The Issues w/Competition Coffee

Here we are, competition season 2022. Currently, baristi are competing to be named the best of the best in the United States of America. Is there anything inherently wrong with that? Absolutely not. So what exactly is the issue with SCA competitions and the so-called “Competition Grade Coffees”?

Each year, unless there’s a global pandemic, hundreds of barisiti compete in their countries to be labeled the [country]’s Barista Champion. These baristi are praised, awarded, and introduced to opportunities that will change their lives. It’s a beautiful event to watch. Experiencing such passion and dedication to coffee is a life-changing event… Too bad only a handful of people will ever experience these performances.

When baristi compete in SCA competitions, they have a tendency to use coffea eugenoides for their performances (or other extraordinarily rare and mind bogglingly expensive coffees). What is my issue with this? On one hand, it just makes sense for a competitor to use the “cream of the crop” during their performances. I mean, these baristi are competing to be the best in the world. However, on the other hand, when competitors choose such rare species or varietals of coffee, we at home are left in the dark. We don’t get to experience these coffees. What worth does a coffee have if only a handful of people actually get to experience it?

Coffee prices are still too low, we all know that. The dedication a specialty coffee farmer puts into growing and processing those seeds is amazing and deserves to be compensated fairly for their part. Yes, certain processing methods and species/varietals will cost more, but why do competitors have to worry so much about winning with a coffee that the people we serve daily will never get to taste? Why can’t we compete with coffees that we are proud of but are also accessible? Us baristi should show our daily cafe customers the same respect as those in Boston, or in the World Champs.

Competitors will fly half-way across the country to train at a state-of-the-art coffee lab while leaving behind the very cafe they are supposed to be representing. Everyone is quick to forget their roots when a bigger opportunity arises. One factor the average coffee lover doesn’t know about these fun competitions is that it costs an arm and a leg to compete.

For example, the SCAA accepted me into the US Brewer’s Cup for 2022. After my acceptance, the SCAA reached out and informed me of my acceptance and informed me it would cost $400 just to compete. What? Yep, that’s right. $400 just to brew a few cups of coffee in front of a camera. I talked with the owner of the cafe I work with and we decided the money that would have been spent on this trip to Boston would be much better spent in our home-state, Ohio. The owner put the money we would have spent on this trip towards a local barista competition, where baristi who couldn’t afford to travel to Boston could compete in a fun and welcoming environment.

That is what the coffee community should be. Dedication to what’s important, not what’s popular. So the next time you see a barista competing, ask yourself a few questions before you praise them for being innovative:

What are they doing to support their local community?

Where did they get their coffee?

Can I buy that coffee without taking out a loan?

How are they positively impacting the coffee industry?

Competiton performances are useless if you aren’t providing the same quality of product on a day-to-day basis. Each cappuccino you pour should be special. Each shot you serve deserves your respect and love, just as if you were competing. The customers that walk into your cafe every morning deserve the same level of interaction and dedication you show those four judges on stage. There’s a sign we have hanging up in our brew room in our cafe:

Past success means little to the guest walking through the door.

Our goal as baristi isn’t to win an award. Our goal is to make each guest’s day better by serving them a product we put our love and dedication into. Serve loved coffee to people who love coffee.

Accessibility, sustainability, equality. Those are the foundations of the community I want to be part of. Each person, no matter who they are or where they come from, deserves the same level of respect and dedication those four judges recieve. Never forget that.

Sincerely Yours,

Eden