The ColorSplash is definitely my new favorite camera to bring out on the town.
The "bulb" setting is great for painting with light, then when it's pointed at your subject - BLAMMO! Splash them with colour. Cheap & sturdy, they only cost $70 and can be dropped on the dancefloor many times. Trust me... the club can't even handle me right now.
Everything begins as an idea, and everything has a beginning, a middle, and an end. My fascination with competing in the barista championships began last year in 2009 as I watched Ken train and then compete. Enticing. I’ve always been attracted to those who are passionate about their craft and the barista championships are the exact place to be to soak it all in espresso (‘spro) style.
As luck would have it I had the opportunity to compete in the national championships that were held in Mississauga, Ontario. I hadn’t planned on going to the nationals, but a spot opened up and I (being entirely crazy and a total sucker for participating in all things uncomfortable) jumped on it . . . with only ten days to prepare for the national stage.
The ten days of preparation were packed full of new signature drink designs and routine practice. I was feelin’ mighty fortunate to have Ken send me on a plane to represent Street Level Espresso. Thanks Ken! And thanks coach!
After the flight I arrived with all my glassware intact (phew,) at the International Conference Center where I managed to convince the security guards that I was safe to allow in the building and was a barista competitor and not dangerous. I found the other baristas backstage; I had been lost and after much wandering managed to make it to the right place. It was a blessing to have Logan, Anya, and Kat from Discovery Coffee there, and a treat to see the familiar faces from the Fernwood coffee group. There were 3 competitors from Victoria - woah! The backstage area was full of teams of people polishing glassware and the air was saturated in nervous energy.
On stage I felt as if I was in exactly the right place at the right time. When you’re up there you know that you only get one chance - 15 minutes to show the judges everything you’ve brought: judgment day. I made it through the performance with a 60 second time violation (-60 points,) and even through a few technical difficulties. My pucks kept cracking which was likely due to the humidity and temperature in the room rising rapidly as the visitors of the Coffee and Tea Trade Show flooded into the room, which happened to open its doors as I went onstage. As you may know, at the barista championships we prepare one espresso course, one cappuccino course, and one signature drink course. All drinks are served as a set of four - meaning we make twelve drinks in fifteen minutes all while speaking and being tidy, plus charming. A challenge? Indeed. Also, your outfit should be cute.
If you want to hear more about the signature drink I presented or ask any questions, perhaps even “what’s a puck?” I invite you all to come down to the shop and I would be happy to tell you more about it.
So, is this the end? Definitely not . . . Next year beckons as a juicy opportunity to either compete or to learn to judge. I’ve got at the very least a few more years in this competition story, and being fortunate to attend and participate in this year’s western regional and national competition makes me hungry for more.
There’s nothing more joyous than living your dreams. Thank you everyone for all your thoughts and support.
"You're as cool as Bruce Lee,you're as cool as Bruce Lee,you're as cool as Bruce Lee,you're as cool as Bruce Lee,you're as cool as Bruce Lee,you're as cool as Bruce Lee,you're as cool as Bruce Lee,you're as cool as Bruce Lee,you're as cool as Bruce Lee,you're as cool as Bruce Lee,you're as cool as Bruce Lee,you're as cool as Bruce Lee,you're as cool as Bruce Lee..."
As if you don't know already, Rifflandia is about to hit Victoria for the third time and the festival is almost sold out. We're getting really excited! It has been a tradition here at Street Level to get wristbands for the staff and make a point of going to some shows together... but this year Mal is going to Toronto for the national barista championships which deserves a whole blog entry of it's own, so wait for that.
In the meantime, here's me hamming it up with Bells & Cannons, who you don't want to miss. Plugged in, they're a huge force of nature.
My buddy Ross and I have often frequented art openings together. Come to think about it, we've hosted our share as well. One night, a few beers in, we were standing outside my newly opened espresso bar after an opening at the Community Arts Council.
The pallor in Ross's face had formed two perfect red circles on his cheekbones, similar to how I would draw them on a kewpie doll. So, being an asshole, I tried to pinch his cheeks, saying something to the effect of: "Awe, you're all flushed..." Ross pulled away from me defensively and blurted: "It's my Scottish blood. You get a bit of beer in me and my Berserker rage flushes straight to my cheeks."
Being an etymology nerd and being enchanted by tales of Scottish clan lore in my youth, I asked the question that I always pose to people who confess their Scottish heritage: "Oh yeah? What's your battle cry?" Nobody ever knows; except for Ross. He was the first punk-ass to respond on point without missing a beat: "Oh yeah. The Macaulay clan battle cry 'Danger is Sweet'". I was floored. All my life I've accepted having the wussy-ass battle cry "A Gordon, A Gordon!" Which seems really redundant when hoards of Gordon’s are running down a hill towards you with spears. If my battle cry was as awesome as "Danger is Sweet" I'd have it tattooed on my chest like a mantle. So I said, "I'm going to have that tattooed on your chest! It's in your blood, no one can take it away from you. As my own art project, I'm having that tattooed on your chest."
Ross was reluctant. He'd never been tattooed before. After some deliberation and a bit of goading he said, "I get to pick the font. ...and the kerning. I get to pick the kerning." Obviously I agreed. He was the canvas after all. So I started a collection at Street Level to fund my art project.
The pitch was simple. All you had to do was put a minimum of $2 in the jar and you bought the privilege of telling people that you paid for Ross's tattoo.
We made an appointment with Emily at URGE and Ross started exploring fonts. After some deliberation he recounted a curatorial class he'd attended where the lecturer had announced: "Irony, is for the old. Emerging artists have to root themselves in the present. Only after a body of experience can you make ironic reference to (your own experiences in) the past. With this in mind Ross decided his tattoo should be in his own font. It only took Emily 45 minutes before Ross was sorted out and my vision was reality:
rosstattoo.jpg
I was super jealous. I knew we needed bro tattoo's to complete the picture, but my own Scottish battle cry is so lame.
So I pulled out my favorite quote from the immortal Bruce Lee: "Don't think. Feel." I use that quote when I teach baristas how to distribute coffee in a porta-filter. I use it when I'm doing Wing Chun sticky hands. It was always on my mind when I swung on the trapeze, so it seemed like the right thing to emblazon my chest with... in Ross's script:
