Holy Regional Barista Competitions! For the third consecutive weekend, a regional will be taking place this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and this one is none other than the Western, the longest-running regional in the country.
Above: Chris Baca (left) and Kyle Glanville. Cats unidentified.
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Naw, seriously: I’m talking about the Western Regional Barista Competition (WRBC), hosted by the delightful dudes at Intelligentsia Coffee, and taking place in L.A., baby. Here are some details, lifted directly from the cool WRBC website. Note festivities begin on Thursday, Jan. 22, while the actual competition is Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
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Thursday, January 22: Competitor Meet & Greet
Held @ Intelligentsia Coffee West Coast Roasting Works
2737 N San Fernando Rd Los Angeles CA 90065
Time: 6-8 PM
Friday: Mixer @ LAMILL Coffee Boutique / Silverlake
1636 Silver Lake Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Time: 7-9:30 PM
Saturday:WRBC Reception @ Spring Arts Tower
Time: 7-?? PM
Sunday: WRAP Party @ Intelligentsia Silverlake
3922 W Sunset Blvd Los Angeles CA 90029
Featuring: Egon and Jamie Strong of Stones Throw Records
Possible Appearance by: Fletcher Street Tacos’ guys (those who know are getting hungry: Al Pastor baby!!)
Time:7-????
Hoping to see current US Barista Champion, Kyle Glanville, on the Nuova Simonelli? Or the World Barista Champ, Stephen Morrissey? How about reigning WRBC Champ, Chris Baca? Sorry, sista. They’re not competing. But they will be on hand to emcee the event and of course, sign some autographs and kiss some babies.
GLANVILLE!
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BACA!
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All kinds of shizz is going on at the event, too, like coffees served on a 4th Machine and brew bar from Verve Coffee Roasters, Ritual Coffee Roasters, Equator Estate, Intelligentsia Coffee, Kean Coffee, LA MILL Coffee, Zoka Coffee, and Caffe Luxxe.
Question, and please someone answer because I’ve been confused about this for a long time: Why does LA MILL CAPITALIZE ITS NAME ALL THE TIME?
Onward: One of the coolest things I’ve seen, I saw because Ryan Willburicious of Intelli posted about it on coffeed: Mini interviews with most of the competitors, so you can get to know each one a little beforehand. How cool! Check it all out here.
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So now you know the peeps, here’s the deets:
Friday, Jan. 23
11:05 Brett Walker, Zoka Coffee (competing out of region)
11:22 Brendan McCarthy, Red Rock Coffee
1139 Amber Johnson, LA MILL Coffee
11:56 Ozzie Ortiz, Anazao Coffee
12:13 Steven Lorensen, Barefoot Coffee Roasters
12:30 Ryan Willbur, Intelligentsia Coffee
12:47 Frances Capell, Mokka
1:04 Matthew Williams, Verve Coffee Roasters
1:21 Ross Barclay, Toby’s Coffee
1:38 Ian Levine, Caffe Luxxe
1:55 Elaine Levia, Barefoot Coffee Roasters
2:12 Jared Truby, Verve Coffee Roasters
2:29 Gabe Combs, LA MILL Coffee
Saturday, January 24
11:05 Louie Poore, Zoka Coffee (competing out of region)
11:22 Nicholas Griffith, Intelligentsia Coffee
11:39 Sara Peterson, The Abbey Coffee Lounge
11:56 Kan Hasegawa, Cafe Abir
12:13 Philip Kim, LA MILL Coffee
12:30 Michael Porter, Anazao Coffee
12:47 Renee Teichen, Ritual Coffee Roasters
1:04 Devin Pedde, Intelligentsia Coffee
1:21 Hannah Kram, Caffe Mediterraneum
1:38 Lita Lopez, Groundwork Coffee
1:55 Michael Richardson, Kean Coffee
And Sunday, the finals!
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Again, I urge you to stay tuned to the WRBC website for more details and news, like the effing cool diagram they posted today about the performance space. Best of luck to all!
