Nice! I'm trying to decide if I'm going to go Saturday or Sunday. I don't think I can make both days, but I'm thinking Sunday would be the better day to go, albeit a bit busier. I wish I could volunteer, but I just don't have the time or comprehension of what happens at one of these events.

Y'all need to check out the SLAYER - try an espresso or two and then tell us all how it was

Honestly, that's no doubt one of the main reasons I want to go. That, and I want to score a paddle for my GS3.

My wife and I are heading down this morning. I hope they allow pictures; if so I will post later.

I spent an exhausting weekend, mostly working the Hottop Booth for Michael. It gave me little time to thoroughly explore the floor and I had no time to sit and watch the barista championships at all. It was either that or not go at all since I cannot afford it on my own. I did see some interesting items, and of course, took the time to search out and at least say hello to old friends who did not have the time to stop by the booth. Some of the things that caught my eye I have reviewed on my website in the latest chapter of my blog area. Cafelat, Paul Pratt's new line, was very nice indeed, and he certainly is one of the people I look forward to seeing each year. There was the Malykke coffee grinder that has great promise. It reflects Danish design in its beauty and simplicity as well as function. Anyone else taste the Kikkoman Pearl Soymilk? I am going to get some to try stretching, but the taste is by far the most like real milk I have ever had with soymilk. Excellent texture out of the carton as well. Had a few seconds to play with the VBM dual rotary... Daddy likey!

Where can I find videos of the finals? I enjoyed them before, but haven't located any this year.

Marshall wrote:Already here. The WBC area is amazing. Cindy Chang (newly announced Exec. Director) gave me a walk-through. Seating on both sides of the performance area. A press/blogging booth. Video projections of barista techniques. A rotating list of barista champions serving espresso and specialty drinks to visitors.

Oh, yeah. It's free and open to the public. You don't even need to buy a pass to the Exposition floor.

I was there, but somehow also missed this thread.
Sorry I missed some of you.

Yep, missed Rob AND Randy! I would bet money I walked by both of you two on Sunday!

Ok, my wife and I were at the SCAA and the WBC on Saturday. We were both captured in James Hathaway's Saturday picture of the WBC bar (see his thread on SCAA Update). Here are some pictures and thoughts:



Two pictures of the UK Champion in competition on Saturday. He was the eventual WBC Winner. I met him on the floor later when he was returning a grinder to a booth and congratulated him on his performance (like I know a good performance when I see one!) Seemed like a nice guy, said he was not nervous until he pressed the red button to start the timer.


The Polish Champion in competition. The competitors that did not speak English as their first language were at a distinct disadvantage in the competition as it took them longer to explain their drinks. I think that led to the competitor from Poland running over by 36 seconds.


Joe Behm, inventor of the Behmor roaster. He is really passionate about his product and helping customers. I am looking forward to any upgrades he develops (since I have a Behmor roaster).


I met Randy G at the HotTop booth. Boy those roaster look great, that would be my upgrade in the future I think. Really nice to meet Randy, I have read a lot on his web site. And good luck to him in his new endeavor!


The Slayer uses the wooden handles on each group to vary the brew pressure. The barista explained how he was using low pressure at the beginning of the shot as a preinfusion technique and then raised the pressure to finish.


At the Counter Culture booth they demonstrated (and let me participate) in cupping. Did a great job explaining considering I'm such a newbie. One of them knows Dan (don't worry, he did not say anything bad about you). BTW, that is not me in the picture.


At the WBC bar, I got to sample the Signature drink by Mike Marquard (US Competitor in 2009). Really interesting; he reduced brown sugar, cocoa and some sea salt in espresso. He then made shots and put some of the mixture in cups which he covered with a glass under which he lit a small amount of loose pipe tobacco. After the tobacco smoke flavored the drink some we got to sip. Very interesting taste.

I also got to sample an espresso of the Cup of Excellence coffee used by the US Barista Champion in the WBC competition at the Intelligentsia booth. Really tasty, had a cinnamon finish. And the sipping chocolate at Caffe D'Amore was wonderful. At the Nuova Simonelli booth I discussed the topic of whether the Oscar has pre-infusion (the person I was talking to said yes, but that's for another thread).

All in all, my wife and I had a great time. Saw lots of interesting stuff, and watched several competitors at the WBC. Would love to go again some time.

oconee wrote:I met Randy G at the HotTop booth. Boy those roaster look great, that would be my upgrade in the future I think. Really nice to meet Randy, I have read a lot on his web site. And good luck to him in his new endeavor!

Just to mitigate any possible confusion, I am an independent contractor, self-employed graphic artist, and one of my clients has been Hottop USA. Far from being new, I have had an association with Hottop for about five years now. While I do work the Hottop booth at the SCAA shows, I am not an employee of Hottop nor the parent company, Cheng Yue, and I do NOT get paid for sales of Hottop roasters. They do pay my way so that I can attend the show each year, and they do appreciate my knowledge of the appliances as well as my language skills.

I believe that the new endeavor to which he referred is that the owner of a local coffee chain is interested in hiring me on an hourly wage basis (a real part-time job!) to train new baristas, do espresso quality control at the 4 shops they operate, do sample roasting when necessary (just did two batches of Guat which were interesting), drive to the importers' warehouses and pick up green orders, etc. I am sure that I am gong to learn as much as the new baristas will, but the owner is great and very passionate about coffee, so it should be good times if it happens as planned...

In any case, thanks to the folks who did stop by the booth to say hello. With possibly just me being the exception, it's nice to be able to put a face to a name..