belated expressions of astonishment
April 19, 2006 – 10:20 pmfor conspicuous barista mag droolers this will be old news. but as this blog was doing a bit of janitorial reading to sweep up overlooked tidbits from the latest issue, it couldn’t help but gape a bit at blogger jimseven’s staggering championship score of 822.5 — out of 900 — in the u.k. barista competition. (vital numeric context: u.s. competitors generally shot for the 600s to reach the semifinals, the finalists were in the 700s, according to rumor.)
please excuse us, but this blog has questions: how is this possible for a tea country? is the judging that neophyte or is hoffmann that good? does a filthy 200-point margin over the next closest competitor mean his sigs somehow incorporated poppy seeds? crystal meth? star anise? does the british proclivity for blandness mean a stronger presence of robusta in general? could this blog possibly be any later to this topic? no? well, then, could you please name one coffee resource that has already broached the subject?
just strikes this blog as rather extraordinary, that’s all. and since mr. seven is a regular reader, we will await his answers. don’t be modest, jim! tell us the wbc over-under!
UPDATE: humm-dee-dum. of course, with this blog’s luck, hoffmann is off galivanting about el salvador or something. oh, wait!
UPDATE: i’m told matt riddle’s winning score was a hoffmann-esque 826.5 — which was, of course, the highest ever for the usbc. guess that could be why jimseven feels awfully compelled to conduct further research in el salvador…
Just checking the mail and RSS feeds after breakfast here in San Salvador and I feel somewhat compelled to answer.
How come my score was so big? I guess what I produced appealled to the judges. I worked very hard on my coffee (which is how I ended up being a guest in El Salvador, seeing the farms whose coffee and I used and meeting the people who grew and milled it), and I understand the rules of the game – a lot of people complain that comps aren’t like real life, but if you choose to compete at least be sure of how you will be judged.
And I practised. A lot. I read what I could, learnt what I could and I guess I go to Bern for the real test of how I rank on a global scale. I’d like to be the first person from the UK to make top 6. That is the goal I will be shooting for – whilst of course I’d like to win I don’t think you should aim solely for that.
After WBC I might post up scans of my UK scoresheets (they aren’t as flattering as the score implies!) and an fuller explanation of my blend and my sig drink (which is mostly a foolish endeavour as I am using food technology that no one in the world has yet mastered).
Right – I am off to a co-op and then lunch at the beach, followed by an interesting approach to a barista jam where I work in 4 different coffee shops over a 3 hour period!
I do love coffee.
jim:
you da man for posting from abroad. i guess you have your reasons for keeping many of the details a secret. but dang … i’m dying to hear more about your routine and drink.
excellent point about “understanding the rules of the game.” jay recently posted his opinions on the competitions — obviously a departure from the way many people compete and are judged. entertaining, but not geared toward winning, obviously. your approach makes sense for someone who’s going to all the trouble of competing — work the system (in a good way).
you don’t have video fo your routine, do you?