CHRIS BACA from Ritual Coffee is the winner!!

Rock it Chris!

Kyle Glanville from Imtelligentsia Coffee took second

and Heather Perry of Coffee Klatch took third.

congrats all.

Team Barefoot did pretty well too!

Monica from Barefoot placed 8th
Ben from Temple Coffee took 9th
Jessica from Temple too 10th
and Marie from Barefoot took 11th
Adam from Caffe Med competed well and learned alot even though he went overtime too far.

a nice tight sweep!! Great job Barefoot team! Rock on! We are so proud of you all. You do the coffee proud!

The 4th Annual Western Regional Barista Competition comes to the Gaia Arts Center, Berkeley, CA, and raises the bar yet higher in the pursuit of espresso excellence and specialty coffee appreciation.

The Specialty Coffee Association of America presents the 2008 WRBC, showcasing the talents of the best baristas from across California and Hawaii. The winner will compete in the semifinal round at the 2008 U.S. Barista Championship in Minneapolis, MN; the winner of the U.S. competition will compete in the 2008 World Barista Championship in Copenhagen, Denmark.

All the usual WRBC favorites will return this year, as well as some exciting new additions:

The Fourth Machine & Clover Brewer: showcasing regional specialty coffee roasters with competition-level espresso and cappuccino & coffees brewed on the Clover single-cup brewer. Served free to the public!

Speakers and Seminars by Joseph Rivera, Kenneth Davids, Sarah Allen, Mike Perry & more.

The Painted & Photographed Bean: A Coffee Art Perspective featuring local artists.

Trophies for top three competitors by a local artist and New Awards: Best Espresso, Best Signature Drink, Most Promising Newcomer & The Barista’s Barista.

We invite any one who likes coffee and food to come out and enoy the festivities and watch some amazing Baristas compete. Team Barefoot is being represented by a total of six competitors this year. From Barefoot is the famous Monica R. Hill and Marie Holston. Monica and Marie competed out of region at the Southwest regional last month to get practice. Marie took third place in here first competition! Two first time Barista competitors from Temple Fine Coffee in Sacramento will be looking to kick a little coffee action. And two first time Barista competitors from Caffe Mediteraneum in Berkeley are also representing team Barefoot.

In addition four Baristas from Barefoot , Sean Komescher owner of Temple and Craig Becker owner of Caffe Mediteraneum will be judging the competition.

Barefoot will also have two slots on the 4th machine this year serving up beautiful single origin coffees on the espresso machine and the Clover machine. Friday 10 to 11 am and Sunday 1 to 2 pm. Come on by and taste some coffee!

If you come wear a Barefoot shirt to show your love for the whole team and cheer loudly when anyone from the team competes. Look for Barefootians wearing the team jacket.

Get yourself there!

Edwin Martinez of Finca Vista Hermosa is flying to Guatemala Friday the 7th and will be bringing down the money to help out the entire family. Thank you so much to all who donated, chipped in and helped out. I know that several other great roasters like Victrola Coffee, Brown Coffee and others all had donation drives as well and raised a great deal of money.

And a huge heartfelt thanks goes out to the amazing Barefoot Baristas who on their own decided to band together and donate all of their tips for the last week to Juana and her family! That is a strong move for a Barista to give up that much percentage of their income. Thank you Barefoot Baristas and crew!

Thank you so much everyone who helped out! We will still be raising money for the next few weeks so donate online or in the cafe!

With your help we can reach $2500 or more by this Friday! And our friends at Victrola Coffee and fellow Finca Vista Hermosa friends are going to be launching their own program to offer proceeds from the sale of FVH coffee for the Martin fund and we will add this to the check we give to Edwin Martinez (owner of Finca Vista Hermosa) when he goes to Guatemala in two weeks.

Thank you all!

And Edwin Martinez has setup a donation and more info about Carlos and Edwin on his blog as well

On February 15^th, 2008 a tragedy struck our farm partners at Finca Vista Hermosa in Guatemala. For the last decade or more Carlos has managed the day to day operations of Finca Vista Hermosa. He has labored tirelessly to bring exceptional quality, exquisite farming methods, demanding harvesting and processing procedures and intense cross training for all farm workers. The results have been astounding. Finca Vista Hermosa has consistently won international awards for coffee flavor and quality in auctions and programs. Carlos Martin lived a rich and full life and lived for his family and for coffee. He was training his oldest son Edwin Martin to take over managing the farm when he retires.

But Carlos and Edwin Martin’s lives were tragically cut short. On a return trip to the Finca they were ambushed by armed bandits and brutally murdered. They were returning with payroll for the farm workers and supplies and food for the entire farm. The sorrow and pain we here at Barefoot Coffee feel is deep and taxing. Roast Master Eugenia Chien and Andy Newbom spent a great deal of time with Carlos and Eddie when we last visited Finca Vista Hermosa.

To show our love and support for the entire family of Finca Vista Hermosa and to help Carlos’ wife Juana and her 11 children Barefoot Coffee Roasters is launching a support fund for their family. From February 22^nd through March 7^th

100% of all proceeds from sales of all of our Guatemala Finca Vista Hermosa coffees beans will be donated to the fund for Juana.

In about two weeks Edwin Martinez (the owner of Finca Vista Hermosa) will be going back to Guatemala and will bring down the check and present it to her. Please join us in supporting this amazing family of coffee farmers. You are also encouraged to make cash donations as well.

Carlos Martin and his son Eddie were an amazing team of coffee professionals and our hearts are saddened at their passing. Carlos’ older brother and original farm manager Lencho and Carlos’ son Diego are working with the Martinez family to manage the harvest right now as they are in the middle of the key part of the harvest.

Buy any Guatemala Finca Vista Hermosa coffee in our cafe or from our online store between now and March 7th 2008 and 100% of the sale will go to Juana and her 11 children.

You can also make a cash donation in the cafe or online right here.

For the months of February and March Noe will be participating in a Barista Exchange at Barefoot Coffee Roasters. Noe will be exchanging information, techniques, coffee passion and stories with the Barefoot Coffee team. This is a unique arrangement that builds great rapport between all of the participants. The high end of the specialty coffee industry is a supportive community that thrives on open communication and co-opetition. Noe will be learning to roast coffee, cup and blend coffees from many different countries and learn new espresso extraction techniques. In exchange Noe will be helping to train Barefoot’s Barista competition team, Monica Hill and Marie Holston, as they prepare for the Western Regional Barista Competition March 29-31^st 2008 in Berkeley, CA. Noe will also be working the espresso bar pulling espressos for customers throughout the month at Barefoot’s coffee bar.

“My passion is coffee. ” Said Noe Castro Cacao. “Working with Barefoot Coffee is a remarkable opportunity for me to advance my coffee knowledge, skill and passion. The level of coffee preparation knowledge in the United States will allow me to achieve my goal of representing Guatemala in the World Barista Championships in 2009.”

And to continue the spirit of the exchange he will also be spending a week or two at Ritual Roasters in San Francisco doing many of the same educational opportunities. This type of open community and exchange is a hallmark of the artisan coffee industry where relationships and results are more important than brand.

Artisan roasters take great pride in hand crafting coffees of the highest magnitude. The multi-layered flavor complexities exceed that of even the finest wines. And many of these roasters take the coffee so seriously that they develop direct relationships with coffee farmers in producing countries to ensure the highest quality and most unique flavors. These relationships also serve to pass more of the profits to the coffee farmers themselves through education and awareness.

“ Noe is an amazing Barista and representative of Guatemala Coffee. “ Mused Andy Newbom, Chief Espresso Officer of Barefoot Coffee Roasters, Inc. “We are honored to be able to host a true champion of great coffee. We met Noe Castro on a trip to visit farms in Guatemala in February 2007, while we were training a group of Guatemalan Baristas and we offered to help Noe refine his presentation for the World competition. His passion, dedication, charm and humility are backed up by his exemplary skill in making great coffee. Damn! This is gonna be a fun month!”

“ In Guatemala most Baristas have little or no contact with coffee roasters.” explained Edwin Martinez, owner of Guatemalan coffee estate Finca Vista Hermosa in Huehuetenango. “For Noe to work directly with an artisan coffee roaster of the level of Barefoot Coffee and to learn roasting, blending and cupping is a huge opportunity for him.”

This competition is the first, most grueling stage in the race to see which two Barefoot Baristas earn a spot on the 2008 competition team. Come on down and watch the magic as each Barista has ten minutes to make four single espressos and four single cappuccinos for four judges. The winner is the Barista with the most polish and poise, the best overall presentation and most importantly the best tasting espresso and cappuccinos.

It’s all about the coffee.