Frank Revy · The Baristas Rocked It!

February 11th, 2009

A long time ago, in a previous lifetime – I worked for the Arabica Coffeehouse. During that blissful period of employment, I learned a lot about coffee and Coffee Bean Roasting. I have forgotten much of what I have learned, but it came back quickly this past Saturday when I was asked to judge the Phoenix Coffee/Roastery barista competition.

It actually was a practice competition in anticipation of the barista competition coming up in Chicago – here’s the link if you want to make the trip: http://www.scaa.org/about_regional_next.asp#Great_Lakes

The competition was held at the Phoenix Roastery on St. Clair Ave. and featured four of
Phoenix’s premiere Baristas.

The Barista’s were given a 15 minute time limit to make a perfect single shot espresso, a perfect cappuccino, and their signature drink for the 6 people on the tasting panel. Four on the panel were judges and scored each drink’s appearance and flavor, presentation, and the Barista’s professionalism and ability to communicate the nuances of their pours.

First up was Stephen Shaum. Stephen appeared a bit nervous at the beginning, and he quoted Samurai text to convey the meaning of his drinks, and it came across a bit stilted. However, his signature drink was the best of the event. He called it the Positive/Negative – quite appropriate because the appearance of the drink was a negative. The presentation of the drink itself was wonderful, but the drink looked like a brown granular discharge of something that you probably wouldn’t want to put in your mouth. He used egg and poppyseed to create a Marzipan drink that was served with a side of balsamic vinegar and ginger ale mix that washed the marzipan espresso down. And that’s where the positive came in. The drink was thick, sweet, and sludgy and you chewed it. The balsmic vinegar/ginger ale added a light sweet zest to counteract the intense and heavy tactility of the initial shot. If you happen upon a Phoenix, and notice Stephen behind the counter – by all means request the Positive/Negative. It will be worth it.

Second up was Sarah Wilson Jones. Sarah is the proprietor of the Phoenix empire with her husband Carl. They are royalty among Northeast Ohio coffehouses and coffee roasters. Sarah of course was passionate, professional, and top notch with her pours. Her signature drink was called the ‘Veronica’. It featured fresh garlic, lime, and white pepper – and though the ingredients are unusual – it worked. The garlic was used more for it’s aroma. The garlic aroma caused me to salivate which worked well with the tangy and sharp lime in the espresso. I would not hesitate in recommending this pour to anyone.

Third was Caroline Moyer. Caroline’s approach was straightforward and direct. She talked the least, but she let her pours do the talking. She was clearly professional and creative as could be witnessed by her signature pour – the ‘Ginger Ginger’. This drink was inspired by her recent interest in Indian cooking. The milk was infused with ginger, coriander, and habanero. Yes habanero. Even though I expected the hotness, it was still unexpected when I took a sip. The pour worked for me, and it’s something that I would enjoy over and over again.

Last, and definitely not least was Dani Cohen. They saved the best for last, because Dani had spunk and humor and she put a smile on your face. If I owned a coffeehouse I would hire her in a second! Her signature drink took a daring personality to create and to try it. It was the meatloafsspro – the ingredients included ketchup, mayo, butter, among other things, but not meat. Somehow, I couldn’t get over the fact that the pour was supposed to taste like meatloaf. Yet, I still enjoyed it very much, though I doubt it’s something I would order.

Any one of these Barista’s would do the Cleveland area proud in Chicago.

The competition was followed by Mike Danner presenting Latte Art and Carl Jones conducted a tour of the Roastery.

For more information on what makes a good Barista go here:
http://superbarista.blogspot.com/2005/04/what-makes-for-great-barista.html

For more information on the roasting process go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_roasting

Last 5 posts by Frank Revy

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