We continue our conversation with the reigning U.S. Brewers Cup champ about his run to the World Brewers Cup finals last month.
BY CHRIS RYAN
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Photos courtesy of World Coffee Events
Yesterday, we started a conversation with Elika Liftee, who recently represented the United States in the World Brewers Cup (WBrC) in Milan, Italy, where he placed third.
Elika, who serves as director of education at Onyx Coffee Lab in Arkansas, became the fifth U.S. brewer to make the World Brewers Cup finals in the 11 years of the competition. His placement is the best by a U.S. competitor since James McCarthy won the competition in 2013—the only U.S. competitor to have done so.
Today we conclude our conversation with Elika to discuss having the Onyx team on his side, his competition future, and much more.
What was the actual experience of competing on the world stage in Milan like for you? Did COVID-19 end up having much of an effect on the experience?
I had a lot of fun and had some excellent learning experiences. It’s hard to say how much COVID ended up affecting the experience, since it was my first time at worlds. But I assume there would have been more time allowed backstage for practicing during the competition, as well as social events. It honestly felt like a (U.S. Coffee Champs) qualifier in that sense, as well as how I felt onstage. I actually feel more nervous during qualifiers than I did at nationals and subsequently at worlds.
I felt great during my finals routine! I knew I had to execute, and I think that reflects in my score jump that brought me up to third. The biggest thing I believe the pandemic affected is the turnout. While HOST Milano was a large event, there were definitely fewer competitors and judges at this competition, and I can’t express my gratitude for the volunteers enough that allowed this to happen.
Andrea Allen, co-owner of Onyx Coffee Lab, is the reigning U.S. Barista Champion and competed at the World Barista Championship at HOST. How was it to have your friend and colleague at the event taking part in a different competition?
Having Andrea there was great. She has the best work ethic during competition season that I know. Being from the same company meant we had a small Onyx team on premises. That made things more comfortable as well as having extra hands for help during competition. … I don’t know many other jobs that have a component as exciting as this, but watching Andrea compete for years, then make finals, and finally runner-up was a great experience. I was so happy for her to make finals, and after that we were overjoyed with our results. I’m glad we both found success after such a long wait!
Finally, you finished third! What were some of your takeaways from the experience and the final result? And do you have a sense of whether you’ll keep competing in the future?
I’m thrilled with the results. I wanted to win and was very close, but Daiki (Hatakeyama, second place) and Matt (Winton, first) both executed great and won out. I can confidently say that I’ll be competing again. I enjoy competitions and how they push me to practice and improve. I went into Milan wanting to win and believed I had the opportunity to do so. That being said, I love that I got to know Daiki and Matt backstage and can say that they are both amazing and deserving. I also believe I learned a lot and can build on my experience. The U.S. is a tough competition circuit, so whoever makes it through next year will have my full support and confidence.
