Nordic Barista Cup

I´m sitting in Iceland after a long long day or two (to be honest, I´ve lost track of how long it has been). An epic 18 plus hours of travel landed me here at 6:30 this morning - 2 hours before the event began. Surreal, to say the least... It´s been really cool so far actually. The format of the event is pretty amazing and very challenging - the people are very nice - and we cupped some wonderful coffees. Oddly enough, however, I have not had a good espresso so far. I think it´s just a matter of style, however, but I´ve found none of the espressos to my taste. Universally, they seem oxidized, overly hot, thin, with little mouthfeel and quite overextracted and bitter. I guess I´m used to the emerging US style... not that I knew that there was one! There are tons of Americans here as well - Kyle, Stephen and Sarah from Zoka, Phuong from Lava Java, Brent from Crema, the whole crazy Intelligentsia posse (Ellie, Marcus and Amber) as well as Jodi and I (representing the Stumptown). And, of course, all the big Scandanavian stars... I honestly felt like asking for autographs (grin). The standout coffee from the cupping was a lovely Kenya AB. Very complex, very rounded and complete, with wonderful fruit and floral notes and a lovely tangy high tone. Fabulous! And, not shockingly, I´m learning things every second. I´ve got tons of photos already - they´ll go up as soon as I get a chance. Oh... so far no fermented shark, and I didn´t have to work in a cafe. Now to survive the cow´s home.