It's a Mean Bean Scene
If there's one thing I know, it's that New Zealanders love their coffee.
Everyone from the bricklayer to the lawyer not only enjoys their daily espresso, but also demands the very best. That's why the cafe scene here is so competitive, and why throughout the country you'll find Barista competitions where skills with espresso are put to the test. In spite of being a Barista for five and a half years, I've previously resisted entering the competitive Barista scene for my own reasons, but that changed on Thursday last week when I entered my first competition, seeking the title of best Barista in the region.
And I won.
I was actually sincerely surprised by this result; the standard of the competitors were high and I could chastise myself for mistakes made. But winning these competitions come with a fair amount of kudos, and the local newspaper interviewed me for the edition which came out today. You can read that article here, though you can consider me displeased with the accompanying photo, WAY too much flash which did neither my visage nor the drink any favors. The headline itself gives me reason to have a wry smile though, as does the quote; I should have known the reporter would latch on to such a thing. If I have to get a reputation for being a 'Horse', I can think of worse nicknames to have.
And to dispel that horrible picture, there's always this one from the competition itself:
I was up against 12 other Baristas on the day; the procedure is that under the judge's scrutiny, you set up the machine and then prepare eight drinks; two espresso, two cappucino, two latte, and two signature drinks. My signature drink was called the Aria, which is Italian for 'air', and as hinted at (but not fully realized) in the article there was a definite thought process behind its creation. Foremost I knew I wanted to steer clear of artificial flavors, so the vanilla cream was created by infusing a whole vanilla bean with cream for 24 hours in the refrigerator. Secondly, the espresso flavor had to be the star, so it was always going to be something small, no kind of coffee 'milkshake' like most of the other competitors seemed to be drawn to. The last element was knowing I wanted to do something impressive in front of the judges - and knowledge of molecular gastronomy was going to take me there. So that's the coffee foam - extracting the espresso, I added it to a mixture of milk and lecithin, a substance that allows for emulsification of a liquid, so that when you blend it the bubbles stay together without collapsing, but still capturing the flavor. Hence the 'foam'. The Aria is then constructed by first putting a little honey into the bottom of the vessel, adding pressure-whipped vanilla cream, pouring over a shot of double espresso, then the coffee foam spooned on top, and finally just a light sprinkle of chocolate. The resulting drink is a kind of powerful coffee hit, but also a sensory experience with the light textures of the cream and foam. I'm proud of it, and I know it enabled me to win out over the field.
So that's me competing as a Barista. The road from here will take me towards entering in the national WBC Barista championships in early 2012, which is a step up in difficulty. There's another regional competition between now and then I shall hope to enter and repeat the success. After that? Taking on the world would be nice in the international finals, but one step at a time!
I seem to be drawn towards competing in things beginning with 'B'. After Barista-ing and Bodybuilding, what could be next? Botany, perhaps...
Everyone from the bricklayer to the lawyer not only enjoys their daily espresso, but also demands the very best. That's why the cafe scene here is so competitive, and why throughout the country you'll find Barista competitions where skills with espresso are put to the test. In spite of being a Barista for five and a half years, I've previously resisted entering the competitive Barista scene for my own reasons, but that changed on Thursday last week when I entered my first competition, seeking the title of best Barista in the region.
And I won.
I was actually sincerely surprised by this result; the standard of the competitors were high and I could chastise myself for mistakes made. But winning these competitions come with a fair amount of kudos, and the local newspaper interviewed me for the edition which came out today. You can read that article here, though you can consider me displeased with the accompanying photo, WAY too much flash which did neither my visage nor the drink any favors. The headline itself gives me reason to have a wry smile though, as does the quote; I should have known the reporter would latch on to such a thing. If I have to get a reputation for being a 'Horse', I can think of worse nicknames to have.
And to dispel that horrible picture, there's always this one from the competition itself:
I was up against 12 other Baristas on the day; the procedure is that under the judge's scrutiny, you set up the machine and then prepare eight drinks; two espresso, two cappucino, two latte, and two signature drinks. My signature drink was called the Aria, which is Italian for 'air', and as hinted at (but not fully realized) in the article there was a definite thought process behind its creation. Foremost I knew I wanted to steer clear of artificial flavors, so the vanilla cream was created by infusing a whole vanilla bean with cream for 24 hours in the refrigerator. Secondly, the espresso flavor had to be the star, so it was always going to be something small, no kind of coffee 'milkshake' like most of the other competitors seemed to be drawn to. The last element was knowing I wanted to do something impressive in front of the judges - and knowledge of molecular gastronomy was going to take me there. So that's the coffee foam - extracting the espresso, I added it to a mixture of milk and lecithin, a substance that allows for emulsification of a liquid, so that when you blend it the bubbles stay together without collapsing, but still capturing the flavor. Hence the 'foam'. The Aria is then constructed by first putting a little honey into the bottom of the vessel, adding pressure-whipped vanilla cream, pouring over a shot of double espresso, then the coffee foam spooned on top, and finally just a light sprinkle of chocolate. The resulting drink is a kind of powerful coffee hit, but also a sensory experience with the light textures of the cream and foam. I'm proud of it, and I know it enabled me to win out over the field.
So that's me competing as a Barista. The road from here will take me towards entering in the national WBC Barista championships in early 2012, which is a step up in difficulty. There's another regional competition between now and then I shall hope to enter and repeat the success. After that? Taking on the world would be nice in the international finals, but one step at a time!
I seem to be drawn towards competing in things beginning with 'B'. After Barista-ing and Bodybuilding, what could be next? Botany, perhaps...