The Barista Guild of America is trade guild of that consists of  coffee professionals who are dedicated to the barista craft and coffee preparation. This past May I was elected to represent the Southwest region of the guild; furthering the reach of the guild and connecting members and companies throughout the area. Every other week I join a conference call where the executive council (leadership of the guild) and chapter representatives get together to discuss upcoming events, goals, and how best to represent the craft.

The guild currently offers educational opportunities for baristas – from the basics to the cutting edge of current technologies. These classes are offered on occasion in your city and often at regional and national events. My favorite part of the guild is the community. This is often where the guild is most visible, in supporting local events that bring baristas together for fellowship and camaraderie. Through meeting local baristas I have enhanced my knowledge and desire to dive deeper into the entire cycle of coffee.

Tonight the Barista Guild of America announced that they’re offering health insurance as a benefit of being a BGA member. This is big news. Let me say that again: THIS IS HUGE! Let’s face it, health insurance is expensive. It’s expensive to individually insure yourself just as it’s very expensive for a small business to offer health insurance for a handful of employees. This is a huge benefit of being a member of the guild. Check out the Barista Guild’s blog post yourself: Health Insurance a BGA Benefit

Thanks to the leadership of the guild listening to the needs of members and their diligent research (this wasn’t a easy task), insurance is now a benefit. One of the most asked questions I get is “if I join the BGA, what’s in it for me?” This is a great question, however I could talk myself till I’m blue in the face about professional development through education opportunities, community building, and discounts. I believe the best thing to ask before joining is “how can I get involved?”

Any organization you are involved in whether athletic, professional, religious or recreational, the organization is only as strong as the sum of its members. The Barista Guild listened and acted. It’s time to speak up and reach out to another BGA member or the representative in your area and see how you can get plugged in.

However, year over year I help organize such events and make sure to participate in as many as I can. Why should we continue pouring latte art and hosting such competitions?

For that answer my friend Sarah Dooley wrote a nice little blog post: another latte art competition, ugg! I couldn’t agree with Sarah more that latte art is  “plating, in the cup”.

It’s about presentation. It’s a way to silently say “this is a craft”. Now, on that note I need to go brush up on my skills! I hear the Southwest Latte Art Competition is around the corner.

On September 3^rd, 2011 you are invited to compete and experience the 2^nd Annual Southwest Latte Art Competition held in conjunction with Phoenix Cooks; a culinary experience for food enthusiasts to learn, cook, and taste what Phoenix has to offer.

In addition to experiencing delicious food and wine, attendees will have the opportunity this year to learn about coffees brewed manually from local coffee roasters.

The latte art competition has been expanded this year beyond the Arizona borders to allow for competitors from the entire Southwest to join in on the fun! Thanks to our generous sponsors, 32 competitors will compete head to head for the title of Southwest Latte Art Champion. Beside the title, the winner will walk with a hot $500 and a handsome prize package!

Baristas, sign up to compete and take part in the Southwest Latte Art Competition and Phoenix Cooks. Registration is limited to 32 competitors and we will stop accepting registrations once we reach that mark. We also need baristas willing to help with setup the day before, registration, working the manual brew bar, and clean up.

Check out the website at www.swlac.com for more information.

BC: Tell us about yourself…

AN: Dodging near death experiences from the mafia in Northern California, Alex Negranza- or so he goes by now- is part of the witness protection program and tries to keep a low profile in his newly found Seattle home. A transfer of 3 years now, Alex has worked non-stop as a professional barista and trainer; accumulating approximately 10 hours of sleep since relocation. He spends most of his time drinking coffee until the wee hours of the morning paranoid of Keyser Soze and avoiding drinking himself to sobriety. While on the run from the mafia, Alex has judged numerous United States Barista Championships as an accredited judge as well as other sanctioned Specialty Coffee Assosciation of America regional competitions and various events around the country. When he’s not going scratching at his caffeine addiction, Alex is also a bartender under another alter-ego at Liberty Bar on 15th Ave, nestled between an alley and that other place, and can be found there more often than not double fisting whisk(e)y and espresso. He is also developing a craft coffee cocktail program at Liberty. Negranza also works at Tavern Law, owned by Chefs Brian McCracken and Dana Tough of Spur Gastropub, a craft cocktail bar also on Capital Hill with it’s speakeasy bar Needle and Thread.

Alex Negranza is also the co-founder, senior editor and photographer of WhyNotCoffee.com, a specialty coffee blog that focuses on the development of the craft and profession of being a barista both locally and nationally.  Alex can be reached at BaristaAlex@gmail.com or you can stalk him via Twitter as @Barista_Alex.

BC: What hobbies and activities do you enjoy?

AN: In between balancing my over-caffeination with whisk(e)y, my personal hobbies include cleaning my apartment once a month, organizing my calendar, and attempting to get time off work, although the later doesn’t happen much anymore. Other than that, I love all the companies I work for and enjoy working far more than I should. Long story short, my hobbies are work.

BC: When and where did you get your start in the coffee industry?

AN: I started being a barista in 2006, but started being a Barista in 2007.  I was on the original staff of Wanderlust Coffee Co. in Modesto, CA- my hometown. Wanderlust was the brainchild and passion of Tony Serrano and some investors that introduced high-quality specialty coffee to the county through serving Ritual and Barefoot Coffees. I miss those coffees, and that cafe, to this day. I remember Chris Baca (also from Modesto) training me how to pull espresso and me asking, “Porta-what?” Wanderlust later went out of business for various reasons and I took my severance check and moved to Seattle to see if I could make it as a barista in “Coffee City U.S.A.”

BC: What makes a good barista?

AN: The first three lessons I learned in coffee are principles I still use to this day to help guide me:

1) You will never know enough, focuse on the seed-to-cup journey and be humbled by both.

2 You help people start their day, don’t f*ck it up for them. Make people happy.

3) If you’re ever in coffee for the money, you’re in the wrong industry.

BC: In your own words, define Specialty Coffee…

AN: All details aside, specialty coffee (from a barista) is all about the experience. Don’t get me wrong, the emphasis on the entire seed-to-cup journey is amazing; but conversations (aka as service) are what get people thinking. Taking awesome coffee, tools and environment is easy to make something “special”- we can buy all of that; but a great barista doesn’t need more than a french press, some hot water, a hand grinder and an open mind to represent specialty coffee.

BC: If you could change just one thing about the specialty coffee industry what would it be?

AN: Herding our customers into a line to experience a craft and baristas feeling like they don’t need to leave the bar. Imagine if craft cocktail bars had everyone line up to order from the server or barback and the bartender called out, “Martin Miller’s gin martini, twist of lemon for Phil. Sazerac on the bar for Andrew.” Imagine where the bartender craft would be….

BC: You aren’t currently working in the specialty coffee industry, but rather the craft cocktail industry….

Tell us how you became interested in this industry.

AN: Drinking my sorrows away, naturally. To be honest, it was my customers. I had so many regulars at every cafe I’ve worked at say that I’d make a great bartender. I had/have no idea what that means- but I’m going to find out.

BC: What types of parallels do you see from barista to bartender?

AN: Very similar, and very different. I’m still submerging myself to try and fuse with that culture to be able to draw accurate conclusions from both. I will say one thing, baristas have a LOT to learn from the service side of what it takes to be a bartender – keeping people happy.

BC: What specific things could a barista learn from a bartender?

AN: Service. Service. Service.

BC: What has been your greatest take-away moment, idea, or thought from judging barista competitions?

AN: No matter how much media snowballs around coffee, the best baristas in the world still represent one thing- a seed-to-cup journey, and they never lose sight of that. It’s extremely humbling.

BC: What’s your preferred brewing method at home?

AN: Chemex or Technivorm

BC: Stranded in the airport without your beans + brewer, Starbucks or Dunkin?

AN: Starbucks

BC: Please share a favorite quote with us.

AN: “There is absolutely no inevitability as long as there is a willingness to contemplate what is happening.”

As many of you know I’m a partner in a bad ass coffee bar that will be launching later this year in Old Town Scottsdale. Let’s be honest here…Scottsdale Arizona gets a bad rap. We’re known for a good bar scene, plastic surgery, and all out flashiness of dress, automobile selection, and accessories. Hell, Bravo is here shooting for “The Real Housewives of Scottsdale” [lowers head in disgust]. Most media coverage of Scottsdale is of the flashy Scottsdale.

The tale of two cities. Upon partnering in the business and learning that we would be taking root in Old Town Scottsdale, I couldn’t get the late night bar scenes out of my mind. Girls scantily clad, tanned to butterball perfection, rocking their short skirts and high heels; this is the Scottsdale I knew. The media coverage is true, the club scene is intact. The Scottsdale I knew was not the city I desired. However, to my surprise there’s a lovely gem within Scottsdale, Old Town. Nestled between North Tempe and North Scottsdale lies what I believe to be a city within a city, a subculture if you will.

It was once explained to me that Old Town Scottsdale had the best of both worlds. It had the quest for “craft” and desire for community of Tempe coupled with the discretionary income of North Scottsdale. I wasn’t hooked at first, I needed not only to see it, but to experience it. Unbeknownst to me, there was an entirely different city [from the one I had read about, experienced, and judged] waiting for me to explore. Through art walks, visits to local restaurants (and late night meals), visiting and purchasing from the Old Town farmers market I slowly became aware of a different Scottsdale. A laid back Scottsdale, much less stuffy then their Northern counterparts, they desired community and sought out change. They also know Scottsdale isn’t perfect, but they are perfectly fine living and doing business in a city that gets a bad rap but has a good soul.

Looking out for the city. About a month ago I had the opportunity to attend TEDxScottsdale. The talks were focused on urbanism and sustainability. During the presentations I learned that back in the day Scottsdale made a decision that is pivotal to the community aspect of the city. During the 1960′s the Indian Bend Wash which runs divides the city vertically flooded several times. A rare occurrence, as this wash was typically dry and would be known as a “100 year” flood plain. To resolve the issue, the city went to the Army Corps of Engineers for a plan of action. Federal tax dollars were set aside to turn Indian Bend Wash into a large canal and build bridges over the canal. This would have completely divided the city, think Los Angeles River. The community favored parks and golf courses that now exist, while the Army Corps favored the canal. The city decided to implement the network of parks and golf courses, creating what is now the Scottsdale Greenbelt. The greenbelt connects four city parks, has a golf course, and provides 25 miles of bike paths. Thank you Scottsdale for “seeking the good” of the community.

Seeking the good of your city. We’ve heard the saying “seek the good of your city/community.” This saying comes from religious circles, more specifically the Bible which says “Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile.” Too often religious circles do a better job seeking converts then they do they peace and prosperity of the cities in which they live. I digress….

Seek. I believe seeking is more than just looking, it’s actively requesting. It’s acquiring. Acquire the good of your city! Now that sounds much better. That’s a goal worth pursuing, it’s active.

Active. Whether you’re a citizen or business owner in a city, you have the duty of making that city a better place. A better place now and for future generations. The city of Scottsdale decided not to use the tried and true method of the Army Corps, thus acquiring a better future for us now experiencing the greenbelt. It’s our duty as citizens, business owners, to seek the good of our cities. To make them a wonderful place to experience today, and build a bright better tomorrow.

GO! Rather then leave this post with the good vibes I’m currently experiencing, I believe it’s in our best interest to make action plans. To think about the things we want to change within our cities and where to begin. As a business partner, our concept will be filling some voids within the city, but I know I can do more. Old Town Scottsdale needs to connect itself with surrounding communities such as Tempe and Arcadia through light rail or streetcar. Also, we need to greatly improve the bicycle/pedestrian “friendliness” of the area. I’m committed to seeing these things happen and seek to see Old Town Scottsdale become a city within a city, a place known for more than big boobs and bentleys.

For the sake of brevity (I’ll expound upon this subject in a later post), the greatest thing I’ve gleaned from my time in Seattle and Portland is this: Coffee drinking is very subjective, there is no “right” or “wrong”. It’s subjective to our palate. There is much diversity in the coffee industry, diversity in how we present ourselves and our companies. There’s diversity in roasting philosophies and how we prepare our product. We should embrace this diversity and together celebrate coffee.

At the Espresso Parts booth where I volunteered, attendees could view a 3D version of the coffee flavor wheel: a table filled with fresh fruit, vegetables, citrus, chocolate and spices. The table gave attendees a visual to look at and think about the influence of flavor on coffee. Along with the beautiful 3d coffee flavor wheel was the Aroma Challenge; identifying aromatics found in coffee and matching the scent to it’s corresponding box on the aroma board. Attendees were very excited to put their nose to the test and found the challenge more difficult than first expected.

Attendees had the opportunity to visit the booths of local cafes and roasters and engage the baristas in conversation about coffee, brewing methods, or whatever else was on their mind. Small classes and demonstrations were offered such as: Home Brewing, Sourcing of Coffee, Latte Art, Coffee in Cocktails, and Espresso/Brewed Coffee Comparisons just to name a few. Although there could have been more space for classes, the event came together beautifully. The coffee community here in Seattle is alive and well; it’s diverse and accepting. This weekend coffee, culture, and community were celebrated here in Seattle. What a beautiful sight.

Much more to come on this event plus pictures very soon…

Work right now is a blurry little bugger, I’m trying my best to finish the race strong at my current finance job while allowing time to meet, dream, and push forward the ideas, process, and concept that is Mulch Coffee. Vacation excites my mind with the idea of allowing my mind room to wander and dream big. Vacation excites my body with a slower pace and needed rest. Vacation excites my soul as I connect with friends and the beautiful nature surrounding me. Time to detach and explore…..

I’m excited to get away from the heat for a minute and see the beauty of Portland and Seattle. I can’t wait to embrace some friends and meet new ones over beer/coffee. I’m hoping to glean some insights as I visit coffee shops and roasters. I can’t wait to volunteer at the Northwest Coffee Festival and see the fruit of such hard work and planning.

Honestly what I’m most looking forward to is a time to re-fuel and re-fresh.

[This past weekend I was proved wrong]

First, I need to thank Daniel Suh for organizing the past few latte art throwdowns within the greater Phoenix area. Daniel is a true coffee ambassador; connecting baristas and shops that may never talk to one another if it weren’t for the latte art throwdowns he has organized. Thank you Dan!

This past weekend a crew of Arizona baristas gathered in central Phoenix to compete in a throwdown at Mama Java’s. The representation was diverse with one barista (Charlie) traveling all the way from Macy’s Coffeehouse in Flagstaff. After getting customers’ drink orders fulfilled, the beer began flowing, as did the art. I may not agree with what the judges based their scoring off of or what art advanced, but I will say I felt connected…something I hadn’t felt before.

Dan Suh brought in his GS3 and showed the audience one-one-one how to dial in espresso. Looking into the audience I recognized a couple who I hadn’t seen in a couple of years. They reminded me where we first met and told me they came to learn how to dial in espresso; “my husband is a total coffee nerd”, she exclaimed. After pouring and delivering some beers we talked  about how he became so interested in coffee. Then came his turn to learn how to dial in, he was beaming!

Back behind the bar I poured like I usually do in competitive situations, too fast. A few beers and conversations later with a packed house, the finalists were announced. After meeting many baristas, I was able to meet the owners of Mama Java’s; what a down to earth couple who love what they do! Lisa, the wife owner got wind that I will be opening a shop in fall and showed true excitement for me. Like any other person who hears about the venture, she asked if she could offer me some advice. Not knowing that it would be the some of the greatest advice I’ve received on this journey, I agreed. She said to me (paraphrase): “With this upcoming business you know what you’re doing and what you want to do. Be sure that your HEART is in it. It takes motivation beyond financial gain to continue in this business. Have heart and love the community.”

I was completely blown away. It wasn’t advice on roasting, purchasing, planning, equipment, etc.  I couldn’t thank her enough for her advice. Honestly, it’s the best business advice I’ve heard to date.

My interpretation: In business serve from the heart and love the community. Upon these pillars, success will follow.

Here are a few pics from the evening: