after the epic, through the rain, insane "books on tape" drive - we're here. 15 hours later. and first thing i do is drop in on the Division Stumptown and get served a f**king brilliant macchiatto. totally lovely - what a welcome. and then i cup the El Injerto at the roastery. mmmmm...
lovin' it!!!
11.12.2004
11.08.2004
11.05.2004
Iceland Photos (part 1)
And here comes the photo onslaught...
I'm going to try and post all my photos from the Nordic Barista Cup day by day. I'd post more of them and more frequently, but I'm trying to get through packing and all the prep for moving to Portland so I'm a bit busy. In any event, expect to see at least a couple photos every day for a while.
First... some team photos. Sadly, my photos of the Finland team were horribly overexposed, but don't worry, I have tons of action shots of them coming later. In any event, here are photos of the other teams.
Sweden
Norway
Iceland
Denmark
I'm going to try and post all my photos from the Nordic Barista Cup day by day. I'd post more of them and more frequently, but I'm trying to get through packing and all the prep for moving to Portland so I'm a bit busy. In any event, expect to see at least a couple photos every day for a while.
First... some team photos. Sadly, my photos of the Finland team were horribly overexposed, but don't worry, I have tons of action shots of them coming later. In any event, here are photos of the other teams.
Sweden
Norway
Iceland
Denmark
11.03.2004
Confirmation
Sometimes you need a sign - and sometimes you just are handed one.
If I had any doubt that the move to Stumptown was a good decision I received such a sign today.
Coffee Review just reviewed two Stumptown Cup of Excellent coffees. The lesser of the two received 92 points. A simple wow is not sufficient I think.
Ken Davids' description of Stumptown in the review is wonderful I think...
"Stumptown Coffee is a small-batch premium roasting company that wholesales its coffees as well as serves them in French press format in its three Portland cafes. Under the youthful and enthusiastic leadership of Duane Sorenson, Stumptown has become a leading buyer and supporter of Cup of Excellence coffees."
He gave the El Salvador Montecarlos Peaberry 94 points and the El Salvador Las Nubitas (a personal favorite) 92 points.
For those who don't know - Coffee Review is the formost cupping review in the industry and Ken Davids is one of the top cuppers in the world. He rarely gives any high grades to coffees (95 is, I think, the highest rating he's ever given out).
This is a huge compliment and an awesome accomplishment.
If I had any doubt that the move to Stumptown was a good decision I received such a sign today.
Coffee Review just reviewed two Stumptown Cup of Excellent coffees. The lesser of the two received 92 points. A simple wow is not sufficient I think.
Ken Davids' description of Stumptown in the review is wonderful I think...
"Stumptown Coffee is a small-batch premium roasting company that wholesales its coffees as well as serves them in French press format in its three Portland cafes. Under the youthful and enthusiastic leadership of Duane Sorenson, Stumptown has become a leading buyer and supporter of Cup of Excellence coffees."
He gave the El Salvador Montecarlos Peaberry 94 points and the El Salvador Las Nubitas (a personal favorite) 92 points.
For those who don't know - Coffee Review is the formost cupping review in the industry and Ken Davids is one of the top cuppers in the world. He rarely gives any high grades to coffees (95 is, I think, the highest rating he's ever given out).
This is a huge compliment and an awesome accomplishment.
10.31.2004
someone today asked me what the best thing about the Nordic Barista Cup was. i could not answer immediately. i've thought about it a lot since then, and have my answer.
this was the first international competition for the Finns. they were so great - it was incredible to watch them soaking it all in. they were so excited, so amazingly cool. and now they're going to go back to their various bars in Finland with not only the knowledge gained but this enthusiasm and a renewed passion and excitement - and it will spread within those bars.
in essence, i just got to see the germination of a sea change in the Finnish coffee world i think.
the same thing is going to happen in the US as a result of this event - but on a different scale so it will be less dramatic. the US is such a huge country and the shops represented here are such a tiny tiny minority of the coffee businesses in the US that it simply cannot have the viral effect that it could have in Finland.
i hope that, instead, we can replicate an event similar in some ways to this event in the United States - and then use that to create a sea change of our own.
i actually really hope i'll have the chance to come to Norway next year for the next Nordic Barista Cup - if only to see how the Finns do.
this was the first international competition for the Finns. they were so great - it was incredible to watch them soaking it all in. they were so excited, so amazingly cool. and now they're going to go back to their various bars in Finland with not only the knowledge gained but this enthusiasm and a renewed passion and excitement - and it will spread within those bars.
in essence, i just got to see the germination of a sea change in the Finnish coffee world i think.
the same thing is going to happen in the US as a result of this event - but on a different scale so it will be less dramatic. the US is such a huge country and the shops represented here are such a tiny tiny minority of the coffee businesses in the US that it simply cannot have the viral effect that it could have in Finland.
i hope that, instead, we can replicate an event similar in some ways to this event in the United States - and then use that to create a sea change of our own.
i actually really hope i'll have the chance to come to Norway next year for the next Nordic Barista Cup - if only to see how the Finns do.
Photos from the Nordic Barista Cup
total photo assault will commence on my return, but here are some teasers...
The victorious Danish team in action in the "speed shot" phase of the competition.
Swedish fan support was truly amazing.
Intelligentsia Represent!
Super sweet little Probat sample roaster!!
Alternative Nordic Band or American Baristas?
Sarah and Jodi at the Geyser.
Ellie gets up close and personal with a real Icelandic cow.
Brent and Jodi.
Ellie, Amber, Stephen and WBC Champ Tim.
Tim, fascinated by the Hairbender pulled through the Naked Portafilter.
The victorious Danish team in action in the "speed shot" phase of the competition.
Swedish fan support was truly amazing.
Intelligentsia Represent!
Super sweet little Probat sample roaster!!
Alternative Nordic Band or American Baristas?
Sarah and Jodi at the Geyser.
Ellie gets up close and personal with a real Icelandic cow.
Brent and Jodi.
Ellie, Amber, Stephen and WBC Champ Tim.
Tim, fascinated by the Hairbender pulled through the Naked Portafilter.
corrected?
Okay.
I'm more than happy to admit that I was rash and even wrong.
I just had two espresso drinks that were quite good. Different from what I'm used to, but very enjoyable none the less. A cappuccino (the proportions of milk to espresso were not as I'm used to) and an espresso ristretto (less concentrated than what I make). Both quite drinkable.
It's interesting.
I think that I'd heard so much about the incredible skills of the Nordic baristas that I had built up these expectations in my mind. I really thought that I'd come here and have nothing but mind-blowing espresso drinks. Instead, I have found that it's like it is anywhere else. Being a barista is hard and there are good barista and bad barista. The majority, however, lie somewhere in between the two extremes.
But as a result of the expectations, I assumed that a couple poorly prepared drinks meant that espresso here was bad. If it were not for the expectations, I would not have made this assumption - I would have been prepared instead for the majority of espresso drinks being mediocre at best.
So I leave here knowing that the top Nordic baristas have incredible skill.
And knowing that they represent a minority of baristas here - just as they do elsewhere.
Espresso still has a long way to go.
I'm more than happy to admit that I was rash and even wrong.
I just had two espresso drinks that were quite good. Different from what I'm used to, but very enjoyable none the less. A cappuccino (the proportions of milk to espresso were not as I'm used to) and an espresso ristretto (less concentrated than what I make). Both quite drinkable.
It's interesting.
I think that I'd heard so much about the incredible skills of the Nordic baristas that I had built up these expectations in my mind. I really thought that I'd come here and have nothing but mind-blowing espresso drinks. Instead, I have found that it's like it is anywhere else. Being a barista is hard and there are good barista and bad barista. The majority, however, lie somewhere in between the two extremes.
But as a result of the expectations, I assumed that a couple poorly prepared drinks meant that espresso here was bad. If it were not for the expectations, I would not have made this assumption - I would have been prepared instead for the majority of espresso drinks being mediocre at best.
So I leave here knowing that the top Nordic baristas have incredible skill.
And knowing that they represent a minority of baristas here - just as they do elsewhere.
Espresso still has a long way to go.
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