We are Hosting Coffee Champs!
Secret's out! We are proud to be hosting the second preliminary event of the 2019 competition year. By now you have probably heard or read some form of this statement a few times. But most of you reading this are probably wondering, what the heck is Coffee Champs? Preliminary event? Huh?
In short, Palace is bringing approximately 50 competitors (plus judges, and cheering squads) into Amarillo to show off our city and the Amarillo coffee scene. This might sound like something that’s way out of your league or something you won’t get to participate in, but that’s not true! This event will be a jam packed weekend full of opportunities for you to come join in on the fun.
The Competition: The weekend will consist of two different competitions. A Barista Competition and a Brewers Competition. Let’s start with the barista. In this event, competitors will choose a coffee they’ve never had before. They will get 30 minutes to practice and play around with this coffee. Then, when it’s their time to compete, they will have 15 minutes to prepare an espresso shot as well as a milk based drink (think cappuccino or cortado) to serve to a panel of judges. The judges will evaluate the performances based on various things from quality of drink to cleanliness during preparation. The top six competitors from this event will get to advance to the next round of this competition and hopefully, all the way to the finals next April where they’ll get a shot at being the 2019 US Barista Champion.
The brewers competition is similar. These competitors will also pick a coffee they’ve never had before, they will get 15 minutes of practice time with this coffee, and then 7 minutes to manually brew (think chemex or pour overs) what they think is they perfect cup of that particular coffee. The top four competitors from this event will get to advance to the next round of this competition and hopefully, all the way to the finals next April where they’ll get a shot at being the 2019 US Brewers Champion.
Even if you don’t know a lot about coffee, this a fun chance to see the coffee community shine, meet some new people, and maybe even learn a thing or two about coffee. Both the competitions will be open for observation!
The Parties: Most of the information regarding these events will be posted to a Facebook Page that will be linked to our coffee champs page (coming soon!) But here’s the run down. First, we’ll be hosting the biggest throw down the panhandle has ever seen. Come hang out with us in our Downtown shop and watch baristas show off their best latte art. Expect lots of booze and probably a dance party. We’ll also be hosting a closing night party to wrap up the weekend. Same kind of party, minus the latte art, and here, the dance party is more than probable. (Okay, yes, baristas like to drink beer and dance a lot, so what?)
We know details are sparse right now, so be sure to keep a close eye on our Facebook Page, Instagram, and Website, for the specifics related to each of the events. We are so excited to introduce our favorite coffee people to our city and our favorite city to our favorite industry.