CoffeeGeek Podcast 030 - Phuong Tran, USBC Champ

Once again, a huge thanks to Cindy for putting together these excellent show notes!

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Show Notes

The News with Jeanette Chan (1:52)
- Kenyan coffee farmers in debt (2:00)
- New Orleans-based PJ’s coffee reopening locations closed by Katrina (2:38)
- Coffee lowers risk of breast cancer in certain women (3:10)
- Starbucks wins trademark infringement suit in China (4:32)
- Lakewood, WA couple charged with forcing their niece to work as a slave at their espresso stand (5:25)
- Culprit in string of espresso stand robberies in Washington state apprehended (8:24)

Phuong Tran, 2005 US Barista Champion (9:29)
- Phuong’s café: Lava Java, Ridgefield, Washington (10:05)
- Phuong’s road to the USBC (10:43)
- What the competition consists of (14:47)
- What barista competitions are all about (19:21)
- How to improve barista competitions (22:03)
- Rumors of a competing body to the World Barista Championship (WBC) (26:59)
- Phuong’s experience at the Nordic Cup: cow milking; triangle tests; milk tasting tests; signature drink team competition; coffee brewing test (27:32)
- The 2005 WBC (34:50):  Mark’s view on Phuong’s finish (36:02); the finalists (congrats to Sammy Piccolo on his new baby boy!)  (37:31); a behind the scenes look (38:42); Phuong’s training (43:53); Phuong’s signature drink, the Crimson Sage (47:23)
- Judging and the sensory skills test (54:38)
- The Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition (58:39)
- Vancouver café crawl: Caffe Artigiano, JJBean, Prado, Wicked Café, Elysian Room (59:31)
- Mark and Phuong compare shots and discuss flair vs consistency (1:02:26)
- Phuong’s thoughts on what could be done differently at the USBC (1:07:57)