WHOLESALE - GREAT LAKES REGIONAL BARISTA COMPETITION

The First-ever Great Lakes Barista Competition was a roaring success, and helps to further the awareness of the USBC and SCAA.

by Matt Riddle
October 26, 2004

Fox & Obel Market served as the perfect host for the Innaugural Great Lakes Barista Competition. A cooking school classroom was converted to a multi-marzocco competition area where baristas from three states competed for a chance at getting a free spot at the USBC held in Seattle in March 2005. Below are the results of the competition and photographs of the event.

Great Lakes Regional Final Results
Ranking	Name	Company	City, State
First	Ellie Hudson-Matuszak	Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, Inc.	Chicago, Illinois
Second	Amber Sather	Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, Inc.	Chicago,Illinois
Third	Steve Fritzen	Coffee Hound	Bloomington, Illinois
Fourth	Stephen A. Rogers	Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, Inc.	Chicago, Illinois
Fifth	Matthew Riddle	Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, Inc.	Chicago, Illinois
Sixth	Michael Strumpf	Cargo Coffee	Madison, Wisconsin

First Round Results
Ranking	Name	Company	City, State
First	Amber Sather	Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, Inc.	Chicago, Illinois
Second	Ellie Hudson-Matuszak	Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, Inc.	Chicago, Illinois
Third	Stephen A. Rogers	Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, Inc.	Chicago, Illinois
Fourth	Steve Fritzen	Coffee Hound	Bloomington, Illinois
Fifth	Matthew Riddle	Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, Inc.	Chicago, Illinois
Sixth	Michael Strumpf	Cargo Coffee	Madison, Wisconsin
Seventh	April Fritzen	Coffee Hound	Bloomington, Illinois
Eighth	Peter Schaad	Coffee Hound	Bloomington, Illinois
Ninth	Lindsay Myers	Muggswiggz	Canton, Ohio
Disqualified	Ben Anderson	Stauf's Coffee Roasters	Columbus, Ohio
Disqualified	John Justice	Stauf's Coffee Roasters	Columbus, Ohio

* A barista is disqualified when their performance time exceeds seventeen minutes (two minutes past the allotted fifteen minute timeframe.)

Orange and Honeycomb create the centerpiece of Steve Fritzen of Coffee Hound.

Ellie Matuszak explains her expert technique of dosing espresso.

Judge Barry Jarrett examines the spent pucks during a performance.

A closeup of a well-spent puck.

Color, presentation, and taste play vital roles in every drink served.

Ellie Matuszak explains her signature drink to the judges during tableside preperation.

Tasting and evaluation of Amber Sather's Cappuccinos.

Amber Sather's Espresso Laranja in mid-preparation.

Amber Sather pouring her Cappuccinos for the judges.

Stephen Rogers preparing to steam his milk; Judge John Sanders in the background

Matt Riddle leveling out the grinds in his portafilter.

Mike Strumpf gets mentally prepared to begin his routine.

Doug Zell thanking the sponsors, and volunteers.

All the finalists awaiting the results.

All three trophies.

The volunteers who generously donated their time to make this event a success.

First place, Ellie Matuszak.

Second place, Amber Sather.

Third Place, Steve Fritzen of Coffee Hound

Alll the finalists in front of the sponsor banner.

Images courtesy of Hugo Neuproler and Jim Schulman.

Intelligentsia is eagerly awaiting the opportunity to compete in the USBC in March 2005, held in Seattle, Washington.