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OFF THE WIRE continued from page 19 Michael Phillips' photo falls into that "creative" category. ANOTHER MONTH, ANOTHER BARISTA Coffee has taken world-class baristas to plenty of places: remote farms in Africa, shiny cafés across Europe—and start- ing this month, to the walls of hundreds of kitchens and coffee shops worldwide. Yep, say hello to the first-ever barista calendar. The idea was conceived by Anette Moldvaer, co-owner of London's Square Mile Coffee Roasters, during the World Barista Championship in Colombia last June. She realized that the yearly event, which was first held in 2000 in Monte Carlo, would be crowning its 12th global barista champ. So, she figured, why not get each winner to sub- mit a photo, put them together in calendar form and sell the prod- uct to benefit industry charity Coffee Kids? "I wanted a chance to celebrate and com- memorate these guys," Moldvaer says, "before there's so many cham- pions that they're hard to keep track of." The keepsake went on sale through the Square Mile Web site in early December and costs 10 pounds (about $15.60); all profits go to Coffee Kids, a New Mexico- based organization that aims to improve the livelihoods of cof- fee-farming families. Moldvaer says that as soon as the cal- endar went on sale, she saw interest from coffee pros the world over as well as some consumers. "I'd like to think this is the obvi- ous choice for coffee-industry Christmas presents this year," she said last month. (If you're still in the gift-giving mood or just want a copy for yourself, don't fret: The calendars will remain on-sale through much of 2012.) To get the photographic content, Moldvaer asked each of the 12 champs to send in a portrait, and she let the baristas—all of whom are male—choose their own poses and surroundings. Not surprisingly, the submissions she received varied in terms of seri- ousness. "Some are taken in coffee-related situations, others are just nice portraits," says Moldvaer. "And some of them got pretty creative with their outfits." 20 Fresh Cup Magazine freshcup.com The co-owner of Los Angeles-based Handsome Coffee Roasters won the WBC title in 2010 in London, when he worked for Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea. It was the first time an American had ever grabbed the crown, and Phillips plays up that fact in a calendar pic that might best be summed up as "Barista Crossing the Delaware": He stands proud, arms akimbo, in a red-and-white leather vest and cowboy hat. The stars and stripes fly behind him. The photo of Norwegian Tim Wendelboe, meanwhile, shows the 2004 WBC winner dressed in an elegant white shirt and bow tie with his WBC trophy nearby on a café counter. Wendelboe, owner of the well-regarded roasting company in Oslo that bears his name, seems like the epitome of high-class coffee in his portrait— until you notice he's pants-less. But not all the baris- tas went the absurdist route. Fritz Storm, who's from Denmark and took the WBC title in 2002, submitted a portrait of himself that was taken during a recent camping trip in France—he's seen relaxing and holding a Mypressi handheld espresso maker. "My family and I had been traveling for three weeks," Storm says. "So it felt natural to take a picture in front of our tent and show- ing our daily morning routine." And did it take any arm-twisting to get the 12 espresso experts to commit to the idea? After all, these are guys whose passion is coffee, not modeling. Moldvaer, however, says that fact wasn't an issue. "All were very supportive of the idea," she says. "Many are front-people of whole teams of people who are pushing boundaries and doing exciting things." Phillips adds that the barista champs are a laid-back group who enjoy being in front of people. "I was actually surprised at how conservative some of them went," he says of the calendar photo set. "I think that winning the competition is an amazing honor, but I also feel it needs to be taken with a grain of salt and begs to be poked fun at a little. I may have gone too far, but come on: It's an all-male calendar about professional coffee champions." —Dan Leif FC