NoCoSoCal: Things That Count Other Than Scorekeepers
You may remember a month or so ago when this blogospace was filled with hubub and excitements over the 2010 Mountain Regional Barista Competition. The MRBC was a fine, fine time. It was also infiltrated by volunteers from Everyday Joe’s. There are a handful of things we know how to do very well, and volunteering is one of them. We’re so good at it, in fact, that we’ll be making our presence known on the United States Barista Championship in Anaheim come April 15-18.
With Anaheim approaching at an ever-accelerating rate, I wanted to hear debriefs from folks who helped at the MRBC that will also be lending a hand at the USBC. What emerges from these posts are delightful, heart-warming insights. First up: Diana Sitzman. Everyday Joe’s assistant director, and competition scorekeeper extraordinaire.
EDJ volunteer Josh Taves gettin' his competition on
Chris has asked me to write about my experience as the scorekeeper at the mountain regional barista competition a few weeks ago. Actually, it was a month ago. I procrastinate. As scorekeeper, I waited for all of the judges to give their marks and then I added them all up, finding each individual competitor’s total. As boring as it sounds, I loved it. It was fun to be behind the scenes. Meeting different coffee-industry folks, eavesdropping just a bit on the judges calibration, knowing before anyone else who the winner would be; these were all nice little experiences that were unique to my position.
It was really interesting to see how the scores were broken down and weighed. Each competitor is judged by 2 technical judges and 4 sensory judges. The technical judges basically watch how clean a competitor is and how well they follow rules. The sensory judges grade the taste of the drinks being served, as well as the experience and presentation as a whole. I was surprised to see how vital the technical scores were to being in contention for the lead. No matter how good someone’s performance was, lower technical scores eliminated any chance of winning. Part of this appealed to me personally; I prefer the concrete blacks and whites of life to the abstract grays. I like order and right angles and clean lines.
On the other hand, it was impossible to get anywhere on technical scores alone. The top competitors were polished, creative, amiable and engaging. It was obvious they cared about what they were doing and were well informed about coffee in general and their own espresso in particular. The understood the importance of creating a connection with the judges.
That feels a little like my life sometimes. Or the coffee industry sometimes. It’s easy to forget that there’s not always a bottom line when people are involved.
I guess by being located in the middle of the country, away from the cosmopolitan coffee hubs of the coasts, our regional competition was a contrast to the others I’ve seen. People seemed more like ground dwellers, less like ladder climbers. It made me thankful that our roaster is Novo, who values relationships so much more than anything else. It made me thankful that I work with people who don’t let me lose my head about following rules and excelling technically, but keep me focused on the bigger picture and the things that really count in life.
Overall I’d grade the experience as follows:
- Technical- 70/77, taking into consideration Everyday Joe’s representation and personal adherence to tasks assigned, multiplied by 2 equals 140
- Sensory- 150/179, taking into consideration enjoyment and growth potential, multiplied by 4 equals 600
Total score of 740. I win.
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