WBC 2011 1st Alejandro Mendez, El Sal, Roast: Steve Leighton

[lukas]

Hey, there didn't seem a to be a thread already about it even though half of TMC was watching the livestream and chatting frantically.

The new world barista champion, Alejandro Mendez from El Salvador, used (of course) El Salvadorian coffee that Hasbean Steve has roasted!

Am I the only one to find that incredibly cool? Congratulations to everyone involved!

And lest not forget John Gordon of Squaremilecoffee, who made it through the finals and placed 6th!

All their performances were amazing and innovative, but John had the best music of all

Back to the exams now ... sigh

[Bombcup]

Well done to John for reaching the final, and awesome stuff from Leighton roasting the winning coffee.

Didn't see much of it, was ironing, cooking dinner, baby was having an episode and my bastard laptop kept overheating.

Only downside was the Nespresso sponsorship. I know the event needs funding but taking Nestle's dollar is a shame on the organisers.

[lsjms]

Yep, great performances from all the finalists, some really interesting sig drinks. Well done to all.

USA had the best music:D

I don't understand the filtered, no crema espresso thing.

Or Nospresso

[lukas]

I wouldn't worry too much about the sponsorship. Krups was it a few years ago IIRC. It's money, and that money is needed for an event that big, even though many (if not most!) of the organizers do it on their own in their spare time with their own money!

The filtered crema thing I believe has to do with how the espresso brews at altitude, but I'm not so sure about that.

[Bombcup]

With respect, Krups are not known for their questionable ethics. A company as transparent about its practices as its poster boy George Clooney is about his sexuality, a company which tenders its coffee contracts to the lowest bidder, is reluctant to address the problem of child slavery on its cocoa plantations and advocates the use of infant formula as superior to breast milk in developing african nations should not be promoted by a competition setup in part to champion ethical coffee industry practice.

It's disrespectful to the competitors who actually care about this stuff, and a predatory global conglomerate should not be encouraged to come sniffing round an industry built of passionate independent businesses.

[CakeBoy]

Thanks Lukas for the thread. I was rather lapse and indeed missed the stream as well. Congratulations to Steve for roasting the coffee for the world barista champion and to John for his excellent placing

[lukas]

Sadly, you have a pretty valid point there Steve.

[Viernes]

Will be possible to buy this blend?

Please, please, please.

[Steve]

OK thank you guys for the lovely words, much appreciated considering my infrequent posting here recently.

But are Nespresso really worse than Davinchi syrups or any less connected with specialty coffee. If they want to throw their money away at a competition where everyone laughed at them I'll take it all day long

alejandro wanted to give the judges something different for the espresso course. He was interested that he could tweak the rules to give something different. I heard that the judges spent a long time in the first round wondering if he should be disqualified, and I expect a rule change from it for next year. that is cool

His espresso was amazing, but his Capa (the natural) was stonkingly good, one of the best at comp I have tasted, really up there (not that it was mine more that it was his)

But its all gone (which is good and makes me happy that we can not make money on it and make it dirty)

[MKSwing]

But are Nespresso really worse than Davinchi syrups or any less connected with specialty coffee. If they want to throw their money away at a competition where everyone laughed at them I'll take it all day long

Of course it's the same but here Nespresso is way more popular than any other biiiiip giving money to the competition and I'm affraid to see an ad with a reference to that...

Anyway much congrats to you, Alejandro, John and all the others