An interview with the new WBC champ, business tips for creating a great tea program, our annual ’Best Bar Tools’ feature, and much more in the new issue!
BY KENNETH R. OLSON
BARISTA MAGAZINE
We couldn’t be more excited to release the December 2021 + January 2022 issue of Barista Magazine today—we hope the wealth of content helps you to engage with the coffee community, consider business opportunities to boost profitability for you in the new year, and feed your soul with coffee culture from around the world.
(Read the December 2021 + January 2022 issue in its entirety for free by following this link to our digital edition. Or if you’d prefer a printed copy of your very own, go here to subscribe and to buy single issues.)
As always, we worked to represent many diverse voices in this new issue of Barista Magazine, whether through the people showcased in the articles or by the authors, photographers, and illustrators with whom we had the privilege to work. In the pages of our final issue of 2021 and first of 2022, we take you around the world to coffee destinations, and introduce you to the leading minds working in everything from the world of coffee cocktails to the latest coffee film. Here are a few of the highlights:
Meet 2021 World Barista Champion Diego Campos of Colombia
Barista Magazine editor Sarah Allen traveled to Milan, Italy, in late October to attend the World Barista Championship, the preeminent coffee competition on the planet, to see who would take the crown. Having missed an entire year of coffee competitions due to the global pandemic, the 38 national champions who made their way to Milan to represent their countries on the global coffee stage were thrilled to have the esteemed opportunity to share their craft in front of an audience that might not have been as vast as in recent years, but that definitely brought enthusiasm in spades.
After four days of intense competition, three-time Barista Champion of Colombia Diego Campos took top honors—and made history by being the first champion from his country, arguably the most famous coffee-producing nation in the world—to win the World Barista Championship.
In the December 2021 + January 2022 issue, Sarah interviews Diego about his history with coffee, how he met the love of his life on a coffee farm, and his plans to develop his own farm in Huila, Colombia. Sarah also interviewed the many coffee luminaries who played a part in Diego’s achievements, from his boss and mentor, Luis Velez of Amor Perfecto, to WBC champ-turned-coffee producer Tim Wendelboe, to Diego’s coach, Federico Bolanos, who trained 2011 WBC champ Alejandro Mendez as well as 2019 WBC winner Jooyeon Jeon. Sarah also talked to WBC co-founder Sonja Grant and others.
Global Coffee In Good Spirits Champs on the Latest in Coffee Cocktails
We asked 2019 United States Coffee In Good Spirits (CIGS) Champ Matt Foster to write an in-depth story about the emergence of coffee cocktails as not simply a hot trend but a facet of specialty coffee that is here to stay. In the December 2021 + January 2022 issue article on the topic, Matt invited CIGS champions—including two-time World CIGS Champ Dan Fellows; 2017 World CIGS champ Martin Hudak; Seattle-based barista and bartender Brandon Paul Weaver, himself one of the developers of the U.S. CIGS championship, and others—to discuss the latest in coffee cocktails and share their tips for how café owners can implement a robust coffee cocktail program of their own.
’Best Bar Tools 2021’
Always one of the most-read stories in our annual December + January issue, the 2021 installment of ’Best Bar Tools’ is a super fun read. We asked baristas and café owners from across the United States to pick one product or tool—it could be anything except coffee—and tell Barista Magazine readers why they can’t live without it. Check out the items they selected for ideas and inspiration for your own shop!
’Field Reports’ on Prague, Mexico City, and Edinburgh
Now that the world is opening up again, we’re excited to bring you ’Field Reports’ on coffee cultures and cafes in three exciting cities. Our globe-trotting authors explore each city’s diverse coffee scenes with an eye on traditions still in place, developments and innovations happening now, and snapshots of the most dynamic and inspiring coffeehouses they found.
Tea as a Profit Booster
Many leading coffee company owners know that having a specialty-tea program that is every bit as high quality as their coffee menus is critical to their bottom line, especially in our culture of more and more discerning and demanding customers. We speak to myriad experts, consultants, tea buyers, café owners, and more to learn about how to design a program that works for your unique shop, what it will cost, and the benefits you can expect to reap.
And there’s much, much more in this issue! Check it out here to read the entire issue for free online, or go here to subscribe to the print magazine. We can’t wait for you to read this issue—and we hope you will enjoy it as much as we have!
Subscribe and More!
You can read Barista Magazine in paper or digital format. Read the December 2021 + January 2022 issue for free with our digital edition. Visit our digital edition archives here.
You can order a hard copy of the magazine through our online store here or start a subscription for one year or two. While supplies last, you’ll get a copy of the new 2nd Crack: Issue 2 comic book for free with any new subscription!
