‘Barista’, A Documentary About the Highly Caffeinated Competitive Nature of the U.S. Barista Championships

Barista is a fascinating documentary that opens up the competitive world of the National Barista Championships at the U.S. Coffee Championships (USCC) to those who might never have heard of it. The film, directed by Rock Baijnauth, follows five talented baristas – Edem-Marie Abramowicz, Charles Babinski, Charlie Habegger, Truman Severson and Ryan Redden – who challenge themselves through body and mind, to come up with that uniquely magic recipe for a caffeinated brew that will make one of them stand out from the others within the final 15 minutes allotted.

The regional coffee competitions include performances from professional baristas over a 3-day event. In a 15-minute presentation, competitors prepare and serve three courses of espresso based beverages to a panel of four sensory judges, two technical judges and one head judge. Competitors strive for a harmonious balance of sweetness, bitterness, acidity, and aromatics. A signature beverage is a highly innovative, freestyle espresso-based beverage created by the barista for the competition.

Barista is currently downloadable through iTunes and Amazon Prime Video.

via Coudal Partners