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Photo by Tessa Berg
Two Columbus baristas nearly made the United States Barista Championship after competing in regional qualifying events held from Feb. 20 to 22 at New York City’s Dallis Bros. Coffee. A technical difficulty and stroke of bad luck might’ve been the deciding factors.
Logan Demmy, a barista at One Line Coffee in the Short North, was scoring well until he burned his hand before presenting his signature drink—a Manhattan with espresso instead of bourbon, cherry reduction replacing vermouth and a lemon spritz. After his reduction got too thick, Demmy rushed and dripped some of the roughly 250-degree liquid on his hand. He was unable to explain the drink to judges (a crucial part of the round) because of the injury.
Even so, many were impressed with Demmy’s performance. “I thought he did really well,” One Line owner Dave Forman says. “He had a judge come over to him and encourage him to come back next year.”
Competing in an ancillary event known as the Brewers Cup, Forman was tasked to manually brew three cups in 7 minutes with grounds provided by the host shop. His first pair scored well, but judges said that the third was a few degrees too hot. Forman believes the temperature gauge on his water kettle possibly malfunctioned.
“I’m still a little salty about it,” Forman says, “but the good news is that, technique-wise, I felt like I belonged there.”
Full event results can be found here.
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UPDATE: Ground DownTwo Columbus baristas nearly made the United States Barista Championship |
