Meet Northeast Regional Brewers Cup Champ Jordan Barber!

As the proud Media Sponsor of the United States Barista Championship since 2005, Barista Magazine has always compiled and produced a beautiful printed program that serves as a guide, collectors item, introduction to the Regional Barista Champions and the Regional Brewers Cup Champions, all the party info for the SCAA show, and much more! 2013 is no different. This year’s Official United States Barista Championship.U.S. Brewers Cup Event Program is at the printer right now! But we thought we’d give you a sneak peek at some of the most popular content in the program, the Regional Barista Competition Champs and Regional Brewers Cup Champs profiles.

JORDAN BARBER
NORTHEAST REGIONAL BREWERS CUP CHAMPION
INTELLIGENTSIA COFFEE
NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Jordan Barber has worked in some of the best cafes in the world, from Portland, Ore., to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he worked for the famous Coffee Collective. No wonder he's done so well in barista competitions and brewers cups over the years. — Jordan Barber has worked in some of the best cafes in the world, from Portland, Ore., to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he worked for the famous Coffee Collective. No wonder he’s done so well in barista competitions and brewers cups over the years.

Years you’ve been a barista?
10 years and counting.

What advice do you have for someone new to the Brewers Cup competition?

Have a clear idea of what your coffee tastes like. Don’t over manipulate the extraction. Just try to bring out the best qualities the coffee has and not what you wish the coffee had.

You have a lot of experience competing in both barista and brewers competitions. What do you like about each?

Both competitions have their unique challenges. Barista competition requires a lot of training and attention to detail so you can kick into auto-pilot during competition. Brewers Cup requires a lot more focus on the brewing and talking as you don’t have a machine doing the work for you, kind of like patting your head and rubbing your stomach
at the same time.

Why are you back to compete again? What’s the thrill?

I’m pretty competitive by nature. Also specialty coffee is a relatively young industry. It’s important to be constantly learning and evolving. Competition is the best platform I’ve found to do both.

How do you make coffee at home?

Lately I’ve been brewing predominately with a Kalitta at home. Preciso grinder, Bonavita kettle, scale, coffee, and water, lots of it.

Any favorite cafés?

My two favorite cafés to date are: Intelligentsia Coffee Silver Lake in Los Angeles. I love the layout, and something about drinking great coffee in sunny 70-degree weather just makes life better. The second café I love is The Coffee Collective on JÃ¦gerborggade in KÃ¸benhavn [Copenhagen, Denmark]. It holds a special place in my heart ”many epiphanies, inspirational conversations, and of course many delicious coffees have been had in that little basement.