9 Bars
The Road to the World Barista Championship 2004 and Beyond
by Sammy Piccolo, Caffé Artigiano

As the first barista to represent Canada at the World Barista Championship (WBC), I am honored to tell my story. My brother Vince and I own five "Caffé Artigiano" coffeehouse locations in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I work as a manager. We have worked hard since the day we opened to learn everything we can about coffee and espresso, and to ensure we are serving the best quality product possible.
   The first annual Canadian Barista Championship was held in Vancouver, in June 2003. This competition was one of my biggest learning experiences about coffee and barista competitions. I didn't know what to expect from the judges or the other competitors, but I knew this would be a chance for me to show everyone how serious I am about coffee. I worked hard at Caffé Artigiano all day, and then I would train at night and practice my technique and presentation. I won the Canadian title by a very close margin. But all I could concentrate on was the opportunity I had to represent Canada at the fifth Annual World Barista Championships to be held in Trieste, Italy.
   It was very important for me to represent my country well and show the coffee world how much passion Canada has for specialty coffee. We have a growing network of Canadians devoted to learning and teaching the intricacies of roasting beans and specialty coffee. Working as a barista in the day, I knew my skills were strong, but there is a difference between creating coffee during a competition and serving it to your customers all day. The main difference I find is that in the café you are being evaluated all day, by hundreds of customers, in competition, you get one chance to perform and be evaluated. I wanted to be sure I was ready.
   My focus was now on preparing for the WBC. To become truly "world-class," my brother and I decided we needed to talk to the best. We went to Denmark to work with former Barista Champion Fritz Storm. Our time in Copenhagen was brief, but full of information. We studied the finer details of dosing and tamping; these seem to be areas that I am forever seeking knowledge on. We also spent time discussing how to train and prepare for the competition. Training is one thing, but devising a schedule and a plan to develop my skills was essential for me to stay focused.
   Fritz and his colleagues were gracious hosts; they taught us and inspired us to focus and to be the best. I used many of Fritz's lessons, but also remained true to my own style and techniques. There has been much discussion about how much espresso to dose and about the style in which to dose and tamp. One of the great things about a world competition is to see the cultural differences in coffee making. Everyone has his or her own style, blend and method. Yet in the end, we have more similarities than differences. And we are all coming together over one of the most social beverages in the world-coffee! We strive to improve what is in our cup, and to promote our craft.
   As the WBC grew closer, I grew more nervous. I worked many hours on physical and mental training. I focused on every detail of my presentation, from serving the water, to being in front of an audience, to cleaning up my station. But just as important as the physical training for me, is the mental preparation. This is an area that is often overlooked in competition training. Because I had never been to a WBC, I had to picture the setting, imagine the scrutiny of the judges and picture myself in the middle of it of all.

The Big Show
We arrived in Trieste the week before the competition. Everyone I met there was very nice to me. The people at the local cafÈs wished me luck and made me feel like I was among friends. There were many friendships made between the competing baristi. I know that these baristi don't strictly view themselves as competitors, but also as ambassadors for coffee and for their country. We challenged each other and left the competition feeling united with people from all over the world. The reason we were united and together was coffee. I named my signature "Insieme," the Italian word for together. I wanted my presentation to reflect the feeling of the competition-people and baristi brought together to celebrate the art of coffee. My drink also incorporated international and unconventional flavors that I believe complement coffee nicely. I steamed together egg yolks, brown sugar, bittersweet chocolate and a dash of curry. This mixture was poured into a base of espresso, and topped with cocoa.
   Finally, the time had come: competition day. I was sixth to compete out of 37 nations represented. I waited nervously for a day and a half until all the other baristi had competed. I knew I had performed at my best, which was a good feeling. When the judges announced that Canada had advanced to the final I felt relief, and excitement. I was surrounded by the best baristi in the world. The next day we would compete alphabetically by nation, so Canada was first.
   The only thing missing now was my coffee! Only the freshest coffee would be good enough for my performance, so I had my special brand shipped to Italy for the competition. Or at least, that was the plan. At the last minute, I found out that my Intelligentsia Black Cat coffee was still in Germany. As if there wasn't enough to think about, we tried to track down my coffee all day and now I was being told that it wouldn't be delivered until the following afternoon. But I was supposed to be the first to compete! The owner of the hotel we were staying at, the Hotel Italia, offered to drive my wife to the FedEx station where we planned to intercept the package. They drove an hour and a half into the Italian countryside and were able to track down the ellusive espresso blend. As fast as the little Fiat would drive, the two came back to the competition site. The coffee arrived only 20 minutes before I was ready to perform. All that mattered now was that I had my coffee. I had no time to lose worrying, it was time to start my warm-up!
   It was hot under the close watch of the four sensory judges and the two technical judges. I stayed focused. I knew I had nothing to lose. The pressure wasn't on me; I had already reached my goal of making it to the finals. But I was still nervous.
   In the end, it was just Tim Wendelboe from Norway and I left standing. As a former amateur boxer, I felt like we were standing in the ring, the final two competitors. The head Judge was in the middle. He was responsible for raising the winner's arm. The only two possible scenarios replayed and replayed in my mind. The judge finally lifted Tim's arm in the air.

Looking Back
I am very proud of having placed second. As other baristi will tell you, luck is not a factor in winning these competitions. To perform well it takes hard work, determination and passion for what you do. I'm just lucky that what I love to do every day is make coffee.
   During the year following the WBC in Trieste, I've been honored to participate in various coffee events. I traveled to Singapore and taught a latte art class and also demonstrated how to prepare signature drinks. Getting people excited about coffee is the most rewarding part of my job. This year Canada had three regional barista competitions and barista jams, in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. I was there to promote the Canadian competition and encourage baristas to participate. This is the first year the competition has been held outside of Vancouver and is evidence of how the coffee scene is growing across Canada.
   I've been asked if there is anything distinctively "Canadian" about my approach and techniques. Vancouver is located only two hours away from Seattle, Wash., so I think I am more influenced by the Seattle coffee scene than by the rest of Canada. I think of my approach to coffee as based on being an individual. I am constantly learning and evaluating new techniques and styles and finding out what works best for me. Everyone has to find his or her own style and techniques.
   Now, the 2005 World Barista Championship in Seattle is looming on the horizon. With one WBC under my belt, I am practicing and preparing myself all over again. Whatever the outcome of the competition in Seattle, my coffee journey will continue. I will continue to teach and get people excited about coffee. And I will continue to learn, to seek out information and to be inspired by coffee and all its intricacies.
   In the end, it's all about the coffee. It's all about what's in the cup! I'll drink to that.