Win a Trip to Portland to Make Coffee With Pete Licata at Compak Golden Bean

One lucky barista will win a trip to Portland in September to work with Pete Licata at the Compak Golden Bean event

BY CHRIS RYAN
SPECIAL TO BARISTA MAGAZINE

Ever wanted to work alongside one of the world’s top baristas brewing coffee to be judged in one of the industry’s most popular roasting competitions?

That’s just the opportunity being offered in a new contest in conjunction with the 2016 Compak Golden Bean North America, the second-annual event that bills itself as “the world’s largest coffee roasting competition.” In the Golden Bean, roasters from around the country submit samples and vie for awards in several categories. The event takes place in Portland this September.

At the inaugural Compak Golden Bean North America event in 2015, baristas jumped at the chance to work in the “Engine Room,” pulling shots and brewing coffee from each roaster submission for the judges to evaluate. They had a blast!

At stake is the opportunity to work in the Golden Bean’s “engine room,” where a team of baristas make drinks to be served to a panel of judges. These baristas play an integral role in the event, as they’re charged with making filter and espresso beverages that maintain the integrity of the competing coffees.

2013 World Barista Champion Pete Licata oversaw all judging at the 2015 Compak Golden Bean event, and looks forward to returning to the roasting competition in September in Portland.

Leading the Engine Room is Pete Licata, 2013 World Barista Champion and creator of coffee-evaluation site Roast Ratings. The winning barista in this contest will gain the chance to work alongside Pete in a high-profile professional setting. “The Engine Room is a bit of a marvel of coordination and communication,” says Pete. “The winner can look forward to seeing how the Engine Room team works, the depths of judging calibration, espresso dial-in, and the sheer number of coffees at the event. It is a little crazy, impressive to behold, and satisfyingly exhausting at the end of the day.”

Abner Roldán, Latte Art Champion of Puerto Rico, worked in the Engine Room with Pete at last year’s Compak Golden Bean event and had a blast.

To enter the competition, baristas must write an essay of 500 words or less about their passion for coffee and their reasons for aspiring to be a world-class barista. The winning barista will receive not just a job in the Engine Room during the event, but also airfare, accommodation and entry to the Compak Golden Bean, an event T-shirt, and a limited-edition tamper from Reg Barber Enterprises.

The Golden Bean originated in Australia: Founder Sean Edwards started the competition more than 10 years ago in conjunction with his coffee magazine, Café Culture. He brought it stateside to Portland in September 2015, with key sponsorship from international coffee-grinder manufacturer Compak. Roasters around the country were honored, with Southern California’s Klatch Coffee receiving the top prize of Overall Champion Roaster.

Mike Perry of Klatch Coffee (left) won top honors at the 2015 Compak Golden Bean. Bruce Milletto of Water Ave. Coffee and the American Barista & Coffee School was inducted into the Compak Golden Bean Hall of Fame.

In the first Compak Golden Bean North America, 150 roasters around the country submitted 400 entries. Sean says this year’s event will be bigger and better. “We have had amazing feedback and know this year will be double the size in participants and entries,” he says. “We had a big challenge coming from a small populated country like Australia and convincing a big market to get involved. I think we achieved this, and all we have to do now is maintain our credibility and the transparency of the competition.”

Interested baristas can send their essays directly to Sean at sean@goldenbeannorthamerica.com. All entries must be received by August 31.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chris Ryan is Content Director of Sustainable Harvest Coffee Importers, where he develops and produces a broad range of materials covering the entire supply chain. He also plays a chief role in assembling the program for the Let’s Talk Coffee event series. Chris graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.A. in Journalism. Before joining Sustainable Harvest®, he spent four and a half years as Editor of Fresh Cup Magazine, a trade publication covering the specialty coffee and tea industries. Outside the office he enjoys bike riding, reading, and watching baseball.

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