Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea’s Amber Sather Becomes Region’s Best During SCAA’s Northeast Regional Barista Competition; Receives All-Expense Trip to 2008 United States Barista Championship
ITHACA, N.Y. U.S.A. (April 16, 2008) – Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea’s Amber Sather impressed event judges while outperforming 25 of the most skilled and accomplished baristas throughout the East Coast Sunday in winning the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s (SCAA) Northeast Regional Barista Competition (NERBC) – hosted by gimme! coffee.
Aside from earning the title of the Northeast’s best barista, the Brooklyn, New York resident earns an expenses-paid trip to compete at SCAA’s 2008 United States Barista Championship (USBC,) May 2-5 in Minneapolis, which coincides with SCAA’s 20th Annual Conference & Exhibition. SCAA is the largest coffee trade association in the world and event host, gimme! coffee is a well-known specialty coffee roaster-retailer with an established presence throughout New York.
Chris Deferio of Ithaca’s Carriage House Café – the 2007 NERBC winner – and another Brooklyn barista, Katie Carguilo from Counter Culture Coffee, placed second and third, respectively at the event, which was held at Ithaca’s historic State Theatre. The NERBC featured the top baristas throughout Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont and is last of SCAA’s 10 regional barista competitions occurring prior to the nation’s premier coffee competition, the USBC. SCAA’s regional barista competitions are held to encourage and recognize the art and skill of espresso preparation and culminate each spring with the USBC.
Amid the glare of cameras and a sizable collection of specialty coffee enthusiasts, Sather and her challengers each narrated their individual performances while preparing and serving 12 coffee beverages including four espressos, four cappuccinos and four custom signature drinks in only 15 minutes. Seven SCAA-certified judges, including one head judge, two technical judges and four sensory judges rated contestants on taste, beverage presentation, technical skills, total impression and station cleanliness.
Aside from having to sharpen her coffee preparation skills for her NERBC appearance, Sather had the added distraction of recently moving to the nation’s largest metropolis, New York. “I moved to New York from Chicago about two weeks prior to the event and as any person who has ever moved knows, it can be a crazy and a somewhat stressful thing to do,” Sather said. “In the midst of the move, I was still trying to concentrate on the competition.”
Her stress quickly turned into elation when master of ceremonies, Nicholas Cho identified her as the event’s winning barista. Sather added, “I felt like all of my hard work had paid off and I was so proud to represent Intelligentsia in the Northeast. I’m also thrilled and honored to be a part of the USBC. ”
“SCAA congratulates Amber and our other nine regional barista champions who demonstrated the distinctive artisanship associated with the barista profession and we look forward to an eventful and closely-contested USBC in Minneapolis,” said SCAA President Mary Petitt. “Aside from providing coffee professionals with a competitive and educational forum, our regional and national barista competitions broaden the recognition of these talented individuals who serve so many Americans with a quality cup of specialty coffee every morning.”
POSTED: Wednesday, April 16, 2008