Katie Carguilo from Counter Culture Coffee Wins U.S. Barista Championship

Want to talk espresso but not sure which forum? If so, this is the right one.
Nuprin
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#1: Post by Nuprin »

http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2012 ... nships.php
http://counterculturecoffee.com/index.php

Congrats to Katie! Well done. Sadly, the 2 espressos she used is no longer available, but I remember the Idido was fantastic. Best of luck at the World Championships!

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mitch236
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#2: Post by mitch236 »

Nuprin wrote:http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2012 ... nships.php
http://counterculturecoffee.com/index.php

Congrats to Katie! Well done. Sadly, the 2 espressos she used is no longer available, but I remember the Idido was fantastic. Best of luck at the World Championships!

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I agree! Congrats to Katie! I don't know her but Counter Culture has always been a class act.

I completely agree about Idido. It was the best coffee over the past year with the possible exception of the Don Pachi. I wish I had more!!

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LaDan
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#3: Post by LaDan »

Nice! Bring the barista crown home to NYC baby!!! I spoke with her on the phone once, getting some information about courses. She is a super nice girl and very helpful. Very happy for her. Congratulations Katie!

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TomC
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#4: Post by TomC »

Very cool. I wish there was a high quality video feed of the final portion of the competition. The last few one's I've seen over the years were grainy as hell and not even worth trying to watch.

I guess next years is in Boston? I'm going to try to go to the whole SCAA event.
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HB
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#5: Post by HB »

On a loosely related note, Nathan says they'll have USBC-winning YCFCU coffees at this Friday's get-together in Durham. See Friday mornings at Counter Culture Coffee in Durham, NC for directions.
Dan Kehn

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Chert
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#6: Post by Chert »

What does Yuma County Federal Credit Union have to do with coffee? That is, please fill in this ignorant one, what means YCFCU?
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HB
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#7: Post by HB »

I didn't know, but it took me all of 5 seconds to find out. Next time try looking a little harder. :P


Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union

Now that I'm done razzing you, here's a good article on the subject: The Nation's Champion Barista Makes it Look Easy (NYTimes). This sounds delicious:
Katie Carguilo wrote:My sig bev was inspired by the fermentation of coffee.

When a coffee is washed, the seeds are removed from the ripe cherry after picking, but they don't come out completely clean, much like the pit of a nectarine wouldn't come out completely clean, and in fact, I pitted a nectarine onstage to demonstrate this. There's still some fruit pulp stuck to it that has to ferment before it has broken down enough to be able to be washed off before the coffee beans are dried.

Each region has their own tradition or practice for doing this, but in Yirgachaeffe they ferment the coffee underwater for 48 hours. Over this time, that water changes from dissolving the coffee pulp to yeast activity creating carbonation and vinegar.

It was this flavor that I tried to recreate as the base of the signature beverage. I used a mash of nectarine, lemon, jasmine green tea and vinegar, and topped that with the Haru espresso and served it in a Riedel grappa glass. I chose that flute because Ethiopian coffees are, to me, the champagne of the coffee world: Coffee is only indigenous to Ethiopia - it was carried by hand and planted everywhere else it now grows, so one could make the argument this is the only place true coffee exists.
Dan Kehn

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yakster
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#8: Post by yakster »

Congrats to Katie on the win, sadly I missed her performances.

Interesting write-up and use of vinegar in the signature beverage.

The Cupping for Defects class I took at the SCAA Symposium this year talked about ferment as a defect tasting either like over-ripe fruit or vinegar. The samples I tasted like over-ripe plums, but not vinegar.

I still think it's a fine line where one person's ferment can be another's fruity coffee, but the musty, phenolic, and baggy coffees were unmistakably tainted.
-Chris

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Chert
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#9: Post by Chert »

Now that I'm done razzing you
Good one, Dan. One little raz for an abbreviation I didn't recognize deserves a better raz. Good one, haha. :D
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Arpi
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#10: Post by Arpi »

Congrats to her.
I used a mash of nectarine, lemon, jasmine green tea and vinegar, and topped that with the Haru espresso and served it in a Riedel grappa glass.
Unusual combination there (lemon and vinegar).

Cheers

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