And I thought traveling across the globe was stressful!

Good day my dear friends. It's been a while. How have you been? Good? Ah, that's good to hear.

Down to brass tacks:

I'm back online for one very stressful reason: competition. A clever customer pointed out that since we are going to the North Central Barista Competition, we should blog while we're here. And by we, this means me.

Now the competition is less than a week away (sweet crazy blood pressure!) and Natro and Denver seem really ready. Miss Anya? Uh, well.... Miss Anya will pull this together.

Oh, wait. Let's talk about what the North Central Barista Competition means. So in the coffee industry there are these people called baristi (barista:singular, baristi:plural with bonus of sounding pretty neat). Baristi are coffee monkeys. We make the drinks that you fine folk drink, at least in regard to coffee. Now when you have any specialized, "glamorous" job, gatherings happen. Then competitions happen. Somewhere in there add a healthy dash of ego, pride and excitement. You end up with Barista Competitions.  And they are really fun. And really nerve racking. (Check this out to see how the champions do it!)

Here's what actually happens: dapper young barista(DYB) steps up to espresso machine. DYB inflates chest and starts talking coffee to four sensory judges while making four flawless shots of espresso, four epic cappuccinos (6oz only) and then a well thought out speciality drink. During that time, no mess is made, no milk is wasted, nothing is spilled,  and not a single obscenity falls from DYB's mouth. Also, this is done in *15* minutes. Then DYB is judged on the performance, knowledge, skill and quantity of forearm tattoos. (okay, not really, but maybe on how sweet DYB's hat is)

Now, I'd love to tell you all about the fantastic drinks and coffees we're going to use, but it's too soon. Things change. Secrets can't be revealed too soon. However, since we are all very excited, we have been making our signature drinks in the shop for anyone who asks. How can we say no? (That being said, mine still hasn't made it to another's lips yet. Waiting for the big reveal!)

More to come. We leave on Thursday. I'll be updating.
-Anya out.