ThaRiddla wrote: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.

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

HB wrote: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.

another_jim wrote: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.

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? ).

Nick wrote: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.

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.