Global Barista Exchange -- Guatemala to California: Barefoot Coffee Roasters Hosts Guatemala National Barista Champion Noe Castro Cacao
San Jose, CA (PRWEB) February 15, 2008 -- February is the month of coffee and love with Valentine's Day and Specialty Coffee month sharing the stage. And that coffee love is blooming at Silicon valley's Barefoot Coffee Roasters. Barefoot is hosting Guatemalan National Barista Champion Noe Castro for the month of February. Noe Castro was the Guatemala national Barista champion and went on the compete in the 2006 World Barista Championships in Tokyo nabbing 28th place. Noe recently took third place at the 2007 Guatemala Barista Championship and won the title of "Best Espresso" at the championships.
For the months of February and March Noe will be participating in a Barista Exchange at Barefoot Coffee Roasters. Noe will be exchanging information, techniques, coffee passion and stories with the Barefoot Coffee team. This is a unique arrangement that builds great rapport between all of the participants. The high end of the specialty coffee industry is a supportive community that thrives on open communication and co-opetition. Noe will be learning to roast coffee, cup and blend coffees from many different countries and learn new espresso extraction techniques. In exchange Noe will be helping to train Barefoot's Barista competition team, Monica Hill and Marie Holston, as they prepare for the Western Regional Barista Competition March 29-31st 2008 in Berkeley, CA. Noe will also be working the espresso bar pulling espressos for customers throughout the month at Barefoot's coffee bar.
"My passion is coffee," said Noe Castro Cacao. "Working with Barefoot Coffee is a remarkable opportunity for me to advance my coffee knowledge, skill and passion. The level of coffee preparation knowledge in the United States will allow me to achieve my goal of representing Guatemala in the World Barista Championships in 2009."
And to continue the spirit of the exchange he will also be spending a week or two at Ritual Roasters in San Francisco doing many of the same educational opportunities. This type of open community and exchange is a hallmark of the artisan coffee industry where relationships and results are more important than brand.
Artisan roasters take great pride in hand crafting coffees of the highest magnitude. The multi-layered flavor complexities exceed that of even the finest wines. And many of these roasters take the coffee so seriously that they develop direct relationships with coffee farmers in producing countries to ensure the highest quality and most unique flavors. These relationships also serve to pass more of the profits to the coffee farmers themselves through education and awareness.
"Noe is an amazing Barista and representative of Guatemala Coffee," Mused Andy Newbom, Chief Espresso Officer of Barefoot Coffee Roasters, Inc. "We are honored to be able to host a true champion of great coffee. We met Noe Castro on a trip to visit farms in Guatemala in February 2007, while we were training a group of Guatemalan Baristas and we offered to help Noe refine his presentation for the World competition. His passion, dedication, charm and humility are backed up by his exemplary skill in making great coffee. Damn! This is gonna be a fun month!"
"In Guatemala most Baristas have little or no contact with coffee roasters," explained Edwin Martinez, owner of Guatemalan coffee estate Finca Vista Hermosa in Huehuetenango. "For Noe to work directly with an artisan coffee roaster of the level of Barefoot Coffee and to learn roasting, blending and cupping is a huge opportunity for him."
Barefoot Coffee Roasters, Inc. is a cafe and roastery in the heart of Silicon Valley operating in the old ways of hands-on craftsmanship. Hands and hearts beat computer chips any day. Striving for coffee perfection makes Barefoot take coffee pretty seriously and pour love into every bean. While still keeping it simple; taking great coffee, crafting it with pride and passion and treating the whole coffee experience as a culinary art while operating sustainably from top to bottom. The team has been ranked as one of the top four boutique roasters in the nation by Food and Wine Magazine and been voted Best Coffee in the Bay Area four years running by the Wave and Metro magazines and recently the Mercury News. Barefoot is an artisan roaster of sustainable coffees including Organic, Fair Trade, Shade Grown, co-op grown, single estates, auction winning lots and relationship coffees. These great coffees have amazingly complex flavors, nuances and layers which are truly wonderful on your tongue. Barefoot Coffee Roasters is proud to be a participating member of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, the Roasters Guild and a founding member of the Barista Guild of America and the Nor Cal Coffee Maffia. Located at 5237 Stevens Creek Blvd. in Santa Clara, CA (at the corner of Lawrence Expressway). For more information, please call (408) 293-7200, visit www.barefootcoffee.com or simply drop by.
###
Related Articles:
Fresno Area's Shaw Village Shopping Center Renovation to Include Unique "California Central Valley" Architectural Finishes, a First for
Planning and design work continues for major Fresno Area shopping center, preparatory for start of refurbishment and renovation process.
The Hoffman Group Announces Newest Myrtle Beach Resort Receives Certificate of Occupancy
Myrtle Beach?s premier oceanfront condominium sales & marketing firm, The Hoffman Group, reports purchasers are now closing on condos in the beautiful new Sandy Beach Resort.
Florida Yacht Charter; Top Five Marinas to Dock Your Yacht
Today?s upscale marinas are offering more than just dockage, they are now providing a full range of amenities that enhance the yachting experience. With new acquisitions, multi-million dollar renovations and some of the finest amenities, most upscale marinas are making the Florida Yacht Charter into a grand experience.
Major North Carolina Commercial Real Estate Auction to be Held in Charlotte on May 21, 2008: Seven Properties to be Sold Absolute, Regardless of Price
Properties Valued between $100,000 and $8,000,000 will be offered
with Suggested Opening Bids $25,000 and $2,650,000.
New Myrtle Beach Condo Conversions -- The Patricia Grand Resort
Myrtle Beach real estate continues to thrive with affordable condo conversions as popular alternative to higher prices of new pre-construction.
The 4 F's of Flipping Real Estate
The real estate flipping process can be simplified into 4 F?s. I will briefly cover each part here in the rest of this article.
Golf Equipment ? More Than Just Balls And Clubs
While golf clubs and golf balls are an essential part of a golfers equipment, there are other things that are important too. A serious golfer needs some other tools in his arsenal to ensure that he has a great golfing experience, and to make sure that his game is at its best at all times.
PGA Pros Find New Supplement Improves Golf Game
New training aid improves golf swing through better muscle memory.
The Perfect Assassin by Ward Larsen Wins the Silver Medal in the Florida Book Awards
The Perfect Assassin named among the best Florida literature published in 2006.
2008 Golf Industry Show Contract, Awarded to Dietze Enterprises, Inc.
Dietze Enterprises, Inc., Awarded Contract to Support The 2008 Golf Industry Show. Session Tracking and Traffic Auditing, Global Leader will provide their most advanced RFID solution for over 25,000 attendees and 1,100 exhibiting companies, encompassing 300,000 net square feet of exhibit space.