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

It is with great pleasure that we publish an interview with Alan Miller from Union Hand Roasted Coffee – Roasted Coffee Suppliers to the UKBC, which introduces a brand new prize category for 2012.

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MPD – Marc Pierre Dietrich – UK Coffee Events

AM – Alan Miller – Union Hand Roasted Coffee



MPD

UK Coffee Events would like to thank yourself and Union Hand Roasted for getting involved with UK Coffee Events this year.

Additionally we would like to thank you for introducing a brand new prize category for the UK Barista Championships – Best Newcomer (Working Barista) – and for offering a trip to origin for the best newcomer in the UKBC.

What gave you the idea?

AM

Thanks Marc. We are pleased to be associated with UK Coffee Events as Roasted Coffee Supplier, and have been part of the UKBC for several years now, hosting the SouthEast Heat in London last year.

We are hoping to bring a new dynamic to the UKBC with this Origin trip prize. In our day job we support, advise and train many in the coffee industry: baristas, restaurant and bar managers, cafe owners. With the current upward trend in new businesses to the industry, we believe it’s important to support new talent, encourage skills development, as well as bringing our expertise in our ‘Direct Trade’ sourcing model to a wider audience.

Coffee education is pivotal in a baristas understanding of coffee, from how to recognise quality in coffee to best practice brewing. A true 360 degree knowledge of how to extract the best out of the coffee is really important to arm the barista with knowledge and confidence to showcase the contributions of both producer and roaster.



MPD

This is a very generous offer. With taste being so important, will the baristas be cupping at origin?

AM

Places on trips like this are highly sought after, and are once in a lifetime opportunities for most people. The best newcomer to the UKBC, who is a working barista – who has scored the highest points after the regional heats – could find themselves heading off to a producing country such as Rwanda, Brazil, Guatemala, Costa Rica or El Salvador

This will not be a 5 star holiday in comfort, but will be 5 star in experience!

During the trip the barista may need to adjust to altitude or put up with extreme weather, and he or she should be prepared to help with a coffee harvest (if one is taking place when they visit), or maybe get their hands dirty sorting or grading coffee. They may participate in a cupping but more importantly he or she will get to meet with farmers who we source from whilst seeing at first hand a working coffee farm and experiencing its’ environment.

The trip will be led by either Steven Macatonia or Jeremy Torz – both of whom travel regularly to origin to build relationships with existing producers for Union as well as uncovering new coffee gems, as their Direct Trade sourcing model delivers.



MPD

What reaction do you envisage from the barista community?

AM

It is our intention, I hope, that we engage and excite a whole new generation of coffee enthusiasts who are inspired enough to choose coffee as a career as Jeremy and Steven were when they first discovered their love of coffee.



MPD

Why do you work for Union Hand Roasted coffee?

AM

The energy in the coffee industry in the UK currently is exciting. The opportunity to tell our story and meet very talented people, be they baristas, producers (farmers) or suppliers, is a great part of the job that I do. And with such fabulous coffees in our portfolio to enjoy, the challenge in foodservice is maintaining the quality through to serve across a diverse group of customers.

People shouldn’t have to settle for a dud cup of coffee in the UK these days. Being part of the team that aims to bring great tasting coffee to all who want it, direct from origin in an honest and transparent manner is satisfying and fun!



MPD

What trends are you noticing in the UK at the moment?

AM

Tea menus are a common sight. Many cafes are now thinking about offering multiple coffees on their menus. We are excited that operators are beginning to realise that coffee drinkers want choice as well, so there is the start of offering a menu coffees with diverse taste profiles, or perhaps brew methods, will in turn showcase a good baristas knowledge in understanding the large variety of wonderful coffees now available.



MPD

If you were entering the UKBC what coffee would you use this year and why?

AM

(without hesitation) I would use the Genesis Microlot, West Valley http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ8Iz1nwXdQ from Costa Rica.

The taste is wonderful, allowing the opportunity to create a superb signature drink marrying up with the flavours of red berries, toasted hazelnut and dried apricot.

This coffee is grown by Oscar Mendez who is almost theological about coffee. His approach is very inspirational, as he grows for quality not quantity and his focus and commitment to great coffee grown in harmony with the land on his farm is just brilliant.



MPD

Thanks for your time and we look forward to seeing you and the Union Hand Roasted team at each UK Coffee Event this year.

And finally, thank for supporting the UKBC with this very generous prize

Read more about the UKBC on the SCAE UK website

In preparation for this year’s upcoming Barista Championships, we would like to invite all potential entrants to our Barista Workshop, to be held on Tuesday, 31st January from 10am – 4pm.

Hosted by Casa Espresso (www.casaespresso.co.uk), suppliers of San Remo espresso machines and speciality coffee, the Workshop will feature a UKBC 2012-13 Sensory Judge, as well as previous competitors.

The aim of the Workshop is to provide an open day of information regarding the rules and aims of the competition, plus a chance to practise your drinks on a San Remo espresso machine, as well as get feedback and advice from your coffee contemporaries.

The day will include:
- Judges’ Q & A of the official Scoresheet.
- Opportunity to practise on the official UKBC machine and grinder.
- The ability to share knowledge and ideas with your fellow baristas.

If you attend, you may find it helpful to bring:
- Your own competition cups, milk pitchers and coffee(s).
- Your own grinder (if you are not using the K30).
- Signature drink ingredients, if you want to practise preparing this.

If you would like to attend the session, please be aware places are limited, so please contact us ASAP to book a spot. A small contribution of £5.00 per person to cover lunch and milk is politely requested, payable on the day.

If demand is significant, we may offer another workshop so if you would like to attend but are not available on this date, please email us and let us know.

Please also note if you would like to take part in the UKBC 2012, it’s not too late! You can enter up until 25th January. Visit http://scaeuk.com/uk-barista-championship.php for more information and entry sheets.

To book a place, please email us at sadie@casaespresso.co.uk.

UKBC 2012 Regional Heat Dates

The SCAE UK Chapter in conjunction with the hosts and sponsors of the 2012 UK Barista Championships are pleased to advise that all regional heat dates have now been confirmed.

As Christmas is fast approaching and the mail systems are under strain we are pleased to advise that the deadline for entry has been extended to Wednesday 25 January 2012 for all heats.

That said, the earlier you get your forms back to us the higher the chance of getting placed into your first preference of regional heat.

Entry is only £25 and the entry forms can be downloaded from the SCAE UK site

Regional Heats
South East
27/28 Jan - London – hosted by DunneFrankowski

South West
08/09 Feb - Exeter - Westcountry Catering Exhibition at Expowest

Northern
17 Feb - Newcastle – hosted by Pumphrey’s

Midlands
03 Mar - Norwich - hosted by Mad About Coffee

Scotland
16 Mar - Glasgow - hosted by Matthew Algie

Northern Ireland
20 Mar - Hillsborough (Co. Down) – hosted by Johnsons Coffee

Semi Finals / Finals
27-29 Apr - London – London Coffee Festival – hosted by Allegra

Follow @ukbc and @scaeuk for announcements over the festive season as we build up to the UKBC 2012

Rob Dunne and Victor Frankowski - aka DunneFrankowski - have launched a modular coffee shop in a gallery space at 18 Hewett St, Shoreditch, EC2A 3NN

Protein by DunneFrankowski is open 7 days a week (at the following times)
Mon - Fri / 8am - 5pm
Sat / 10am - 4pm
Sun / 10am - 3pm

In a bold move - the first of its kind, a graphical live feed of drinks served is being published
Open the Protein Feed

To read more about Protein and check out photos of the gallery space visit the Protein site or DunneFrankowski's own website

Machine provided by La Cimbali
Protein by DunneFrankowski currently serves Union and Hasbean coffees

Last night Prufrock Coffee (Leather Lane - London) held a Kees van der Westen machine unveiling - the new KvdW Spirit

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Already familiar with Kees's other products (they have a 2 group level Mirage in use and also distribute his products in the UK), the Prufrock team have been trialling and feeding back information to Kees about the new Spirit coffee machine.

The first thing you notice is just how low the machine is. Most machines create a barrier between the barista and the customer but the low profile of the KvdW Spirit means conversation can flow whilst the drink is being made.

Styled in the shape of a car bumper, the machine has many eye catching lines and controls.

Under the hood is a new group head design, which Kees talked about last at the event (vs the traditional thermo-syphon HX setup)

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Kees's easy to understand narration and drawing of the inner workings of a coffee machine gave many in the room a great insight into what it takes to get a stable temperature at the group head - a vital ingredient of a well extracted espresso.

Kees was sandwiched by two other knowledgeable speakers - Gwilym Davies and John Gordon

Gwilym gave a talk on extraction, using the brewing control chart as a reference.

John Gordon spoke about water and how different filtration methods affect the taste of the in-cup product and also how it affects machine life, with shocking graphic examples of scale from a boiler and copper corrosion.
John introduced many to RO (reverse osmosis) and its production method - as well as waste water properties.

The most interesting slide of the night was the mineral / chemical content of London's water supply.

More images from the evening can be viewed on my Flickr account
The presentations were also filmed, and once they have been published I will link to them