Canada's Best Baristas are in Your Backyard: Calgarian Jeremy Ho Earns Title of Canadian Barista Champion
CALGARY, Sept. 12, 2012 /CNW/ - The best baristas in Canada may have made you your morning latte today. Just this weekend (September 9th and 10th) the top 14 baristas in Canada competed in the Canadian National Barista Championships (CNBC), held at the Canadian Coffee & Tea Show in Toronto, Ontario. The top two finishers were from Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters in Calgary, Alberta. Competitor veteran Ben Put achieved second place for the third year in a row, showcasing an unprecedented consistency; and Jeremy Ho will represent Canada at the 2013 World Barista Championships, which will be held in Melbourne, Australia next May.
Although many of us purchase a regular morning coffee, most are unaware of the tight knit and growing coffee community in Canada. Specialty coffee was only popularized in the late 1990s through the proliferation of Starbucks; but, through events such as the CNBC a new movement has emerged, where small quality-focused local roasters and retailers are creating not only a delicious beverage, but also a more memorable experience.
At the forefront of this movement is Phil & Sebastian Coffee roasters, a Calgary based company that has not only been pushing the standards of excellence in coffee sourcing and roasting but has also taken a professional approach to training their frontline staff; an effort that resulted in creating world class baristas. Both Jeremy Ho and Ben Put are long time baristas of Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters, and have frequently attributed their coffee stardom to the sound advice they have received from Phil Robertson and Sebastian Sztabzyb.
This year's CNBC champion, Jeremy Ho, used an Ethiopian coffee from the Koke region of Yirga Cheffe and through this coffee, he presented a philosophical perspective on how lack of traceability when sourcing green coffee leaves no opportunity for quality development, whereas working directly with producers and cooperatives can result in a dialogue which leads to quality and sustainability improvements.
Ben Put competed with Colombian farmer Isaias Cantillo's coffee, and identified how this once coffee-picker is now pushing Colombian coffee to new heights by using five different varieties of coffee that are rarely grown in his country. Both competitors crafted a coffee experience that showcased their love and understanding of this so-called commodity.
Both baristas are familiar faces behind the bar of Phil & Sebastian cafes, and the winning coffee Koke from Ethiopia is available for anyone to try. If you have not yet visited a Phil & Sebastian cafe, we recommend adding it to your bucket list; as this company is rapidly becoming a world-class destination for coffee, and it is right in your backyard. To taste and understand the coffee experience, both Jeremy Ho and Ben Put, will be serving up award winning espressos and cappuccinos on September 15 from 12:00 pm until 4:00 pm at our Chinook Cafe - 159, 6455 Macleod Trail S Calgary, AB.
Additional information on the CNBC can be found at the following website: http://coffeeteashow.ca/cdn-barista-champ/. Additionally, images of this event are available at the following link: https://picasaweb.google.com/100199892711445640165/CNBC2012PSImages?authkey=Gv1sRgCIT3hsaon5f-hAE
Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters
Sebastian and Phil are two engineers, who left their cushy jobs to share their fanatic approach to coffee with their hometown. Since their inception in 2007 at the Calgary Farmer's Market, they have been listed as Avenue's top 40 under 40 and garnered a reputation as "the best coffee in town". Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters, now own two cafes and a mobile coffee bar serving espresso based drinks, brewed-to-order coffee, tea, and locally sourced cafe fare. To learn more about Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters you may visit www.philsebastian.com, or contact Alexandra Marr at 403.993.0688.
SOURCE: Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters
Alexandra Marr
Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters
(403) 993-0688
[email protected]
www.philsebastian.com
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