Richard Wolak interviews, Nick Griffith, 2nd Place winner in the 2009 United States Barista Championship.
How are you involved with Intelligentsia Coffee Roasters?
I was one of the original baristas hired to help open our store in Silver Lake, then I moved into a sales position about 6 months later.
Tell our readers what was involved in your training for the USA Barista Championship in 2009.
Not as much as people might think. There seems to be this absurd idea that we, at Intelligentsia, get paid to train for competition and train for 6 months leading up to competition and that gives us an advantage – ALL of that is false.
Leading up to the WRBC I was very busy with wholesale training and taking care of customers and my practice time was extremely limited. I began work on my routine during the 5 days leading up to the competition and performed a practice run through only two times.
Between the WRBC and the USBC I performed my entire routine twice to avoid sounding too canned or like I had memorized a script of some kind. It’s all about being natural, not trying to sound natural. When you actually know your coffee, you no longer sound like you’re just listing facts that you’ve committed to memory, you start sharing what you know about the coffee.
I practiced maybe a week, 2-3 hours a day leading up to the US.
When I had time in our espresso lab to practice, I’d pick a section to work on, like just capps, and I would pull shots, steam milk, walk to the “judges table”, pour and place the first set and then go back and do the same for second set, all without saying a word. I worked on capps several days in a row because that was my weakest section at the WRBC. I would do the same when practicing the espresso section, pulling out both portafilters at the same time and then the same for the sig drink.
Two days before leaving for the US I put it all together and then incorporated the talking.
What inspired you to become a leader in the coffee industry as a Barista?
Never be satisfied. My high school baseball coach used to say, “You can’t teach passion”. I’m not in coffee to be a good competitive barista or some lame, minor coffee celebrity. I’m in it to learn all I can – for me. I think people should be humble enough to realize there is so much left to learn and you can learn a lot by sharing the knowledge you have. Every aspect of the coffee industry is exciting and intriguing to me, being a barista is just the last step in the long journey coffee has to take, what happens before that is more exciting to me.
What supplies and tools of the trade did you use in your presentation at the Championship?
Other than the obvious – tamper, brush, knockbox etc. I used a large mixing bowl, two whisks, glass bowl chiller and prior to the performance had to use a hand blend and sieve for my sig drink ingredients.
Describe the drink you created as your "custom" drink in the 2009 USA Barista Championship & how long did it take to create your signature drink?
Before the competition, I took some Medjool dates, Muscavado sugar and hot water. I then used a hand blender to mix it all together. Once smooth, I pushed the puree through a sieve to remove the skin and any other solid bits. The puree went into a small container was allowed to cool to room temperature.
The drink was deconstructed into two parts:
First, I took some vanilla bean infused cream, sugar and organic orange blossom water and whisked for about 15-20 seconds and then served. I instructed the judges to take a small sip and then wait for the second part of the drink.
Next, I put a tablespoon of the date puree into two small bowls and added two shots of espresso to each bowl. After whisking they were served with the. After trying both drinks, the judges than combine the two drinks into one glass and drink. The idea is to isolate the citrus aromatics into the cream and heavier sugar elements with the coffee.
It’s a simple drink prepared in a complicated manner.
How did you find the coffee that you used in your presentation? And which farm was it from?
This coffee has a unique story. This lot of coffee was originally used as a component in our Itzamna, Guatemala coffee. When cupping it on its own, we decided it might make a great SO espresso and it was. It’d become a regular offering on bar and we just fell in love with the sweetness and complexity of it.
Its kind of funny, during both the WRBC and the USBC, you could walk into our café and buy a bag of exactly what I used in competition. This wasn’t a crazy expensive, auction, micro lot coffee; it was just a wonderfully grown and well processed coffee from the Rosales family at Finca-La Maravilla.
Have you ever been to Origin? And if so, which country/farm did you travel too?
I made it to Colombia for their national competition. I met a lot of producers but didn’t make it to any farms. Some day.
Do you have any mentors in the coffee industry, and if so who and why?
Doug Zell, Geoff Watts, Stephen Morrissey, James Hoffman, Kyle Glanville
Passion, vision and a tenacity that has helped drive the industry forward. These guys are fearless and never satisfied, constantly trying to improve quality in every aspect of the industry. Cheers to you all.
What is your own personal favorite coffee? and why?
Every season it changes. I love East African coffees for their wine like nuanced characteristics and complex aromatics, but I also really enjoy the big flavor characteristics of Central and South American coffees.
Let’s just say, I like coffee, because its good.
What did you do before becoming a Barista?
From before high school to present: Caterer, barista, BestBuy, real estate agent, café owner, café manager, roaster, barista, wholesale.
What is your favorite dessert to have with an espresso?
Dee’s Nut’s - Vegan Doughnuts
What? That’s the name of the company!
Which Barista Championships have you competed in the past 5 years?
2007 WRBC, USBC
2008 WRBC, USBC
2009 WRBC, USBC
What interests do you have outside of the coffee business?
Wife and child go without saying, reading, food, travel, cars, music, and theology.
POSTED: Saturday, March 14, 2009