Welcome to another Sunday on the Barista Magazine blog. This is our weekly catchup blog post so that you have an easy one-stop spot where you can find all of the posts we’ve done during the week.
As always, it’s been another busy week here at BMag World HQ and blog. Of course for us the biggest news this week was the launch of our latest issue, August + September 2013 which features profiles of this year’s World Barista Champion, Pete Licata, the World Brewers Cup Champion, Erin McCarthy, and last year’s WBC champ, Raul Rodas.
Our first story of the week, though, on the blog came from Josh Taves in Denver, Colorado, and he wrote about a great event they recently had there. From his story:
I recently traveled to Denver to participate in the inaugural œIt’s About the Coffee lecture series put on by the Rocky Mountain Craft Coffee Alliance (RMCCA) and the Barista Guild of America (BGA). The RMCCA is an awesome group that has sprung up recently with the intention of building community in the industry, exploring the boundaries of what quality coffee can be, and how to effectively communicate that to the growing consumer base. They have done such events as a community forum hosted byNovo Coffee, a coffee-beer collaboration with Odell Brewing Co., roasting workshops with the Roasters Guild, and of course latte art competitions.
You can read Josh’s complete report on “It’s All About the Coffee” here:
œIt’s All About Coffee Takes on Philosophy, Science, Customer Service, and More at Denver Event
Next up was a report from Sarah about the upcoming barista education event in Red Square in Moscow, Russia. It’s the third year for the coffee event, but this year will bring some new twists and experiences both for the participating baristas and the general public.
Groundbreaking Barista Education & Showcase Event Coming to Moscow’s Red Square in September
Then we rolled into Wednesday, and around here (and wherever you may be!) that means it’s time to play Humpday Giveaway our weekly trivia contest for awesome coffee-related prizes. This week’s prize was a commercial brewer from the great folks at Toddy! And really, what could be a more perfect prize for a sweltering August day?
Let’s Play Barista Magazine’s Humpday Giveaway! #24 (August 7, 2013 Edition)
Following that, we had a story about the two-time USBC champion, and trainer for Klatch Coffee, Heather Perry and her barista training classes that are currently scheduled for Southern California. From the post:
Heather was the United States Barista Champion in 2003 and 2007, and when she came in 2nd in the World Barista Championship (WBC) in 2007, she achieved the highest ranking an American had ever reached. Though two Americans have won the WBC since then ”including reigning champ, Heather’s dear friend Pete Licata ”Heather still holds the record for highest ranking woman in the WBC competition.
Seriously, if you want to hone your barista skills, learning from Heather could really make an impact! She definitely knows her stuff!
Summer School with Heather
On Thursday here in Portland, we had a great event at the American Barista and Coffee School featuring loads of awesome Guatemalan coffees arranged by Mayaland Coffee and our old friend Dan Griffin.
This tasting was super special: Josué Morales of TG-LAB video conferenced in some of the producers from TG-LAB’s office/factory/roasting space in Guatemala City. As a lot of the attendees to this very well-attended session in Portland yesterday were baristas and cafe owners who had never had the opportunity to come face-to-face with the farmers who had grown the coffee they were enjoying, this was a remarkable experience.
TG-LAB & Mayaland Coffee Hits Portland with Some Seriously Good Guats
Saturday we had a grab-bag post of some of the interesting news bits we saw this week that weren’t quite enough for a post of their own. You can read all about them (and follow the links) here:
Rwanda COE Begins, Starbucks Gun Event Shut Out In Newtown, Billy Announces 4th Cafe, and Baristas Could be Replaced by Robots?
Thanks for stopping by! Remember to check back at the BMag blog throughout the week to stay on top of the latest and greatest in the world of coffee, and don’t forget to come by on Wednesday to play our next round of Humpday Giveaway!
