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70.87"L x 35.43"W x 35.43"H GRINDER MAY GO OF THE ESPRESSO MACHINE ON EITHER SIDE ESPRESSO MACHINE OF THE ESPRESSO MACHINE 70.87"L x 35.43"W x 35.43"H GRINDER MAY GO ON EITHER SIDE ESPRESSO MACHINE 70.87"L x 23.62"W x 39.37"H TABLE OVERLAP: 7.87" HEAD JUDGE AND TECHNICAL JUDGES HAVE NO FIXED POSITION 2011 MACHINE TABLE WORK TABLE PRESENTATION TABLE NO MEDIA CIRCLE (8.2' radius) SENSORY JUDGES BARISTA tests, written evaluations and, of course, sponsorship dollars. With its sponsorship retained, Nuova Simonelli will debut the Aurelia II T3, a three-group machine specifically designed for the WBC. Nuova Simonelli president Roberto Bresciani says among the T3's distinguishing characteristics is a 20-liter steam boiler. "You have a freight train in there," he says. "I don't think there's ever been a machine with this much capac- ity to do steaming." Also new about the machine, Bresciani says, is PID temperature control for each brew group. "In all three groupheads, you can tell it exactly what temperature you want it to be," he says. "It's opening up a whole new possibility of temperature profiling." The regional competitions will run through March, and the SCAA's Boni says he's hoping that no two events will be the same. The SCAA is encouraging host companies to set up regional- specific activities in addition to the main competition. "We'll be putting other things into play such as small one-off classes or roundtable discussions," he says. "They'll be crafted to the local community and what's emerging in that area." Boni adds that the Northeast regional in particular—taking place Feb. 25-26 in New York City—will play into the community more directly than usual, as it's taking place in conjunction with an event targeted at consumers, Coffee and Tea Festival NYC. "These competitions provide us with such high levels of skill and quality," he says. "We must utilize these events to put further clarity around 2012 TECHNICAL JUDGES HEAD JUDGE SMALL/SHORT REFRIGERATOR WASTE BIN a consistent consumer message and presentation." Also taking place alongside the barista competitions, for the second year in a row, will be the Brewers Cup, which will have a significant format change for its sophomore season. In its first year, the Brewers Cup was made up of two rounds: In the first, baristas prepared a coffee provided to them through the compe- tition with a brew method of their choice and did not interact with the judges. In the finals round, they chose their coffee and brew method, and gave a presentation to the judges while they made it. The upcoming Brewers Cups will combine those two components into the first round, and the top six competitors will move onto the finals, which will effectively repeat the for- mat from the second half of round one. Boni says he has additional staff helping him organize this year's barista events, and he expects the extra personnel to help push the evolution of the competitions—this year and in the future. "It's going to allow me to develop what these regionals become," he says. "I think we're really going to start to tinker with the regional barista competition in the next year or so. We're looking at ideas like pre-qualification rounds where people are simply serving an espresso or a cappuccino to qualify for a regional competition. Now that we have some planning time ahead of us and some extra support, I think we'll really be able to tackle some of these strategic opportunities." —Chris Ryan continued on page 18 freshcup.com January 2012 17 106.23"L x 23.62"W x 35.43"H 70.87"L x 23.62"W x 35.43"H 70.87"L x 23.62"W x 39.37"H