14 December 2007
Rumour has it that we British do not, by nature, get overly emotional about things, but James Hoffmann’s’ win at WBC really did get us all a little bit over excited. Sadly though, 2007 is coming to its wintery end and thoughts now turn to Copenhagen, where the title will be passed onto the next deserving winner. With this in mind, and the regional heats of the UK Barista Championship about to start, what better way to spread as little barista love, knowledge and enthusiasm than to hold a Barista Jam.
Having not organized anything like this before it was all a bit daunting, but together with the UK Chapter of SCAE we able to bring together the UK’s top experts share their knowledge and make it a day to remember.
Following last years heats it became clear that not everyone in the UK barista community is familiar with the finer details of the SCAE competitions. Ok, so entrants know they have to make 4 espressos, 4 capps and their own magical concoction of a signature drink. In theory, to the uninitiated, this should be easy enough, but who knew about losing points for not pouring water for the judges; for talking with your back to the judges; or many of the other little points that all add up (when multiplied by 4 judges) to easily lost valuable points? All of this gave us the plan for the jam man, a day aimed at potential competition baristas giving them as much information as possible, giving them the best chance in the forthcoming UKBC heats.
With people traveling to Bristol from all over the UK the 10 o’clock start may have been a little early, but we had a lot to pack in (too much it turned out!). The jam started with Ed Buston (3rd place UKBC 2007) and Sé Gorman (2nd place UKBC 2007) running through Ed’s 2007 presentation, pointing out the why’s, do’s and don’t, giving the audience a chance to see a presentation first hand.
The group of 24 were then split into three groups and rotated through 3 workshops in the morning, espressos with Ed , cappuccinos with Sé Gorman and then finally a chance to have an in-depth chat with Jeremy Regan and John Sherwood, both WBC certified judges, about those pesky old score sheets. Reigning World Champion James Hoffman and World Cupping Champion Annette Moldvaer of Square Mile Coffee were able to make it as another trip was cancelled, so happily shared some tips and knowledge throughout the day too.
After a break for lunch everyone attended a roasting and blending workshop with Peter James of the James Gourmet Coffee Company, and also had a play around developing signature drinks. Having attended a couple of other events recently we were very much aware of not having people sitting around with nothing to do. With this in mind there was also a quiz sheet to complete, based on the morning sessions, plus cupping of water, tea, instant coffee and espresso. In hindsight, there was probably enough for a two day jam; we hadn't considered breaks in-between workshops or time for cleaning but all things to remember for next time! We were planning on having a quick signature drink competition at the end, but due to the day running late, this sadly didn’t materialize…
It was a great day, looking around the rooms and seeing all the baristas chatting, meeting new people, catching up with old friends, and all that new knowledge to boot. It really made all the worry in the run up to event more than worthwhile and generated plenty of ideas and do’s and don’ts for future events. A huge thank you to everyone who helped and attended on the day, and who knows, we may have been in the presence of the next world champion …. game on people!
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