I admit, my dreams of what Coffee Fest would be mostly consisted of a row of espresso machines all pulling shots for me, while I went down the line sipping each roaster's ware. While that's not quite what happened, there were a lot of espresso shots to taste, as well as a lot of bakery items. Of course, the quality ranged from great to questionable, but with plenty to choose from, it wasn't a problem. I found some great shots of espresso, including Intelligentsia and a surprisingly complex shot from Josuma Coffee Company. I realized more than ever how much I like a light-roasted espresso bean. It's misconception that a light roast is less "strong" or full-bodied. I compare it to cooking a steak, how you can taste the flavor of the beef better rare, rather than a well-done job (read: dark roast) in which you mostly taste the char. Freshness and body are so important, as well as, of course, a talented, attentive barista.
The one thing I didn't realize coming into the event was how commercial it was, mostly in the way it was geared towards retailers. I hoped it would be more of a community building skill-share set-up, but I guess those expectations were coming from my perspective as a barista, and not as a cafe owner or retail entrepreneur.
There were a number of workshops and classes, some with fees, others offered free. Being on my own budget, I planned to attend a couple free classes. Unfortunately the first one coinsided with Saturday's barista latte art competition (in which two Ancora baristas were competing), and the second was cancelled. So I missed the workshops entirely. Not all was lost, as just being in an environment with so many coffee enthusists, especially my hometown Ancora crew, was very enlightening company.
I enjoyed checking out some of the espresso equipment on show. I'm not much of a machine-fetishist, but the personal tools of the barista interest me a lot. It's great to see and handle so many different tampers and steaming pitchers. I think I was convinced to get a new set of pitchers (I need the 12 oz.; don't care for the rounded bottom ones supposed to aid rolling), and eventually a new, personal, customized tamper.
The most fun I had at the conference was probably the aforementioned latte art competition. It was great to see barista treated like rockstars. It's a small community, spread out across the country, so it's nice to have a group of people so intimately involved with the art of espresso extraction gathered in one place. Wisco was well represented, too, with a lot of folks from Milwaukee's great Alterra Coffee Roasters.
Our Madison competitors didn't make it to the second round, unfortunately, but some Milwaukee baristas poured some impressive artwork. [Pictured to the right is Ancora star barista Josh Makoutz with one of his more beautiful pours at his home court advantage.]One thing I wasn't aware of going into the conference was that there are actually two barista competitions. The first is the latte art competition, which is the glitz and glamour—some might say superficial—side of things. The more serious, but arguably less exciting version is the Barista Competition proper. In this competition, a barista is judged on more professional merits, including the taste of the coffee. Each contestant prepares three espressos, three cappuccinos, and three "signature" drinks, each for the three judges. Besides putting out the drinks, the barista is expected to speak about what they are doing the whole time, making the event seem a little like a speech class as well. While maybe a more important competition, it is decidedly less fun to watch.
I think I might start a Casualty of the Macchiato competition here in Madison, in which flashy and professional merits have equal weight, and the required drink is the under-respresented macchiato.
