Spotlight Iowa City: The fine art of being a top barista
With movements so well practiced they seemed more like instinct than learned, Kevin Ayers cranked out five intricate espresso drinks like an assembly line — only faster.
The 29-year-old only occasionally glanced at the cappuccinos and macchiatos he was making while talking.
He peeked through the steam clouds of the hissing espresso machine and never ceased tamping, or leveling, the coffee grounds to perfection.
Ayers has worked at Java House in Iowa City for six years. But at the end of October, he’ll take his coffee skills across the globe to Paris, where he’ll be a barista in a bohemian café.
The owners of the soon-to-be-open café — one of whom won roaster of the year in Australia — were looking for global influences. Ayers found the opportunity on a social networking website for coffee aficionados called baristaexchange.com, which he referred to as “the Facebook for the coffee geeks.”
“At this point, it’s a career for me,” he said. “Eventually, the goal would be to own my own place.”
( Daily Iowan multimedia feature )
Video in QuickTime format, click here for free player download
Ayers recently put his barista skills to the test at the Midwest Regional Barista Competition. With 10 different competitions across the country, this was a big event. Ayers was sponsored by the Java House, but he still spent about $800 on equipment and ingredients. During the competition, he had to whip up 12 beverages total: three different drinks for each of the four judges. He started with an espresso, followed by a cappuccino, and ended with a signature drink. For Ayer’s signature drink, he made a variantion of the Java House’s raspberry white truffle, with gourmet white chocolate and homemade raspberry sauce.
“It’s really really nerve-racking; people are getting really intense now,” he said. “They are going out there with burners and making reduction sauces.”
And at these competitions he needs to do more than just make the coffee.
The competition is performance-based as well, and presentation is half the battle.
“They scrutinize everything, all the way down to the amount of times you tamp the portafilter … there are seven people right around you watching everything you do,” the Dubuque native said.
Ayers wore a microphone as he prepared his drinks, and he was expected to explain the most intricate details of the beverages, from where the beans hail to what temperature they were roasted at and what flavor undertones one should expect.
But Ayers said he’s not without competition at Java House, pointing at another barista, Nicole Millard, who he said does “really amazing latte art,” the designs adorning the tops of drinks.
“Kevin’s very intense, he’s very passionate about all aspects, he’s super knowledgeable,” Millard said. “It’s going to be hard [after he leaves]. Kevin’s like that 24-hour-a-day person. If something goes wrong, you can give him a call, so it’s a little nerve-racking imagining him being gone.”
Other employees also said Ayers was a good addition to Java House.
“He really helps you learn and is exited about coffee in a way that make you exited about coffee too,” said employee Jordan Better.
Ayers also met his girlfriend of four years at Java House. Kristin Beisler, who is going with Ayers to Paris, said she is enthusiastic about the move, especially because of her art-history degree.
“He takes his job very seriously, but he’s much more laid-back at home, and he’s really funny,” she said.
comments powered by Disqus