I came across a home barista championship that is being sponsored by Rocket. A quick search of H-B didn't turn up any posts about this kind of competition so I thought it would make a good discussion. The link to the contest is below, and unfortunately it is in Auckland, NZ. And while a return trip to NZ is on my short list I can't say that this would be reason enough to make travel plans.

http://www.rockethomebaristachamps.co.nz

The structure of the contest is similar to the WBC but each contestant only gets 10 minutes and you have to be able to make and butter toast. The scoring sheets are serious though and I believe they really want to make this a competition. One notable difference to the WBC is that contestants are not supposed to have worked in the coffee industry, and therefore the "home barista".

Is this interesting to anyone else?

I think this would be awesome.

Interesting certainly.

I can imagine some of the routines would be painful to watch though, I've seen the youtube videos of shot prep

If only they implemented buttering toast in the WBC...that would be very interesting to watch.

I could see something like this happening:

"I hope you've enjoyed your espressos. In just a moment, I'll be moving on to my signature toast. The toast that you are about to enjoy is a wild yeast brioche of the red fife variety, which was made using flour sieved to 450 microns, baked to an internal temperature of 98C and slowly toasted to a city+ to bring out the natural sweetness and character of the Alberta red fife. This single-herd butter that I'll be using was slow-churned to 83% milk fat using milk from a cow named Freckles, which balances the clove notes of the brioche with flavours of honeysuckle, meyer lemon and freshly-mowed grass. If you'll allow me a quick moment judges, I will be serving your toasts promptly. The technique I am using to distribute the butter is called "nutating", which allows for a more even distribution of the butter. By rotating the knife, the butter becomes thoroughly integrated into the toast, allowing you to taste more of the butter in every bite. I want to thank you judges for your time and I hope you've enjoyed this toast as much as our folks back home at 4th Wave Toast. Time."

Maybe I was exaggerating too much

LOL... didn't think anyone knew about red fife wheat.

I wonder if they would let you spread Vegemite on the toast. I did a few more searches and was surprised that I couldn't find any stateside home barista contests.

I'd love to put something together for a "South West Regionals" tournament...if there's interest I can start asking around...

varnex wrote:If only they implemented buttering toast in the WBC...that would be very interesting to watch.

I could see something like this happening:

"I hope you've enjoyed your espressos. In just a moment, I'll be moving on to my signature toast. The toast that you are about to enjoy is a wild yeast brioche of the red fife variety, which was made using flour sieved to 450 microns, baked to an internal temperature of 98C and slowly toasted to a city+ to bring out the natural sweetness and character of the Alberta red fife. This single-herd butter that I'll be using was slow-churned to 83% milk fat using milk from a cow named Freckles, which balances the clove notes of brioche with flavours of honeysuckle, meyer lemon and freshly-mowed grass. If you'll allow me a quick moment judges, I will be serving your toasts promptly. The technique I am using to distribute the butter is called "nutating", which allows for a more even distribution of the butter. By rotating the knife, the butter becomes thoroughly integrated into the toast, allowing you to taste more of the butter in every bite. I want to thank you judges for your time and I hope you've enjoyed this toast as much as our folks back home at 4th Wave Toast. Time."

Maybe I was exaggerating too much

Hahaha

jgirl125 wrote:I wonder if they would let you spread Vegemite on the toast. I did a few more searches and was surprised that I couldn't find any stateside home barista contests.

No self-respecting Kiwi would spread Vegemite on their toast, thats for Aussies! Only Marmite will do.

Sorry, I've only been to New Zealand once, and I obviously missed that Marmite rules. Am hoping to get back there for an extended vacation one of these days.