Image courtesy uscoffeechampionships.org
The Triangle is going to be the center of the east coast coffee scene this weekend. The “Big Eastern” US Coffee Championships will be held at the Cotton Room in Durham this weekend (January 17th-19th). The event is hosted by Counter Culture and Dallis Brothers Coffee.
The event will be 3 full days of coffee competitions featuring the top baristas in the region. It is FREE and open to the public. I am volunteering at the event but will also have down time to watch the Barista and Brewers Cup competitions as local and regional baristas battle it out for the regional titles.
The Big Eastern encompasses 21 states across the eastern seaboard drawing baristas from up and down the coast. Competitors train months in advance. They spend countless hours developing their own “signature drinks” and presentation styles taking great care in selecting their coffees, brewing devices, music selection and perfecting their presentation techniques in hopes of impressing the judges and securing the regional title.
Local Shops & Baristas Competing
There are 13 local baristas registered for the event. Their competition times below are provided below. View the full schedule the “Big Eastern” competition here.
Triangle Barista Competitors:
- Andrew Cash: Jubala Coffee 1/17 @ 11:42
- Tim Jones: Jubala Coffee 1/19 @ 1:39
- Steph Corona : La Farm Bakery 1/17 @ 11:23
- Jen Hall: Sola Cafe 1/17 @ 12:39
- Dylan McFatrich: Morning Times 1/17 @ 2:33
- Katie Rant: Sola Cafe 1/18 @ 5:27
Triangle Brewers Cup Competitors:
- Helen Flowers: Morning Times 1/17 @ 11:52
- Brian Maiers: Joe Van Gogh 1/17 @ 12:00
- Miles Murray: Carrboro Coffee 1/17 @ 12:08
- Kyle Ramage: Mahlkonig 1/17 @ 12:16
- Josh Kimbrough: Carrboro Coffee 1/17 @ 12:40
- Jonathan Bonchak: Counter Culture Coffee 1/17 @ 12:48
- Trevor Patton: Morning Times 1/17 @ 1:04
Watch Online Live
If you can’t attend the event in person you can still follow the action Live online all weekend long. Sprudge is broadcasting the event on livestream. Watch the BigEastern Livestream here.
Barista Competition Explained (From the Official Website)
“The regional coffee competitions include performances from professional baristas over a 3-day event. In a 15-minute presentation, competitors prepare and serve three courses of espresso based beverages to a panel of four sensory judges, two technical judges and one head judge. Competitors strive for a harmonious balance of sweetness, bitterness, acidity, and aromatics. A signature beverage is a highly innovative, freestyle espresso-based beverage created by the barista for the competition.”
Brewers Cup Explained (From the Official Website)
“The United States Brewers Cup is an exciting competition that highlights and celebrates the fine art of manual brewing. Competitors are judged in two rounds by skilled coffee tasters. The first round is a blind tasting, the competitors all brew the same coffee on their chosen manual deceives. Those who advance to the second round will brew and present their chosen coffee to the judges’ panel. The winner of the US Brewers Cup will represent the United States in the World Brewers Cup Championship.”
Event Details
Competition Dates: January 17th – 19th, 2014
Location:
The Cotton Room
807 E Main St,
Durham, NC 27701
For More Information
www.uscoffeechampionships.org
Follow the conversation on Twitter by following #BIGEASTERN
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