Josh and Zak inspect the greens at the round table.

I’m constantly charmed by the glorious baristas of Behemoth. It’s as if they were put on this earth to humor me and keep me from getting too depressed about my various failures in coffee. Behemoth will be roasting my espresso for the Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition. This is a HUGE deal for me.

It’s local, it’s a collaboration, it’s totally hands-on, and it’s a great exercise for all involved. We’ve now roasted four origins. The plan is to cup them separately, try them as single origin shots, and eventually blend them.

Our time is very limited, and we only have enough beans for two trial batches. In spite of this, I’m confident that the right people are on the job. Sometimes I wonder if Zak is more excited about this than I am. Whatever. What we lack in time / funding / experience / talent / knowledge / passion / etc. will be made up for in enthusiasm, right?

They’ve even offered to mock-judge a run of my routine. The thought of this makes me nervous to the point of being ill… but hey, isn’t that what the comp is all about?

Thank you Uglies for being so nice to me! And thanks for the great shot this morning Erin and/or Melissa.

-JIm
(an Ann Arbor barista)