UKBC Preparation Weekend
Article written by Mike Haggerton

I haven't been a coffee nut for very long... I'm fairly new really, but I am a very keen learner. I've always liked the idea of becoming a very good barista. I'm not a competitive person though, so when I first heard of the UK Barista Championship it didn't appeal. As I read more about the UKBC a common theme shone through. Past competitor often spoke of how much they had learned as a result of entering the UKBC. It seemed odd to me. Surely, I thought, if you're bold enough to enter the UKBC then you must be beyond needing to learn more.

As the months passed and the coffeeforums members taught me so much, I realised that the coffee industry has a fairly unique culture, unlike any other industry I have experienced. Everyone is helpful. Everyone is friendly. Everyone shares what they know and genuinely wants to facilitate your improve. Spending time with other baristas is apparently a fantastic learning opportunity (as well as being a lot of fun). For an example, read this profile of barista Candice Madison who spent a few days working with other baristas at an event in Edinburgh. http://coffeecommon.com/post/8409063...andice-madison

My opinion of the UKBC gradually changed. My perception of the people who take part also changed. I no longer saw it as some kind of “look at me... look how good I am” ego trip. No longer the domain of the 'crema the crop'. It became somehow welcoming. It became an event that was designed for people exactly like me... people who want to learn, to improve, people who want to meet and exchange ideas with other baristas, and who want to have fun in the process.

I sent my entry form in for the 2012 UKBC. (In fact, I think I was so keen that I did so on the first day the form was available for download!)

Last weekend I attended a couple of barista events concerned with the competition. The first, on Saturday, was a workshop that John Gordon, the current (and two years running) UK Barista Champion. It was a completely free event that John decided to organise himself. In his own words, “This Year I wanted to give something back to a very large part of my life that gave me so much joy and not only helped but accelerated a never ending learning experience I will never forget.” I saw his invitation, which he sent out to the world via twitter, and absolutely pounced on it. I was quite amazed that I was able to secure a spot. What makes it an even more noble gesture by John is that it raised over £500 for http://www.coffeekids.org/ from attendee's donations. (Please take a look at their website if you get a chance.)

I got a cheap flight from Glasgow to Heathrow, did a bit of shopping with my wife in Oxford Street (cruel and unusual torture), then made my way over to the Square Mile roastery where the event was taking place. Standing outside in the freezing January cold, I knocked on the door and the imposing figure of a large, shaven-headed man with a black beard opened it. Mr Gordon himself. A minute later I had a cup of Rwanda Musasa Coop brewed by the big man (using a Marco batch brewed). Lovely, although to be honest all I wanted was something to warm my hands up!

Inside I found about twenty blokes of various ages, seemingly involved in that awkward stage of saying hello and making small talk with strangers. I said hello and talked small whilst we waited to begin the workshop. To be fair, it was nothing like 'networking'. In a short space of time it was almost like chatting to old friends or long-time colleagues. There were even a few guys I had heard of, or who had heard of me, through forums, twitter and other social media. I guess it shows how joined-up the barista community is that others around the country might faintly recall a nobody like me.

The session began. John stood for around 3.5 hours presenting, answering questions, giving advice, explaining the finer points of competition rules and scoresheets, and basically helping us all be better baristas. And let's be honest... I think we needed it. It was very reassuring to me that I was not surrounded by an intimidating bunch of superhuman expert rockstar baristas who knew everything there was to know about coffee. Sure, they were clearly great at their jobs. But they were also just normal guys who weren't ashamed to put their hand up and say “How do I do this”, or “I didn't know that”. People who were simply extremely keen to learn. There was absolutely no snobbery, no finger-pointing, no cliquishness.

At the end of the night I reflected on how I'd hoped that I'd learn something as a result of entering the UKBC. So far it had vastly exceeded my expectations! I can't even attempt to go into the details of the wealth of information John passed on to us all. All I can say is that I hope more baristas have the opportunity to take part in events like this. In fact, John sent an email out to attendees afterwards, saying that he would like to do more events. I'm not saying that entering the UKBC is the only way to improve and have fantastic learning opportunities like this... but it is certainly one very good way. And hey, for £25 entry fee how wrong can it be?

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The Trophy Shelves At Square Mile Roastery

The next day, Sunday, was devoted to an SCAE-UK event hosted at Fix Coffee in Whitecross Street. A San Remo verona and also two Mahlkoenig K30 grinders had been installed right in the middle of the seating area, and all UKBC entrants had been invited to come along to get some hands-on time with the equipment. Before arriving, I didn't really know what to expect of the day. Who would be there? How formal would it be? How long would I stay... 5 minutes or 5 hours? The uncertainty of such things can be slightly intimidating. But there's only ever one way to find out.

As someone who hasn't spent a huge amount of time on different machines or with different grinders, this day was well worth the flight ticket. You can have all the skills and knowledge in the world (which I don't anyway!) but there is always some kind of challenge when it comes to using new equipment... whether it is a different grinder, an upgraded mobile phone, or struggling to get the gearbox into reverse with a new car. Not insurmountable at all, but these things require a little time to adjust to. And when it comes to competition day, I'm guessing the last thing I need is to be struggling with the steam arm being a slightly different lenth from the ones I've used before.

I was one of the first to arrive, which meant that I had plenty of time to chat with some of the organisers who were there. It was good to meet Jamie Banwell, whom I had been speaking to by email. As well as coordinating entrants' applications, he is a UKBC Technical Judge. Jamie introduced me to Denise Hall, owner of Coffee XTC and also (I later learned) a UKBC Sensory Judge. Marc-Pierre Dietrich (whom I recognised from his judging at previous years' UKBC videos) and Glenn Watson (technical judge and also founder of www.coffeeforums.co.uk) were there too. One of the best things I got from the day was meeting these people. I don't mean that in a sycophantic way. What I mean is, up until that point judges had been… well... scary! I suppose it's human nature that we tend to find certain jobs or roles a little threatening, especially if they involve scrutinising your work and assessing your every move. Having a chance to see these folks in a 'human' capacity means that I'll hopefully be just that tiny bit less stressed on competition day. After all, they are just normal people like me, except they have more experience in the industry.

Denise immediately spent some time explaining the Mahlkoenig grinder's operation. She was careful to point out that as a judge she isn't allowed to provide 'coaching'. Anyway, the K30 has an electronic dosing system, so we looked at how to enter the Setup menu and adjust the dose timer, as well as adjusting the grind. I was quite surprised that the official UKBC grinders are stepped, and having previously planned to use the K30 I am now having second thoughts and considering bringing my own. I'm not sure, and if anyone has any thoughts then I'd love to hear them.

Then Brandon Thurley from San Remo (sponsors of the UKBC) gave me a good run-through of the features and operation of the Verona espresso machine. As well as the external features (brew buttons etc) we also discussed the internal workings of the machine, such as how it manages to maintain a stable and controllable brew temperature that can be set by the user. Along with Denise and Jamie we discussed some aspects of the competition rules, for example how the machine will be set at 92C for all competitors. It does seem a shame that when you have a machine that is capable of brewing at different temperatures at the touch of a button (which the Verona can), we should be restricted by a fairly arbitrary rule. As different beans extract better at different temperatures, having a fixed brew temperature seems a little like the tail wagging the dog. (Apparently 92C was chosen in the past because of requests from just two baristas/roasters.) Anyway, it did transpire that in future years it may be possible to relax the rule regarding the machine's brew temperature, so that is encouraging.

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Surrounded by 20 baristas, the San Remo Verona was feeling quite sorry for itself

Some of the guys from John Gordon's workshop were there too, and it was great to see them getting stuck into the equipment. Others had travelled from far and wide to take advantage of the event. We were using beans supplied by Union Hand Roasted, and some of the espressos coming out were delicious. For me personally, it was a rare treat to see someone else pull a shot that I'd gladly drink. Barista skills and good quality beans are scarce up in the Highlands of Scotland, so to be honest I tend to only drink my own espresso. (One of my primary goals in life is to raise the bar of coffee in the Highlands!) It was what you might call a 'safe environment' at Fix Coffee. Just like the day before, no finger-pointing and lots of people helping each other. Mistakes were made, and corrected, without judgement from others. It was a good environment for learning.

I ended up staying for the whole afternoon. One other barista said that he could happily spend all night on the equipment, and I certainly felt the same way. More days like this can only be a good thing, and I mentioned to Denise that next year I would like to host such an event in my own cafe. We will be opening this year in a location that is slap-bang in the geographical centre of Scotland, and one of the current challenges for Scottish baristas is that Glasgow and Edinburgh, where events tend to be hosted, are actually very far away from many Scottish people. I'd love to make it easier for Scottish baristas to get involved in the UKBC.

If I had the power to change one thing about both events, it would be to raise the count of female baristas. Unless I am mistaken, the tally for the whole weekend was a grand total of zero! I know that Gwilym Davies has raised this in the past, and there have been a few online discussions. I also believe that it is dangerous to make assumptions about why it may be the case, and jumping to the wrong conclusions is not going to be helpful. If there are any female baristas out there reading this, feel free to reply with your own thoughts as to why you have chosen not to take part. It might help identify common reasons, and once people in the industry knows what those are then maybe steps can be taken to make entering competitions more appealing to female baristas.

So I hope this little write up has given you a feel for the kind of things a UKBC entrant is getting up to. More importantly, I would be ecstatic if even one person felt inspired enough to consider putting aside their trepidation, and decided to send in an entry form. Any competition, whether it relates to coffee, sport or playing the bagpipes, only exists as long as there are people who are prepared to stick their head above the sandbags and get involved. I promise, you won't get your hat shot off!!

Mike Haggerton