Yesterday was a long day, for no one more so than the baristas that competed in the Northern Ireland heat of the UK Barista Championship.

Only eight competitors took part in the smaller than normal competition, but there was certainly no lack of intensity in this fascinating exhibition of their skills and coffee knowledge. The eight competitors, in order of appearance were:

Judith McVitty - Clements, Royal Avenue
Neli Petkova - Cafe Krem, Banbridge
Heather Jamison - Quail's, Banbridge
Michael McLauglin - Clements, Royal Avenue
Jon Armstrong - Coffee Republic
Rachel Mawhinney - The Streat
Julia McKenna - Clements, QUB Student Union
Luke Powell - Cafe Krem, QUB Peter Froggart Centre

Formerly also from Clements, Royal Avenue

In no time at all the day was over and everyone nervously waited the return of the judges, hoping it would be before the impending close of the building (the organisers were told we had to be out by 5pm). And the top three were:


First - Neli Petkova
Second - Heather Jamison
Third - Julia McKenna

I want to congratulate everyone who took part, as a spectator, you could really feel the tension on the room as each competitor took the stage and they made it the enjoyable day that it was.

You are probably wondering what happens next on the blog? Well my friend Jessica was there yesterday taking photos, (that’s where I stole the ones you can see here) and she will be uploading and possibly commenting on them too. Once I get those, I will give my review of the top two performances, as I unfortunately missed Julia’s (sorry Julia!), both were very different but watching them redefined not only the importance of speciality coffee, but the importance of coffee itself over the performance, something that in recent years seems to have been forgotten about.

As a topic of interest, Neli and Julia are from cafes in the top five of my Cafe Reviews. Sadly for me, Sinammon in Stranmillis was not competiting, although they were spectating. The standard of the baristas in Sinammon (my highest rating, btw) is such that they really will be one to watch in years to come.

As you can see from the post below I tried my hand at live blogging, which worked for a while, only to be thwarted by Three deciding to perform a "network upgrade" and killing my mobile broadband. Thankfully I did get some great audio recording, which I will be tidying up this evening, from both face to face interviews and a recording of the rooms PA, for the bits that I missed. I’ll be uploading them over the coming week, I don’t want to put up too much as I have a lot to write about, after some really interesting and unexpected conversations about the industry with Se Gorman (Cafe Krem), John (Clements), Philip (Johnson Bros Coffee) and Russel Bailie (Bailie’s Coffee). I also hope to be contributing to Common Grind, so I’ll have to get something to Chris for his next podcast.

Thanks to everyone that let me speak to them yesterday, my interview skills aren’t up to much and apparantly I’m "shy" too, so it went better than expected. I know I sound like a Kate Winslett now, but I also need to thank Sanremo, again I’ll be talking about their machines later, but my short opinion of them, awesome. I spent some time playing about with the third machine at the back, mixing with other Baristas and coffee lovers and after Russel gave the grinder some TLC we were pulling some consistently good shots.

One more thing, my rubbish latte art is my fault and mine alone, this much I have learned, now to tidy that audio…

Photography Thanks to Jessica Odell

The live blog is long and rambling, I've moved it behind the link below to tidy up the front page a litte.

16.40
1. Neli Petkova - Cafe Krem
2. Heather Jamison - Quails
3. Julie McKenna - Clements
16.39
Top 24 from the UK go to finals
16.38
I spy a bag of hasbean coffee
16.36
The judges are back
16.32
Internet problem caused by being in an area where 3G ends and 2.5G starts, meaning the wireless card spends most of its time flicking between bands instead of actually working.
16.20
Just awaiting the result from the judges, lots of nervous baristas standing by
16.17
Apologies for the lack of updates, we lot internet connectivity earlier, thankfully the recording seems to have worked ok, so I'll review the final baristas later
14.20
Two minute warning.
Mixture served into the cups prepared earlier
Time called, well done Jon
14.17
Small amount of peppermint tea, chocolate, condensed coconut, fresh coconut milk and black pepper in a jug and stirred,
Ice added to jug with a squirt of lime juice and the mixture above sieved in.
Now to add espresso, but to be served cold.
14.16
Speciality drink details
Infusing peppermint tea, cutting up lime, melted sweet chocolate.
Lime for the rims of the cups, dipped in melted chocolate
5 min warning
14.15
8 varieties of bean, including robusta because it cuts through the milk well, caramel finish with chocolate hints.
14.12
Recommends an extraction time of 20-25s for this blend
14.09
Espresso uses Brazil Daterra yellow bourbon, with citrus notes and dominican republic, med acidity, wine like towards the end.
Separate blend for cappuccinos and signature drinks, the coffee republic house blend
14.07
The next competitor is Jon Armstrong from Coffee republic, formerly of Clement's. A coffee legend in Northern Ireland and he knows it.
13.51
Honey roasted parsnip macchiato, again, that's very different
Only two minutes to go
13.48
5 minute warning
13.46
Since the burner won't start Michael is steeping the parsnips in milk before steaming them from cold. Yes I have confirmation, real parsnips!
13.42
Looks like the gas stove won't start, not sure what that means for the signature drink
13.39
Starting off with preparation for his signature drink which includes crushed honey roasted parsnips?? Did I hear that right?
Like Judith, Michael is also using Clements house blend
13.28
Just returning from lunch break, up next is Michael McLaughlin from Clement's Royal Avenue.
Got to speak interview Se Gorman and think I ended up sounding like a fanboy, sorry...
12.33
Coffee, honey oranges and milk, served in a cocktail glass for the signature drink and thats her done, under the time limit, well done.
12.29
Heather is working on her signature drink, she isn't saying very much about it however.
5min warning
12.19
Third competitor is preparing to start, Heather Jamison from Banbridge, she is using a blend from Johnsons. Lots of oranges (colour and fruit) in her setup, finished her espresso and is preparing her cappuccinos now.
12.01
1 Minute warning
12.00
Signature drink contains freshly squeezed lemon mousse
11.52
Oh, now I get it, she has fully prepared two cappuccinos and served them before starting the next two. Chocolate and cherry notes in the cup
11.50
Neli will be serving the ladies first and the gentlemen second
11.49
Neli has started, she is using a three bean blend, Guatemalan, Brazilian and Bolivian. Her music faded out as she finished talking, very polished.
I don't know much about Bolivian beans, so you should ask Steve
11.45
Judges are back, Neli's table setup is very elegant, she's almost ready to go
11.35
Post routine interview with Judith, I think I was more nervous than she was.
11.29
Sig drink has spice to complement the spice in the espresso, is adding green & black's chocolate, whipping cream and cinnamon. Sounds very nice to me, I have an idea, a fifth drink for podcasters :-)
11.26
Cappuccinos finished off, can't actually make out the latter art, will check photos later.
Neli and Se have began setup for Cafe Krem at machine 2
11.22




Espresso has been served, the Sumatran adds a rounded spice to the end of the cup
Beginning cappuccino prep
11.20
Remaking one espresso after a minor spillage
11.17
Judith is using Clement's own house blend (which I have to say I really like) and is preparing her espsresso
11.16
Judith from Clements Royal Ave has started
She became a barista as she had been waitressing and wanted a new challenge and always enjoyed the smell, taste and artform of coffee.

11.10
Judges have been announced, updates to names when I get them

Jeremy Regan - Head Judge

Malcolm
David
Pauline
Denise Hall - Sensory Judges

Sarah
Joanne - Technical Judges

As posted on twitter earlier this year, I had intended on entering the UK Barista Championship's Northern Ireland Heat, this Wednesday and Thursday in Hillsborough and as posted last week on twitter, I had changed my mind. The reason? As much I would like to think otherwise, not working in a retail environment is a serious detriment to a barista's skill set. Everything from speed, workflow and consistency can all suffer from lack of practice and as mentioned in this post title, my latte art, especially, is a massive fail.

In the coffee shop environment I previously worked in, we used the machine below, a Basilia Belle Epoque, 2 Group. Although suffering from relatively small boiler size due to the vertical design there was enough pressure to run both groups and steam milk at the same time, for a fairly consistent period of time. Even though it was recommended here that it should not be used on a busy site, we rarely experienced problems.

Now at home I use a different setup, a Fracino Little Gem, 1 Group which I will admit is a pretty basic Prosumer machine and frequently has trouble with pressure, even still when you have the right workflow it is possible to brew and then steam without any detriment to the flavour of the cup. One major difference in this setup, that really doesn't help is the steam wand on the Fracino. I don't know if it's just me, but combined with my lack of practice, I don't seem to be able to get the same spin on the milk, regardless of which type of jug I use. And as any experienced Barista will tell you, its the spin of the milk, while stretching and steaming that creates the necessary texture to mix the milk and espresso and create impressive latte art. Latte art, which off-late has been disastrous on my part.
I've seen latte art created when using domestic krups machines, means I really doubt it's impossible, but it really goes to show, just how much your experience on a particular machine contributes to what you can do with it and with this year's UKBC having switched to Sanremo machines. Come Wednesday, I'll be at Hillsborough, unofficially reporting on the regional heat and will hopefully get to speak to a few of our local baristas and ask them how the changes this year have affected them to what lengths they have went to level the playing field. Maybe if you are good at what you do, the machine won't make a difference, in which case, hopefully I'll pick up a few tips.

On some recent trip to Belfast's shiny new Apple Store, I took a walk down Anne Street (what is with the ugly half tile, have pot-holed tarmac street btw?) and found an absolute gem of a shop, The Cookie Box.

Now I know this blog is generally about coffee (or what passes as coffee) but to be honest I've never even tried any of the coffee there, because even walking past I was stopped in my tracks by the sights and smells of about a dozen different varieties of home made cookies. It's only a small shop, opposite Forbidden Planet, and most of the room is taken up by the kitchen, almost putting the counter on the street itself, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in taste. Crunchy but soft, gooey chocolate chips, oodles of butteryness making the cookies literally melt in your mouth. I'm sitting here and I can't even think of words to describe them, all that comes to mind, over and over again is the phrase:

Best. Cookies. Ever.

The owner works there and bakes the cookies himself. I know from my own experience how difficult working in that sort of environment can be so I wish him and his business all the possible success they can have. I for one will be back, again, next time I'm in Belfast and I think everyone else should too.

Go Cookie Man Go!

First off, happy new year, I hope you've all had a restful time lately, it's been great, getting to put my feet up and take a break from computers for a few days.

Some of you may have noticed, my reviews of coffee shops have been a little thin on the ground of late. I haven't been slacking, however, as I have whole list of new reviews, instead I've decided to take a small hiatus until the new collaborative review site is finished. I've been told I can be quite negative and critical sometimes, if not downright nasty and as passionate as I am about coffee, that's not me. So while I work on the new site I'm also restructuring my reviews to be more informative and helpful. The end goal? A one-stop-shop where everything, from the espresso to the environment where it is served can be rated not only by me, but by the general public too. Need to know where you can get a 6oz cappuccino, a free wifi connection and is kid friendly? Well so do I, so when I find it, it'll be on the map :-) You get the idea.

I'm still wrestling with the idea to set the reviews site up as a separate website, so if anyone has any good ideas for a name, they'd be greatly appreciated and your genius will of course be credited. There really isn't any reason to limit something like this to Northern Ireland, so anyone with speciality coffee experience, in other regions, who would like to volunteer should look no further than the comments box below, or contact me on andrew [at] exilecoffee.com