Confession: I’ve fallen in love with Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood this past week in Vienna. The Barista Champion of the United Kingdom is everything a champion should be: gracious, friendly, honest, and impeccable in his barista skills. It’s been a joy to watch him this week, and today in the WBC Finals, Maxwell delivered his best presentation to date.
![DSC_0035](http://baristamagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/DSC_00352.jpg)
His presentation comes across as very smooth, that is to say, he makes it so easy to understand. But make no mistake: his performance is infinitely complex. He takes one coffee, a single origin Bolivia, and uses the opportunity to prepare it as espresso, cappuccinoand his signature drink, as a way to offer dramatically different perspectives on the coffee. I don’t have the quote exactly, but I loved how he said that experiencing the coffee as a cappuccino would be like taking a step back from it, changing vantage point, and trying it again. It made me really, really want to try it.
![DSC_0036](http://baristamagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/DSC_00361.jpg)
I got to see more of his signature drink today: he again approaches the the espresso ”a straight shot but with slightly different brew ratios ”with different angles. First, he asks the judges to taste a sip of the espresso as itself. Then, he has them taste it with a bit of freshly juiced grapefruit. Finally, he asks them to swirl a bit of a simple tea he made on stage ”licorice and star anise ”in their mouths, then taste the espresso again.
![DSC_0075](http://baristamagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/DSC_0075.jpg)
![DSC_0087](http://baristamagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/DSC_0087.jpg)
Maxwell, well done. You did your country proud and should be truly happy with your performance today.
Final time: 14.51
What took you so long to fall in love with Maxwell? 🙂 He is a natural star, completely charming and a barista of the very highest calibre. A class act. His wife is a great barista as well! A very talented duo.