SERBC: danielle rough cut
October 21, 2007 – 11:49 pmUPDATE: the owens-trained, third-place finisher danielle was so nervous in round one, this blog thought she might ingest some of her ceramic wares. this finals performance marks a substantial improvement in nerves and a sparkling sig beverage idea — a coffee version of a gin martini.
essentially, we’re talking a darjeeling tea and juniper berry infusion, combined with jasmine and shaken briefly with espresso, served in small glasses. she was one of the first competitors i’d seen to load and tamp one portafilter, set it aside, then load and tamp the other one. the handles were then locked and loaded together for simultaneous shottage. she seemed able to stand still while her shots were pulling, touching the handles and watching them emanate — a departure from the nonstop movement of many competitors.
in all, a peppy performance. scintillating. we’re hoping to score a sig at her usual haunt on our way home.
6 Responses to “SERBC: danielle rough cut”
Danielle (a.k.a. Katie-Carguilo-South) ROCKS!!!
By Nick Cho on Oct 22, 2007
she had the polish, no doubt. from the stands, i thought she was a fave. of course, what does that mean?
By bz on Oct 22, 2007
Up and coming supastar…those Octane baristas have talent!
By lembro on Oct 24, 2007
word is, no one works the octane bar any more — come christmas — who hasn’t passed a rigorous set of tests.
By bz on Oct 24, 2007
The rigorous tests are our certification program that M’lissa designed (you can read about it here - http://coffeerevelation.wordpress.com/2007/06/14/certified/) and in my humble opinion, it’s awesome. Danielle and I have finished the certification just weeks before SERBC, and i have to feel it really helped us.
And by the way, Danielle is most definitely on her way to superstar barista status. She was number one in the first round by about 20 points. She just might make some waves at USBC…
By Ben Helfen on Oct 26, 2007
ben: i thought that, in the finals, danielle definitely exhibited the sort of head-turning polish you see at the national level.
the training shows. what was cool to see this year was that, lem aside, there’s a whole new posse of seriously talented baristi in the southeast, you included.
for someone who has moaned about these hinterlands, that’s cool.
By bz on Oct 26, 2007