From the looks of things on the awesome Mountain Regional Barista Competition (MRBC) blog, the latest regional to take place, held in Thornton, Colorado, and graciously hosted by Allegro Coffee, was a hit! Big congratulations to Greg Lefcourt, of Ozo Coffee Co., in Boulder, who won top honors. The photo below shows Greg in the final round.
(I lifted these pictures from the MRBC blog, so be sure to look at the blog for even more photos and news.)
Sunday’s finalists were:
Jesse Bladyka- Coal Creek Coffee, Laramie, WY
Greg Lefcourt- Ozo Coffee Co, Boulder, CO
Robin Crosby- Coal Creek Coffee, Laramie, WY
Philip Search- Sole Coffee Roasters, Boulder, CO
Emily Kryska- Caffee Sole, Boulder, CO
Thai Patton- The Cup, Boulder, CO
.
Huh? What’s that you say? Yeah, I was surprised to see that Philip Search ”longtime competing barista from the Northwest ”was competing in the Mountain region, too! Philip won third place in the competition, with second place honors going to Jesse Bladyka of Coal Creek Coffee in Laramie, Wyoming.
I’m assuming thanks are due in great part to the amazing Mr. Mike Strumpf of Allegro, who has done a bang up job in the past orgazning barista competitions being hosted by Allegro. Looks like the turnout was awesome, too.
Great work getting the media involved, as well! Looks like the local newsteam showed up for some shots during practice time, and even interviewed the soon-to-be winner! Now, I haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting Greg, but I like the guy already based on what he said to the newscaster, when the TV dude told Greg that Hey! We have one of those coffee maker things in our break room at the station, and it only costs 50 cents for a cup of coffee! And Greg didn’t even punch the guy! He just said “Put your 50 cents in there. You’ll get 50 cents worth of whatever’s coming out of that machine.” Take that Mr. TV Reporter Pal!
Congratulations again to all the competitors at the Mountain Regional Barista Competition, and looking forward to shaking your hand in Portland, Greg, at the United States Barista Championship, March 5 “8.
I knew that Greg had the fire in his belly when I met him last year – not surprised that he delivered the goods. The news report is a trip: Greg is a working barista who gets up at the ‘butt-crack of dawn’.
I too was surprised to see Philip in the mix – Sole has been roasting some good coffee (with interesting altitude packaging techniques) – seems like a good fit.
Rock on, Mountain region!