To the victor belong the spoils.
Well the main course of this post is the video below. It’s sloppily edited and composed, but I hope it will give a flavour of the day. Being a judge for the semi-finals on the preceding day I did get to taste several of the finalists drinks as well as those of some of the other semi-finalists, and I can attest that I was surprised at how very high the overall standard was.
We have a new champion in Colin Harmon, who will represent Ireland in Atlanta in the April World Barista Championships. I think there are many who work in coffee in Ireland who may not have known Colin before the finals, and in some quarters his name wasn’t being mentioned as a potential winner (simply because he was a relative unknown – not because they thought he was crap). To the rest of us, who have seen how he has immersed himself in the deep end of coffee since ditching his career in finance (less than 1 year ago), there was little surprise. As his father said to me after the win, Colin has his family bored to tears listening to him go on about coffee. Well done mate, all those late nights have paid-off.
I make no apologies about the choice of songs on the clip, but I do apologise for the audio levels at the end and the interlacing, I may rectify that at some stage.
For now, enjoy…
2009 Irish Barista Championship from The Other Black Stuff on Vimeo.
PS if you click on through to where the video is hosted on Vimeo the quality is better (HD) and the interlacing is a lot less drastic.
Let me reiterate my congratulations to both Colin, and everyone who lent a hand along the way. I’m more than aware that it takes a team to win even at a National level, and I’m sure you have the very best of support in Karl, David and the rest.
David – great video, mate. Your spittoon mug and coffee went in the mail this afternoon – Enjoy!
Cheers Tim. Eagerly awaiting the spittoon mug.
Great job on the video David! And let me pass on my personal thanks… we (or rather Colin) couldn’t have done it without your generous help and support along the way. Bring on Atlanta!!!
Thanks Karl. Bring it on indeed. :)
Great Video dude!
Really enjoy watching that. Fair play & congrats again to all involved. A great reception when the winner was announced too :)
Can’t believe I missed all this. Still trying to figure out what rock I was under, anyway. Superb video, (Karate Kid music and all!), and fair play to Colin. Excellent achievment and long may it last.
Cheers
Howard