BeanScene Magazine

As a judge over the years, it is often the case that a barista doesn’t find out what mistakes they made until the post-competition debrief with the judges. Doing your homework ahead of time can make all the difference to the final outcome.

Key areas to explore before you enter this year are:

Read the Rules

The most common mistake made is to not read the rules or to just give them a cursory glance. In these competitions the rules dictate the winner when all is said and done.  So, before you do anything, get on the web and download them at www.worldbaristachampionship.org. Read them thoroughly and make sure you understand them.  The essential point of winning barista competitions is to make it happen where it counts and one key area is the multiplier scores that are on the Sensory judges’ score sheets. Many talented baristas have competed and not won. More often, the winner is the one who understands how to achieve the highest marks through the correct interpretation of the score sheets.

Buy the DVD

This may seem like a shameless plug, but believe me, it isn’t. The simple fact remains that if you want to succeed you need to know what it takes to win. You are now able to buy a well- produced DVD of the Australian Specialty Coffee Championships on the AASCA website (www.aasca.com/products) under the products section. As an AASCA member you can use your member ID number to access discounts on all the listed products. If not, simply click continue anyway to go through to the regular non-member prices section. The most recent copy features Scottie Callaghan who was placed third at the World championships in London. Scottie is a great performer and if you are unsure of where to start in your preparation, look no further than the AASCA DVD.  It is a little known fact that both the Australian competitions and the world competitions are streamed live on the web, meaning you can watch them as it happens and never miss a moment of the action. The SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) also offers DVDs of previous world titles. They can be hard to get hold of at times, but it pays to persist.

Choose your Coffee

The evolution of the competition in recent years has seen the focus shift to a barista connection with the coffee and his or her knowledge of coffee.  A great example would be an awareness of the importance of coffee processing. In the past, people have summed up good coffee as “60% perspiration, 20% concentration and 20% machinery” or something like that! For me, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In my humble opinion, coffee processing is a defining characteristic of a great coffee, so you as the barista need to know as much about your coffee as possible. The use of this knowledge is then paramount to you succeeding to the best of your ability, meaning, how can you relate your coffee to you and your performance? It is vital to show judges why you choose your coffee, what it means to you (insert passion here !) and how it relates to your theme and performance elements.

Creating a memorable sensory experience

This is a phrase that is in the rules and it couldn’t be more accurate. As a competitor, be aware of the fact that judges need to be engaged. As part of the performance, it is vital that the delivery of that performance and your coffee is of a high standard. Public speaking may not be your thing, but remember that you work in the hospitality industry and its all about people! Customers in your local café love being engaged by a passionate and enthusiastic barista. You can’t fake it or seem like you are disinterested as that will always send the wrong message. Historically, it has always been and still is difficult for non-English speakers to deliver a knock out verbal delivery, but judges are trained to recognise passion. Passion is the universal language that we can all pick up on, so always try to show some of yourself and make good eye contact with all the judges. Going one step further, judges are also now in a new age of “supporting” the barista to deliver his or her best. You will see judges shaking hands at the beginning of the performance, smiling and behaving in a way that keeps the barista feeling calm. Often there are cameras, lights and crowds which would make anyone feel the pressure, so it is important to know your stuff in order to deal with those tough moments when they happen.

Sweat the technique

In order to produce great coffee you need to have a great ability to manage the equipment and the coffee making methodologies. The coffee machines change in competitions from time to time, so make sure you exactly understand their parameters. When should you flush the group, how long should you flush for? How fresh is your coffee and will it perform better for you in a Robor E or will a doser give you what you need?  The list goes on and on. Good baristas understand how to manage their coffee to make it taste to description whatever the conditions. Before competing, make sure your choice of coffee is bedded down early, make as much coffee on competition equipment as possible and understand how to manage your grinder and machine to make the coffee taste how you intended. Australia has a plethora of talent (National Finals) when it comes to good technical baristas. Again, watch the DVD, make contact with your fellow baristas and practice, practice, practice.

I hope this goes some way towards getting you on track for your next performance. Watch for the dates of your state’s competitions on www.aasca.com/competitions and remember that this year you need to compete in your state in order to be eligible for the Opens at the National Finals at the Gold Coast Food and Wine Show, Broadbeach on the 28th till the 30th of January 2011.

And, good luck!