Baristas from across town whipped up their best caffeinated concoctions and latte art during the second annual Barista Championships held at Wicked Cup, Oct. 11.
The friendly competition pitted four baristas against one another as they tried to win over a panel of five randomly selected judges from the crowd. In addition to making their caffeinated creations, there was also a latte art contest broken down into two categories, free pour and stencil art.
“It's a celebration of coffee culture in Jasper,” said Bas Byrd, supervisor of Wicked Cup and organizer of the event.
“The local cafe scene is like a family,” he said, explaining as much as it's a competition, it's also about sharing new ideas and techniques with one another.
The rules were simple; each barista had 15 minutes to create a specialty drink for five judges. The drinks could not contain alcohol and had to include espresso. Beyond that, baristas could do whatever they wanted and were encouraged to think outside the box.
First up was Keegan Taylor, a barista from SnowDome Coffee Bar. For his drink, called “Straight 7,” he used four and a half ounces of milk, one tablespoon of sweetened condensed milk, one teaspoon of sugar, two ounces of brewed espresso and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Next up was Radka Hladková, also from SnowDome Coffee Bar. She opted to make a cold drink, called “Mr. Coco Man.”
Using simple syrup and shredded coconut, she rimmed the edge of each small mason jar, similar to what bartenders do when they make a caesar. The drink itself included two ounces of espresso, three ounces of cold milk, one shot of coconut syrup and one shot of cinnamon syrup.
“It's a drink for hot days,” said Hladková.
Nathan Magone, a barista from Wicked Cup, was the third competitor of the day. Using a blender, his drink included espresso, Nutella, peanut butter, sugar, milk and ice and was appropriately named “Nuts in a Cup.”
After blending all the ingredients together he used chocolate sauce to line the inside of each martini glass before pouring the viscous liquid into each one. Before serving it, he added a few more lines of chocolate sauce on top, a dollop of whipped cream, a fresh piece of mint and a raspberry to top it off.
The fourth and final competitor of the day was Byrd himself, who recently returned from the Canadian Coffee & Tea show in Vancouver.
To make his drink, he used home roasted coffee and tea infused chocolate and shook it up using a cocktail shaker. To top it off, he drizzled pumpkin spice infused honey.
Magone and Hladková tied for first place, while Taylor placed second and Byrd finished third.
The latte art winners will be announced later in the week. To see the baristas' artwork, visit Wicked Cup's Facebook page.
Paul Clarke
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