Well, Jason Calhoon is the new, and first ever, Southwest Regional Barista Champion. He did very well with a score somewhere around 460. Very nice for never even seeing one of these things. He’ll be a welcomed addition to the crowd in Minneapolis, as he’s a very cool guy who I look forward to seeing more from.
Devin did well in round 2 also. Scoring a 612. Very nice. His presentation came out looking much more comfortable. Drinks looked better, scores were higher. It’s all gravy.
Personally, I did not feel good about my performance, but I did well. I raised my score 15 points. I forgot ice, making my chilled drink, less chill. Our milk also froze in the fridge over night, so we used milk from the event. The problem was my mint was in the fridge and it died as well. Sadness.
The barefoot girls looked good. Monica Hill’s sig drink totally fell apart on her… lame. She instead, served straight up single origin shots… Rad. Well, done.
The other in region competitor is also a cool guy, and he finished just behind Jason Calhoon. He had a respectable performance and we hope he doesn’t go away. The girl from Groundwork looked better too. Her only problem was she never told the judges to drink her sig beverage, and then she called time too soon, leaving the drinks untouched on the table. Beyond that, she was rad.
Well, it’s off to more boozing on the show floor. The bar life section of this show is ridiculous. So many gnarly looking people drinking high octane drinks. A guy was passed out in the chairs watching the competition for a good while. This all only proves that what happens here, should probably stay here…
Tell me you have a photoset or video of that guy passed out in the chairs? I gotta see that.
Congrats to Jason!!!