to three, but that one is easy.

Hey I'm not saying SO shots should be added to SCAA Barista competitions, just thought it would be another barista skill challenge. And from time limitation constraints maybe totally impractical. Not referring to current prep and comp times which would have to be increased accordingly, but simply the time it would add to the overall competition.

[Nick]

There's always been murmuring about some sort of alternative competition/enrichment event that could emerge. I'd hope that no one would think that this would be to "compete" against the USBC/WBC circuit, but add to the opportunities and activities for baristas and associated professionals and enthusiasts.

That said, a "S.O. Challenge" could be really cool. Take a "mystery" coffee or two, and let each team of baristas play with grind, brew temps, dose, etc., to pull the best representation of that bean in espresso form.

There are always "cool ideas." Cool and viable are very different. Also, there's a time and a place for just about everything... doesn't mean that what can't work in the USBC couldn't work in some other venue (is that a triple negative? ).

[dankbean]

That said, a "S.O. Challenge" could be really cool. Take a "mystery" coffee or two, and let each team of baristas play with grind, brew temps, dose, etc., to pull the best representation of that bean in espresso form.

That's a good idea for a future Barista Jam. I'm more than a little sad that we didn't have one this year like we did in 2005 in Winston-Salem.

[malachi]

Pulling a good full volume double is a far better test of a barista's skill than pulling a ristretto.
And the goal of a true barista competition is to test ALL of a barista's skills.