I was so happy and honored to be invited to the Mexican Barista Championship in Mexico City! Today I’m packing my bags and getting geared up for the trip. I leave early tomorrow morning and will be gone for a week.
The Mexican Barista Championship is one of the premiere national barista competitions in the world, and that’s thanks to Arturo Hernandez and Jose Cleofus Arreola. This year’s contest, which kicks off on Thursday, September 4, with a new champion crowned at the end of the event on Saturday, September 5. Though he won’t be competing this year, the well-loved reigning barista champion of Mexico, Salvador “Chava” Benìtez will be on hand to help with the event and soothe the nerves of the competitors.
Speaking of competitors, what a lineup! Here are the entrants:
MarÃa Guadalupe Parra González
Moisés MartÃnez de la rosa
Erick Alfredo Jiménez Morales
Axel Juárez
Arturo Cuevas Ortiz
Ana Otilia GarcÃa Monter
Jesús Alejandro Juárez Osuna
Samantha Espinosa
Martha DomÃnguez DomÃnguez
Alelà Moreno Labastida
Brenda Hernández Zarza
Francisco Javier Gamboa Rendón
Manuel DÃaz Ortiz
Carlos Delgado Delgado
Levà DomÃnguez MartÃnez
José Angel Negrete Anaya
Gerardo Miguel Andrade
Jorge Hernández MartÃnez
Luz Azucena Pedraza Trejo
Aquiles González Pereyra
Alvaro Carrasco López
Diana Fabiola Sánchez Morales
Elias Islas
Alejandro Ortiz
Lancelot MacÃas Ferreira
Pedro Manuel Gómez Orozco
Abel de Jesús Colmenero
Natalie Villa Giral
One of these baristas will win the grand prize: the opportunity to represent Mexico at the World Barista Championship next April in Atlanta, Georgia.
As if we weren’t already impressed with the top notch jobs that Arturo and Jose have done in the past in putting the competition together, this year they’ve made it even more impressive and global, with the addition of a live video feed just like what we had going at the USBC and the WBC this past year. Join in the fun by tuning in to www.competenciamexicanadebaristas.com
One of the things I’m most excited about is the chance to spend some solid time with the other people Jose and Arturo have invited. They are Sonja Grant, one of the grand dames of barista competitions and who has judged at many Mexican Barista Championships in the past. Sonja is launching her new cafe and roastery with business partner, Imma, called Kaffismiðja Ãslands ehf (it means Coffee Workshop of Iceland); Anette Moldvaer of Square Mile Coffee Roasting in London (Anette’s palate is one of the best, as proved by the WBC-winning coffee she roasters for Stephen Morrissey in 2008 and James Hoffmann in 2007; not to mention her World Cupper Championship title from 2007); Andrew Barnett, owner of Ecco Caffe in Santa Rosa, Calif., and stellar World Barista Championship judge (not to mention one of the nicest, smartest guys in coffee); and Brent Fortune, owner of Crema Coffee & Bakery in Portland, Ore., and longtime judges trainer.
I’ll be blogging here throughout my trip, uploading shots of the competitors, the judges, the drinks, the setting, and the city sights, so check back often! Off voy a mi viaje. Voy a estar en contacto!
