USBC Ranking Order

Here ya go…three rounds of fun stats:

2007_-usbc_ranking_order.pdf

Ritual gets Dangerous…new jobs

So post USBC we here at Ritual were graced with several visitors from outside the Bay Area coffee world. Billy and Kevin from the Albina Press, Jon Lewis of Bumper crop fame, and Danger Dan from Caffe Collage all popped in for a visit. Jon had to jet right away but it was such a pleasure seeing him in the shop…my only contact with him had been at competitions and we all know how well spoken this cat is on stage. After Jon split Eileen took our guests along with some of our posse to a wonderfull dinner at Blue Plate (the meat loaf is off the hook!). Billy and Kevin hung out the next day and took in the city and we were left with the infamous Danimal as our guest barista for the next week! Having Dan behind the bar is awesome…he definately has his own special style and personality that makes him a really pimp character to work with. We wanted to keep him but alas, he has other obligations. Come back soon playa!

In other news a few things are getting the old switcharoo here at Ritual. Gabe is going to be roasting with Ryan a couple days a week and eventually roasting on his own. I can see from his attitude, work ethic, and complete dedication to coffee that with time he’ll be just as bad ass as a roaster as he is a barista. For me this means picking up slack training. I need to finish a training program for us Ritual-ites and dive into getting the whole store where it needs to be in terms of the bar. With thirty people I think I have my work cut out for me…kinda stressin’ but I’m sure I learn just as much as the people I’ll be training. Thats what it’s all about right? Oh, Battle of the Bay comming soon…keep your eyes peeled.

USBC!

Well the LBC has treated us well… from failed machines to upsets and let-downs it was a wild ride. Awesome. People are killing it. There’s so much to report so here are some of my favs:

Scott Lucey pan roasts coffee on stage! Smoke and chaff flying everywhere (judges water), grinds it, brews it, and serves it in his sig drink. Gangster.

The middle machine controversy…yum. You heard about it already.

Intelly party and latte art throwdown, 40 or so baristas with one crack at the GB5. Five dollar buy in, winner takes the pot. Go go Glanville…that pimp took everyone’s money, even amongst several Millrock champs. Kid’s got game. Zander participated and he of course leveled his spro with a Clover squeegee. Trash talking and heckling; such fun. Did I mention free all you can eat taco truck?

Backstage. Chillin’ with everyone in the practice area is the shit…that’s where all the good spro and good people are. Highlight shots: Glanville single origin Brazil, Phuong secret “special people” blend, Teisl’s “JT Style” blend, and Kyle Larson aka The Larsonist, aka Grand Theft Larsony with his S.O. Finca el Injerto.

Steve Ford…has anyone ever hung out with this guy? This cat is ridiculous.

On the way back to their homelands Albina Pressers Billy and Kevin stopped in to the Rits along with Jon Lewis and Danger Dan…thanks for stopping in folks, we know it’s a bit out of the way. That evening Eileen took us all out for a wonderful dinner at the Blue Plate where we all had too much wine and shit tons of coffee talk. Oh, and for one week only you can catch a shot of the Danimal working at the Ritual…we finally have a guest barista!

Well, I’m tired from all this competition stuff. One more shout to Gabe and Ryan for taking time out of their lives to help me out with this thing…sorry a 9^th place finish is all I could offer. I appreciate you cats to the fullest. Ummm, and Jenni for not kicking me to the curb for spending more time with my Robur than with her! Until next time…