WBC 2007 Finalists announced

[Jasonian]

Klaus Thompson announces the winners...

6th place: Brazil Barista Champion Silvia Magalhaes

5th place: Switzerland Barista Champion Anna Kaeppeli

4th place: Japan Barista Champion Miyuki Miyamae

3rd place: New Zealand Barista Champion Carl Sara

2nd place: United States Barista Champion Heather Perry

2007 WORLD BARISTA CHAMPION IS: United Kingdom Barista Champion James Hoffmann!

[psycho_supreme]

wahooo.

Pictures and videos soon to follow?

[Dan Streetman]

for pictures and videos goto

http://www.zacharyzachary.com

[julioale]

The correct link is http://zacharyzachary.com/

Anyone knows what blends the baristas used

Ale

[OlywaDave]

It is great an American scored and placed so high. I had a great discussion with an Australian during SCAA and his thoughts were that as good as it is American espresso was too far away from what Europeans looked for and that when going to the WBCs competitotrs should take in to account who their audience will be.

About the blends... I think Heather spoke of her blend during her semi-finals also on zacharyzachary.com

[Rosemary]

Hi Dave
Can you comment on the different styles of the contestants? Are there any generalisations you could make? eg did the finalists all tend to follow a particular style?

I haven't seen any points posted anywhere. Were they close?

I have to say I don't get the patter/prattle that goes with the presentation. I would love my barista if they served me a great coffee every time and engaged in a two way conversation rather than a lecture style presentation. I'm very happy for someone to clarify the finer details for me.

Rosemary

[Jasonian]

I think it's just freakin' awesome that not only did the title go to James, but that he did it with single origin espresso.

LOVE it.

[Niko]

Yeah, I forgot....
CONGRATULATIONS JIM!

[Beezer]

Congratulations to Heather! She did a great job representing the US.

[King Seven]

Hi Dave
Can you comment on the different styles of the contestants? Are there any generalisations you could make? eg did the finalists all tend to follow a particular style?

I haven't seen any points posted anywhere. Were they close?

I have to say I don't get the patter/prattle that goes with the presentation. I would love my barista if they served me a great coffee every time and engaged in a two way conversation rather than a lecture style presentation. I'm very happy for someone to clarify the finer details for me.

Rosemary

Hopefully I didn't come across too lecturing! I tried not to, instead of memorising a speech I just had mental bullet points. Anyways - I am happy to answer any questions about the coffees or brew recipes people might have. I think the bulk of my win, easily, is down to the quality of the raw ingredients.

[luca]

I have to say I don't get the patter/prattle that goes with the presentation. I would love my barista if they served me a great coffee every time and engaged in a two way conversation rather than a lecture style presentation. I'm very happy for someone to clarify the finer details for me.

The finer details are quite simple - the judges won't talk to the competitors!

Hopefully I didn't come across too lecturing!

Well, evidently the judges didn't think so ;P Either that, or you buggered up the total impression part, but made up for it with your coffee.

Hey, seeing as your name on this forum is "King Seven," maybe you should change your avatar to Paul Bassett's WBC Champion logo ;P (http://www.paulbassett.com/about.php)

Cheers,

Luca

[HB]

First of all, congratulations to all the finalists and especially 2007 WBC Champion James Hoffman!

I have to say I don't get the patter/prattle that goes with the presentation. I would love my barista if they served me a great coffee every time and engaged in a two way conversation rather than a lecture style presentation. I'm very happy for someone to clarify the finer details for me.

Judges are not permitted to engage in conversation, other than simple pleasantries like replying "Good morning" to the barista's greeting.

The criteria have evolved over the years and the scoring weights reflects that. For example, the points alloted to presentation dramatically decreased this year in preference to the technical and drink scores. The two technical judges now own more than 1/2 of the total score. I agree with this trend as it puts more emphasis on the cup and barista skills than showmanship. That said, the barista must demonstrate mastery of the craft, both in technique and knowledge of their coffees. Sensory judges listen intently to the competitor's description of what the drink characteristics were intended. Vague terms like "fruity" or "nutty" won't cut it; is it reminiscent of cranberry, cantaloupe, or dark cherries? Hazelnut, walnut, or almonds?

Pulling a very good shot isn't enough; the competitor must accurately describe the drink to be awarded top scores. If the competitor is blathering simply to pass the time, it costs them points on multiple fronts.

[AndyS]

Hopefully I didn't come across too lecturing! I tried not to, instead of memorising a speech I just had mental bullet points. Anyways - I am happy to answer any questions about the coffees or brew recipes people might have. I think the bulk of my win, easily, is down to the quality of the raw ingredients.

Congratulations on a fantastic performance!

To my mind, you came across as extraordinarily natural, sincere, and composed. I hope to visit you in your coffee bar someday soon.

[another_jim]

Congratulations on a fantastic performance!

To my mind, you came across as extraordinarily natural, sincere, and composed. I hope to visit you in your coffee bar someday soon.

That was my impression too, from the video on zachary.

I'm curious if the tech judges had any questions about your using a doserless grinder. It makes the "grinder waste" scoring category moot.

[King Seven]

Interesting point - though what I think made it easier was the number of people misusing them and dosing in quite inconsistent ways. I think there will be some resistance to them, but to my mind one has to ask why we endorse dosing chambers when none of us use them as they are designed? While they do break up clumps is it really the most efficient way to do this, and is that benefit enough to justify the wild thwacking and the increased possibilities of waste/overgrinding?

I am not coming down on one side of the fence at the moment - there were a number of reasons I chose the Mahlkoenig, and whilst some related to scoring others related to logistics and being a long way from home on a different electricity set up.

For me the most important thing will remain the burrset and grind quality when it comes to buying grinders in the future.

[Teme]

there were a number of reasons I chose the Mahlkoenig

Congrats once more Jim. May I ask which version of the K30 you were using (the ES, the Vario or the Competition)? To me they looked like ES's but I may be wrong. Also, which burrset were you running on them?

Br,
Teme

[King Seven]

I forget the name of the one I was using - it has the LCD controller but is stepless.

I am not sure which burrset was in there as Mahlkoenig organised the grinders for me and I never got a chance to get inside. They were brand new grinders out of the box and took a little while to bed in, but once they did my espresso was tasting as good as it ever has.

[Teme]

Ok. That would the Vario -model (which is the one I have been interested in to replace my Casadio). And no Ditting burrs. Thank you for sharing.

Br,
Teme

[Rosemary]

Many thanks for the clarification on the allocation of points at the WBC. That does make more sense.

Thanks for commenting King Seven. No I didn't think you came across too lecturing at all and sorry I didn't mean to imply you did. Congratulations and well done.

I thought that the finalists in general spoke very well. Some competitors did seem to be uncomfortable and maybe not always too sincere with their commentary but this may have been due to them thinking about what they had to be getting on with. I wondered how this aspect of the competition had developed. Thanks HB for the clarification.

Can anyone comment with relation to European v's American style? Do the rules demand a particular style of bean/roast etc or is it quite open to interpretation. Did the finalists adhere to a particular style?

Many thanks
Rosemary

[another_jim]

Can anyone comment with relation to European v's American style? Do the rules demand a particular style of bean/roast etc or is it quite open to interpretation. Did the finalists adhere to a particular style?

Espresso style in the States is changing and becoming more varied. The premier blends in the past were almost exclusively medium dark roasted, very heavy bodied, very low in acidity and fruit flavors, with an emphasis on chocolate, distillates and caramels. Black Cat, Toscano, and Palladino are some outstanding examples.

Two years ago, Terroir started selling their North Italian SO Daterra, the same coffee used by the WBC winner that year. This introduced the straight espresso audience to a North Italian* espresso style popular in the Scandinavian countries. This was a light to medium roast, with good acidity, and prominent fruity tastes. At first, they had a tough time of it. To palates used to the blends at the time, it seemed crashingly acidic. Pulling it properly also required changes in dosing and shot temperature, and the know how only spread slowly.

But once the know how did spread, blends and SOs along these lines snowballed. Paradise Roaster's natural Yrgs, Metropolis's Red Line, and of course Terroir's offerings were all light and bright, and each created a lot of buzz. This year at the USBC finals, light blends were used not just by Heather, but also by Pete Licata and Peter Middlecamp. I'm not sure exactly how many of the semi-finals competitors were using blends in this style, but it certainly wasn't close to half the competitors. The good showing of these coffees means that at least among the audiences that make up the US judging pool, taste has shifted towards the lighter coffees.

*North Italian has become a positive selling descriptor in the US, so regardless of blend or roast depth, every espresso is described as a North Italian Roast (except Terroir's Southern Roast, which is perhaps the 2nd lightest bean I've seen in the US for espresso). I got some samples from Sandalj, an honest to goodness Trieste coffee importer, and the roast levels varied from cinnamon (lighter even than Terroir) to medium-dark, in other words, a large Agtron range. So in Northern Italy, "North Italian" doesn't convey much about the depth of roast.