I went to the Kaffee Olympiade in Hamburg with the gang from Godshot to check out the Barista Championship and Latte Art Contests. We were all decked out in our matching multi-colored t-shirts but none of us competed. I'm not eligible, since I've been in Germany just short of 2 years and the rest of the guys are top-baristas although not the most competitive bunch. I have high hopes for a Godshot team next year. Our friend Marcel was participating in the Latte Art Contest. He kicked ass. He teaches a Latte Art Seminar with Kai at Godshot and has one of the steadiest pairs of hands I have ever seen. He got 2nd place but was only .5 point away from the 1st place winner. The whole competition was close.
The Baritsa competition was also a nail-biter. The guys from Radical Coffee inundated the competition with highly-skilled baristas and the top three finalist were all from this gang. They all showed amazing team spirit and sporttsmanship. It was obvious that they supported each other throughout training. Thomas Schweiger was the eventual winner and will go on to represent Germany at the World Championship in London in 2 weeks. I will be there to cheer him on and finish my London Coffee Tour.
