If you are not planning on attending this year's SCAA annual show and the World Barista Championship in Seattle... well I have one more very good reason for you to be there.

How about if I told you that you'd be able to drink espresso pulled by some of North America's top baristas using some of the world's coolest espresso machines?

I know that this is the illusion that all of us are under the first time we go to a coffee trade show. And then we leaved jaded and angry after being unable to get even a decent cup of coffee the whole time and after drinking one too many cup of old, acidic drip coffee from "our sponsors."

But this time it's actually going to be real!
The Barista Guild of America is going to have a booth set up. In the booth will be three super hot shit machines. First - a La Marzocco Hybrid (mmmm.... classy). Second - a Synesso (ooohhh... high tech). And then a third mystery machine (aaaa... mysterious). And the list of the baristas who will be working the booth is like a who's who of US rockstar baristas. The list includes all the USBC champions from 2002 through this last year (Phuong will obviously be a bit busy - grin). Here is a partial list:
- Ryan Dennhardt (finalist, 2005 USBC),
- Kyle Larson (winner, 2005 NWRBC),
- Heather Perry (winner, 2003 USBC),
- Amber Sather (finalist, 2005 USBC),
- Dismas Smith (winner, 2002 USBC),
- Ellie Hudson-Matuszak (runner-up, 2005 USBC),
- Bronwen Serna (winner, 2004 USBC).

As far as I'm concerned, this alone is worth the price of admission.