Last week London was abuzz with activity surrounding the World Barista Championships. The national champions of 54 countries came to London to compete for the title of World Barista Champion. Each competitor had 15 minutes to prepare four espressos, four cappucinos, and four espresso-based signature drinks of their own design. And they must do this all whilst talking passionately about the coffee they're using. This year's World Champion is Mike Phillips from the USA. Mike works for Intelligentsia Coffee in Chicago and he is the first World Champion to come from the United States.

For all my WBC photographs click through here. This year I volunteered to be a 'barista buddy'. My role was to help a competitor find equipment, ingredients and to provide local knowledge. I was the buddy to Honduran Champion Anna Lucia Hawitt and Argentina's Gustavo Castro. Ana Lucia, in the big image above, placed in the top 12 during the preliminary rounds and made it through to the semi-finals. You can watch her semi-final presentation here. Watch live streaming video from worldbaristachampionship2010 at livestream.com

Summary:  Last week London was abuzz with activity surrounding the World Barista Championships. The national champions of 54 countries came to London to compete for the title of World Barista Champion. Each competitor had 15 minutes to prepare four espressos, four cappucinos, and four espresso-based signature drinks of their own design. And they must do this all whilst talking passionately about the coffee they're using. This year's World Champion is Mike Phillips from the USA. Mike works for Intelligentsia Coffee in Chicago and he is the first World Champion to come from the United States. For all my WBC photographs click through here. This year I volunteered to be a 'barista buddy'. My role was to help a competitor find equipment, ingredients and to provide local knowledge. I was the buddy to Honduran Champion Anna Lucia Hawitt and Argentina's Gustavo Castro. Ana Lucia, in the big image above, placed in the top 12 during the preliminary rounds and made it through to the semi-finals. You can watch her semi-final presentation here. Watch live streaming video from worldbaristachampionship2010 at livestream.com

In this episode first we hear from La Colombe Torrefaction co-founder Todd Carmichael as he explains why he views coffee as a culinary experience and that he considers his lead roaster, Chris Miller, to be the head chef or 'the guy who cooks the coffee'. Then Chris shows me around their Philadelphia plant where millions of pounds of beans are roasted every year. We also hear co-founder Jean-Philippe Iberti as he tells me about their 15 kilo Vittoria roaster which they first started using back in 1993 when they were only producing 12 kilos of coffee a week. (Duration 10:24) Right click here to download this podcast.

Summary:  In this episode first we hear from La Colombe Torrefaction co-founder Todd Carmichael as he explains why he views coffee as a culinary experience and that he considers his lead roaster, Chris Miller, to be the head chef or 'the guy who cooks the coffee'. Then Chris shows me around their Philadelphia plant where millions of pounds of beans are roasted every year. We also hear co-founder Jean-Philippe Iberti as he tells me about their 15 kilo Vittoria roaster which they first started using back in 1993 when they were only producing 12 kilos of coffee a week. (Duration 10:24) Right click here to download this podcast.

It has been over a year since I spent an afternoon with Sharon and Ron Vacarello and a few of their baristi at Crescent Moon Coffee and Tea, when I recorded this episode of the starbarista podcast. They do a fantastic job runnning an independent coffee shop and roastery in rural South Jersey in the USA. Have a listen as they tell us how they decided to roast beans themselves in order to ensure the highest quality, that local farmers stop in for espressos, and how they have taught young people the skills to go on and work for highly regarded coffee companies like Intelligentsia and Stumptown. Click here to download this podcast. Here are some more photos from my visit to Crescent Moon.

Summary:  It has been over a year since I spent an afternoon with Sharon and Ron Vacarello and a few of their baristi at Crescent Moon Coffee and Tea, when I recorded this episode of the starbarista podcast. They do a fantastic job runnning an independent coffee shop and roastery in rural South Jersey in the USA. Have a listen as they tell us how they decided to roast beans themselves in order to ensure the highest quality, that local farmers stop in for espressos, and how they have taught young people the skills to go on and work for highly regarded coffee companies like Intelligentsia and Stumptown. Click here to download this podcast. Here are some more photos from my visit to Crescent Moon.

Last night the coffee community of London gathered at the Square Mile Roastery in Bethnal Green to taste four espressos from Canada. The conviviality and caffeine combined to push the colours up a notch as we downed espresso after espresso after espresso. Many thanks to James, Annette and everyone else who made Taste of Canada possible. All the images can be found via this link.

Gwilym Davies - the current UK Barista Champion - is now the World Barista Champion. A few months ago Gwilym travelled to Atlanta, Georgia to compete with approximately 50 baristas from around the world for the title. Congratulations, Gwilym! (I am just posting this now because I have been too busy drinking great coffee from this company:)

Gwilym Davies, United Kingdom - 2009 WBC Finals

Gwillym Davies, WBC champion talks a little about his drink preparation

Summary:  Gwilym Davies - the current UK Barista Champion - is now the World Barista Champion. A few months ago Gwilym travelled to Atlanta, Georgia to compete with approximately 50 baristas from around the world for the title. Congratulations, Gwilym! (I am just posting this now because I have been too busy drinking great coffee from this company:) Gwilym Davies, United Kingdom - 2009 WBC Finals Gwillym Davies, WBC champion talks a little about his drink preparation

Congratulations to Gwilym Davies who has just been crowned the 2009 UK Barista Champion. I've just thrown this post up for people who want to know more about this great barista. Gwilym works outdoor coffee carts at two busy London markets. He uses coffee from East London's Square Mile Roasters. The espresso blend he devoeloped for this competition consisted of a washed orange bourbon from Santa Rita in El Salvador and pulped natural beans from Finca San Jose in Nicaragua. During the the final Gwilym's espresso and signature drink attained the highest scores. The idea behind his signature drink was to enhance flavours that were already in the espresso he was working with. He created an infusion of butter, cinamon, orange peel, molasses syrup, and dark chocolate that he added to the espresso. Here is Gwilym's semi-final performance: Here's Gwilym's championship-winning final performance: Here are all the videos from the UKBC Finals. Here's a podcast about Gwilym. (Note: At the time of recording Gwilym was using beans from a different London roastery.) Click here to download this podcast. Here are some photos of Gwilym at work on Whitecross Market Below is a map showing the locations of Gwilym's coffee carts. View Larger Map

Summary:  Congratulations to Gwilym Davies who has just been crowned the 2009 UK Barista Champion. I've just thrown this post up for people who want to know more about this great barista. Gwilym works outdoor coffee carts at two busy London markets. He uses coffee from East London's Square Mile Roasters. The espresso blend he devoeloped for this competition consisted of a washed orange bourbon from Santa Rita in El Salvador and pulped natural beans from Finca San Jose in Nicaragua. During the the final Gwilym's espresso and signature drink attained the highest scores. The idea behind his signature drink was to enhance flavours that were already in the espresso he was working with. He created an infusion of butter, cinamon, orange peel, molasses syrup, and dark chocolate that he added to the espresso. Here is Gwilym's semi-final performance: Here's Gwilym's championship-winning final performance: Here are all the videos from the UKBC Finals. Here's a podcast about Gwilym. (Note: At the time of recording Gwilym was using beans from a different London roastery.) Click here to download this podcast. Here are some photos of Gwilym at work on Whitecross Market Below is a map showing the locations of Gwilym's coffee carts. View Larger Map

starbarista catches up with Gilda Doganiero of Gilda's Biscotti. She has been dedicated to the art of baking traditional biscotti for the last 13 years since leaving her job as a pastry chef at Philadelphia's Four Seasons Hotel. In this podcast Gilda tells us about the origins of this noble Italian cookie as well as the story of how she started her company. (In the photo to the left Gilda is holding a tray of her lemon fig biscotti.) Click here to download this podcast.

Summary:  starbarista catches up with Gilda Doganiero of Gilda's Biscotti. She has been dedicated to the art of baking traditional biscotti for the last 13 years since leaving her job as a pastry chef at Philadelphia's Four Seasons Hotel. In this podcast Gilda tells us about the origins of this noble Italian cookie as well as the story of how she started her company. (In the photo to the left Gilda is holding a tray of her lemon fig biscotti.) Click here to download this podcast.

A few weeks ago I went to Venice where I visited Caffe del Doge. This place should be on every coffee lovers list of must-visit cafes. On offer were eight single origin espressos as well as their 100% arabica and 50% arabica/50% robusta espressos and a decaffeinated one. You could also try all of these coffees in a French press as well. This is one of the most serios cafes I have been to and this really reflects itself in the variety and quality of the coffee that makes it into the cup. These people are serious about coffee in a way that lifts them to the top of the Italian coffee community. I just wish I had been able to stay longer than two days in order to have enjoyed more of their fine coffees. But don't despair if you don't live in Venice - there are also locations in Cairo, Palo Alto, and Tokyo where you can pop in and enjoy a quick late macchiatto! Check out the setup above - eight grinders - each dedicated to grind a different single origin espresso. And don't forget to notice the piston-driven lever-style Brasillia espresso machine. The quote below is printed on the wall above the espresso machines. "Il caffè è un'accademia platonica...in questa accademia non si insegna niente, ma si imparano la socievolezza e il disincanto. Si può' chiacchierare, raccontare, ma non è possibile predicare, tenere comizi, far lezione". da Microcosmi “Coffee is a platonic academy…..where no lessons are taught, but where one learns to socialize and to be enchanted. One can chat and gossip but it is forbidden to preach, lecture or instruct.” -from Claudio Magris' Micronismi And a view of the exterior on a grim day in late November: They also give out these cool little trading cards for each of their single origen coffees (click the image to see the card at a larger, readable size):

In this episode we go beyond coffee to explore a bit of the history of the venue in which this drink is served: the cafe. Starbarista recently caught up with author Scott Haine, an expert on Parisian cafe society. We spoke about the prominent role cafes and their owners played in the lives of 19th century workers, and how coffee was often more about alcohol than caffeine. We also touched on the cafe's place in Nazi-occupied Paris during the Second World War. This podcast is a bit longer than the previous ones (17 mins), so you might want to download it onto your iPod for easier listening. Click here to download this podcast.

Summary:  In this episode we go beyond coffee to explore a bit of the history of the venue in which this drink is served: the cafe. Starbarista recently caught up with author Scott Haine, an expert on Parisian cafe society. We spoke about the prominent role cafes and their owners played in the lives of 19th century workers, and how coffee was often more about alcohol than caffeine. We also touched on the cafe's place in Nazi-occupied Paris during the Second World War. This podcast is a bit longer than the previous ones (17 mins), so you might want to download it onto your iPod for easier listening. Click here to download this podcast.

Just back from another whirlwind trip to the US. While I was in NYC I stopped in at La Colombe in Tribeca to visit Doug Wolfe - the barista we heard from in this podcast. He made me a delicious gibralter and then we talked about - you guessed it - coffee, as well as travel, and the various projects we are working on. Then Doug went into the back of the shop and brought out an advance copy of the book he did the photography for. The book is called il Viaggio di Vetri and Doug's photos are on the same high level as the coffee he makes. I have neither read the book nor tried the recipes yet but the food, bathed in kind, natural light, looked absolutely delicious. Doug spent more than a year photographing on location in both Italy and the USA. The book itself is by chef Marc Vetri of the highly-acclaimed Vetri Ristorante in Philadelphia. You might ask what this has to do with coffee or cafe culture - or even baristas for that matter. The very essence of a successful cafe is that it connects people over expertly-prepared drink and food in an environment that has a calculated aesthetic. Doug seems to accomplish all this whether it be coaxing espresso-based drinks from his beloved Faema e61, making photographs with his medium format camera, or just plain chillin'. You can purchase the book directly from Ten Speed Press. The above image of the book cover was taken from the Ten Speed Press web site.