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Palace Coffee Shares What it Takes to be America’s Best Coffeehouse

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Recent controversy around the cancelations of regional barista competitions by the SCAA has led to lively online discussion concerning the future of coffee competitions. Many voices are calling for a competition that features teamwork, audience interaction, and realtime judging. In many ways, coffee professionals want a competition more like America’s Best Coffeehouse, a competition put on by one of our sponsors, CoffeeFest. In addition to having one of the largest prize packages in competitive coffee sports, we think this competition has the highest correlation to a barista’s actual job: serving real people coffee in a café setting. We recently had the opportunity to interview Patrick Burns, owner and founder of a previous winner of the competition, Palace Coffee in Amarillo and Canyon, Texas. 

Whether it’s USBC or latte art, you and your staff are seasoned competitors. What inspired you to compete in the ABC competition? What’s unique about this competition?
ABC offers something that you don’t get in most barista competitions, teamwork. As a barista you rely on your fellow coffee professionals to create an environment for your customers and to make it a memorable experience. We wanted to put our style of service and coffee against other great shops to see how we stack up.
There are many unique aspects to ABC. The most noticeable is being behind an active bar. This makes it as realistic as a competition can be. You are getting to serve true coffee people and are wanting to win them over with your quality, ability, and hospitality. It’s great because you can be true to who you are as a shop compared to just trying to rack up points on a judges score sheet. There is that aspect as well but it is more true to what will help you improve as a shop.

What did you learn? Did it change anything at Palace Coffee or confirm what you were already doing?
Personally I learned that it is better to trust your team and step aside sometimes.
The feedback we got from the judges is great. We did change up some and put in better practices when it comes to efficiency and closing down.

Photo from http://www.coffeelovershq.com/

Photo by http://www.coffeeloversmag.com

ABC is unique with its three-person team format. What was the experience like for your team?
The team format is great. We work most barshifts with a team mindset and not just a position concept. We were able to help each other with our areas while we were taking care of the customers coming through the line. Our crew loved it.

What was the biggest challenge? Why do you think your team was able to win?
Understanding the scoresheets and focusing on the what would be most beneficial was a challenge. Also the set up and tear down is unbelievably stressful.
 
At Palace we want coffee to be approachable, light, and fun. We took that concept in with us to ABC and together that with some killer coffee we where able to pull it off.

Whether it’s the material cost or the long hours of preparation, competing can be a big sacrifice. Was it worth it?

Going to competitions is one of the most important expenses we invest in as a company. It helps you become a better barista, team, and all around coffee professional. The camaraderie with your team and honestly the other shops and judges is what makes it well worth it.

What advice do you have for other teams considering doing this competition?

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Cafe Review: Culture Espresso in Manhattan, a Miracle on 38th St.

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Culture Espresso baked goods mmmEmpire State of Coffee

The Empire State building dominates the the Manhattan Skyline, but a good cup of coffee in Midtown is a little harder to spot. In an area of town largely dominated by department stores, Culture Espresso is a little miracle on 38th Street.

Although they recently switched to Heart Coffee Roasters, when I visited, Culture was serving Sightglass Coffee from San Francisco. I’ve been consistently impressed by Sightglass since I visited their roastery, and opportunities to enjoy their coffee on the East Coast are rare. Manhattan cafes are dominated by …

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Barista Interview: Cabell Tice, 2013 CoffeeFest NYC Latte Art Champion

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Cabell Tice of Thinking Cup

Cabell Tice shocked the competitive latte art world when he won the Latte Art World Championship Open at CoffeeFest, NYC as a first time competitor. We sat down (digitally) with the reigning champ and asked him a few questions about latte art, being a barista, and where to drink coffee in Bean Town.

You won the Latte Art World Championship Open your first time competing. Did you expect that would happen? What’s it like pouring latte art in those kinds of conditions?
I didn’t expect to show up and win CoffeeFest. I was hoping to not lose in the first round, but then that turned into …

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CoffeeFest NYC 2013 – Recap

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CoffeeFest NYC 2013 has come and gone but baristas and coffee professionals across the world are still in withdrawals from the mass amounts of caffeine consumed March eighth through the tenth at the Javits Center in Manhattan. As always, a lot of the activity focused on the competitions and their was no shortage of entertainment for fans of competitive coffee preparation.

America’s Best Coffee House

Peregrine Espresso won the America’s Best Coffee House competition. When I saw their name on the competitors list, I knew if they could recreate their cafe experience they would be hard to beat. …

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The Coffee Compass is at CoffeeFest NYC 2013

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CoffeeFest NYC Location

photo: Javits Center

CoffeeFest NYC 2013

CoffeeFest. It’s like the Woodstock of the coffee world. Baristas from Japan, Korea, and all over North America (including this barista) are flying in to compete in the mother of all latte art throw downs: the Latte Art World Championship Open. Bragging rights and $2,500 in the form of an oversized check await the winner. On the trade show floor the latest equipment in the industry is on display and exciting new coffees are ready to be sampled. But of course for most attenders it’s all about the networking.

If that weren’t enough for you, CoffeeFest NYC, hosted at the Jacob K. Javits Center, March 8-10, will feature a couple of exciting new competitions. Making its CoffeeFest debut is America’s Best Espresso Competition, a head-to-head tournament featuring 24 leading baristas and coffee roasters. Baristas will have six minutes to prepare a round of espressos on a Slayer espresso machine for a distinguished panel of judges (which also includes a certain Louisville-based coffee writer). The espresso will be evaluated for its flavor complexity, mouthfeel, and aftertaste.

America’s Best Coffeehouse Competition, presented by Davinci Gourmet*, is a newer event that pits the best cafes in the USA against each other. Entire crews from coffee shops around America are tasked with running the convention’s cafe in shifts. Secret judges will evaluate each team on coffee quality, teamwork, and customer service.

Don’t forget to watch it live

Wish you were going but can’t make it? Before you go and drown your tears in a conciliatory cappuccino, check out the livestream of the Best Coffeehouse Competition.

Also, stay glued to our Twitter feed for live updates from the Latte Art World Championship Open and the floor of the tradeshow. I’ll be available for chatting at the Center. Contact me by sending a DM to my twitter handle @mjbutterworth or @CoffeeNESW. In the mean time, start practicing those rosettas and tulips – there’s still time to apply for CoffeeFest Chicago, June 7-9.


*America’s Best Coffeehouse Competition is made possible by the generous support and sponsorship of the following companies: Deviancy Gourmet is the proud presenting sponsor. Design & Layout Services designed and fabricated the coffeehouse competition venue. SelbySoft, Inc. point of sale systems and Natvia the 100% Natural Sweetener are proud to support this competition and coffeehouses across America. Mahlkoenig has provided the whole bean and espresso grinders.