Photo courtesy Dillanos Coffee Roasters
BREWING COMPETITION. Approximately 50 competing baristas, 25 judges, 30 volunteers and up to 1,000 spectators are expected at the 2009 Northwest Regional Barista Competition being held for the first time in Tacoma Jan. 9-11. Hosted by Dillanos Coffee Roasters in Sumner, the event will feature three days of competitions and an awards ceremony 1:30 p.m. Jan. 11. In this photo from last year’s event, a barista (holding bottle) presents her coffee creation to judges, who look for proficiency, preparation and taste, among other things.
Tacoma has secured the honor of hosting the 2009 Northwest Regional Barista Competition Jan. 9-11. The biggest and oldest regional barista competition in the country, the event will be held at Temple Theater where approximately 50 top baristas from Washington, Oregon and Alaska will compete for first, second and third-place wins. The public is welcome to attend and admission is free. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. all three days.
Dillanos Coffee Roasters in Sumner is hosting the competition, which is sponsored by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). Jay Lijewski is coffee program developer for Dillanos, which made the application to SCAA to have the competition held in Tacoma for the first time. He noted that this event is typically held in Seattle or Portland. “We stuck our necks out to steal it away from those cities,” he said. “This is Tacoma’s chance to be recognized in the coffee world.”
He mentioned the enthusiasm expressed by local business owners for having the competition here in T-Town. “We’ve had really great response from local businesses wanting to welcome these folks coming from all different areas.” Museum of Glass will be offering free admission for all the competitors, judges and volunteers, Hotel Murano is giving discounted room rates, and shops along Antique Row are featuring discounts.
Lijewski said anyone could come and watch the competitions. “The main attraction is watching these folks prepare their coffee with such artistry.” Sponsors will be handing out small samples, and experienced baristas will be on hand preparing simple drinks. The competing baristas will be hooked up with microphones and will talk about their chosen coffee brand, its attributes and the drinks made with it.
Competitions will be held on all three days of the event, with winners announced on the last day, Jan. 11. Each competitor has 15 minutes to prepare four espressos, four cappuccinos and four signature drinks. Each drink will be served to a panel of judges that will grade the competitors on proficiency, preparation, taste and cleanliness of work area. Judges will also look for an acute knowledge of the specific coffee blend used by the baristas.
The first 20 baristas will face off in round one Jan. 9, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and the remaining 30 will compete in round two Jan. 10, also 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with 10 finalists announced at 7:30 p.m. On Jan. 11 the top 10 will compete in finals from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. from which the top three baristas will be chosen and awarded trophies in a ceremony starting at 1:30 p.m. The first-prize winner will also receive airfare to the next level of competition, the national U.S. Barista Championship to be held in Portland, Ore.
The final leg of the journey is the World Barista Competition, and Lijewski said no U.S. barista has ever taken the world title. The current reigning international champion is Stephen Morrissey of Ireland. Lijewiski said that even though Morrissey rarely makes showings at regionals, he’ll be attending this month’s competition in Tacoma.
Lijewski pointed out that it’s a long ride for the barista who makes it to the top, but it’s all in the spirit of encouraging baristas to make the best coffees possible. He said the competition was designed to push the limits of professional espresso preparation, dramatically raising the bar of what is expected of anyone who claims the title of barista.
For more information on Dillanos coffee, one of the largest specialty coffee roasters in the Northwest with customers in nearly all 50 states, visit http://www.dillanos.com.
Temple Theater is located at 47 St. Helens Ave.
Commenting rules
Tacoma Weekly is happy to provide a forum for commenting and discussion. Please respect and abide by the house rules:
Keep it clean, keep it civil, keep it truthful, stay on topic, be responsible, share your knowledge, and please suggest removal of comments that violate these standards.
Read full commenting rules