Any suggestion for a Competition Bean?

[baconmeister]

I am going to attend this years GBC (Grand Barista Championship) in AUG. Still havent decided on which bean to take yet. I have Narrowed down to 2 beans at the moment, 1st an Ethiopia Kemal Abdella Washed Limu, and the 2nd being a PNG Kimel PeaBerry. The Limu is very nice as a SO espresso and the Kimel Peaberry very very nice in milk. But I dont feel like bringing 2 different beans to the competition as this will increase my preparation time and reduce consistency.

So if anyone has got some great suggestion on SO espresso please feel free to share! Thanks

Oh, I will be wearing my CoffeeSnobs shirt to the preliminary heats, on behalf of all the home roasters out there

[Koffee_Kosmo]

Re: Any suggestion for a Competition Bean?

I did not think I would find a bean that could beat the flavour of PNG Wahgi AA

But I did find such a bean
So I would recommend the
Sumatra Mandheling Takengon Organic
Roasted
FC 9min 30 sec
SC + 6 min to first snaps
+ 30 sec
colour range CS 8-9

If you have this bean,
Roast & try it, and judge for yourself

Good luck

KK

[baconmeister]

Re: Any suggestion for a Competition Bean?

Thanks for your suggestions KK. Yes I did try the Takengon from the recent Bean Sales, extremly nice in Milk but I little bit risky using it for a SO espresso for the competition as its not the most balanced, its missing a bit of brightness. I know lots of people doesnt like too bright/acidic espressos, but thats one of the judging criteria so I will sure be marked down for it. But thanks for your suggestion!

By the way, for the competition I have to present 4x Espressos, 4x Milk based drinks and 4x Latte Arts. So I am trying to find a bean thats equally good in Espresso and in Milk, I know its hard...

[Koffee_Kosmo]

Re: Any suggestion for a Competition Bean?

Ahh well then
You cant go past a good wet processed Columbian bean
The limited amounts of Columbian beans I have cupped were. Rich with Bright Acidity and a heavy body

KK

[baconmeister]

Re: Any suggestion for a Competition Bean?

Actually I have just roasted a batch of Colombian Agua Azul. Just waiting for it to Degas at the moment so I can try it out. Fingers crossed.

[TC]

Re: Any suggestion for a Competition Bean?

Actually I have just roasted a batch of Colombian Agua Azul. Just waiting for it to Degas at the moment so I can try it out. Fingers crossed.

Have a crack at some Rwandan Musasa if you can find some Bacon...

Im loving it...be it light for syphon, in a press, under milk or an espresso...It really is a stunner...

2mcm

[baconmeister]

Re: Any suggestion for a Competition Bean?

I have Tried the Musasa as well. For me its lovely in Syphon but a bit too light as an SO espresso or under Milk, maybe I am not roasting it dark enough...

[Bullitt]

Re: Any suggestion for a Competition Bean?

I have found the Mexican beans that were offered last year seem to have a good all round balance.
If you havent tried any of them it might be worth a try.
I think my best lot was two roasts blended together with one stopped before any 2C and the other taken into 2C.

Bullitt

[Dimal]

Re: Any suggestion for a Competition Bean?

Im sure Andy would have something you could use and would be a stand-out into the bargain BM... 8-)

Mal.

[Wushoes]

Re: Any suggestion for a Competition Bean?

Is this your first competition?

I recommend wearing neat and appropriate attire. A nice dress shirt, black pants and black leather shoes.

As for coffee. The coffee you pick is crucial. Cup, cup and cup again.  And just for good measure try and cup on the actual competition machine. I took 3 different blends with me to GBC is 2008. All aged at different days and all degassed at different hours such as 1 hour, 6 hours, 12 hours and 24 hours. Whatever the plane did to my coffee on the way from Melbourne, it wasnt nice when I cupped it up on a competition specd machine at ECA in Sydney (Espresso Company Australia) when they had the sponsorship for the machines (VBM Replicas).

Another bit of advice if youll indulge me. Practice your routine as many times as you can. Full dress rehearsals. That is including prep time and unloading the trolley during prep time, dialing in your grinder, cleaning up, setting the judges table and polishing the machine. One water mark on the machine, a drip of water in the drip tray, or a sprinkle of grinds on the bench before you start your presentation and it will be instant mark deductions on your tech sheet. Practice talking while pouring water/serving drinks for the sensory judges. And finally, make sure your taste descriptors match exactly what the judges will taste. Lead the judges through the tasting and encourage them to award you points. For every taste descriptor you say, they will write it down and either tick it as being present or not at all.

Any questions about GBC or competition in general...feel free to reply on this thread and Ill try answer as best I can.

Best of luck....

[Wushoes]

Re: Any suggestion for a Competition Bean?

Heres a sample of my intro for last years GBC

Good Morning/Afternoon Judges, Ladies and Gentlemen,

My name is David Seng and I’m really excited to be here today to compete for my first time in the Danes Gourmet Coffee Grand Barista Championship. We may be in coffee for totally different reasons, but I really love how broad and technical coffee can be. Not only brewing methods and technologies, but also down at farm level, to how coffee is grown and processed.

Earlier this year, I was fortunate enough to travel to several Australian coffee plantations. During my travels, what amazed me is how much research and development goes on at plantation level.

One processing method that really caught my eye was the double pass process, pioneered by the Mt Top Estate in NSW. Today, I’m really excited to be able to serve you a Mountain Top coffee. It’s a Bin 35 and utilizes the double pass process for its complex sweetness. My roaster Donnie and I then added pulped natural Brazil. It’s a Yellow Bourbon Cachoeira, its going to bring some lively fruit notes to the cup which I really enjoy in espresso. Finally we added a touch of Indonesian Mandheling because I love the way it sits in milk.

Today I’ve chosen to begin with piccolo lattes as my milk based coffees. This will be followed by 4 espressos and finishing with my latte art. I look forward to telling you more about my coffees as I go along today.

I also attached the inventory list that I used for my trip to Sydney

[luca]

Re: Any suggestion for a Competition Bean?

Am I missing something? Why does it have to be a single origin? If it does have to be a SO, couldnt you stll blend different roast levels and roast dates?

Cheers,
Luca

[yeeza]

Re: Any suggestion for a Competition Bean?

Am I missing something? Why does it have to be a single origin?

I was thinking the same thing :-?

[TC]

Re: Any suggestion for a Competition Bean?

Am I missing something? Why does it have to be a single origin?

I was thinking the same thing  :-?

But it doesnt HAVE to be a blend...Might be an unwise decision though

[baconmeister]

Re: Any suggestion for a Competition Bean?

Thank you guys for all that help! Especially Mr. Seng.

Why do I want SO instead of Blend? Because I find when I blends it often doesnt turn out as nice as the original SO bean, maybe I am just crap at blending thats all. ;D ;D ;D

And because its a presentation, I can write a little "Romantic" story about a particular SO bean, Blend is a bit boring in comparison

And Luca, blending different roast level SO bean is exactly what I am doing. Its still a SO right?... haha

I will keep you guys posted on my progess

Cheers,
David