Updates from the Barista Guild of America
If you’ve had the pleasure of meeting Alterra’s veteran barista trainer, Scott Lucey, you may know about his active involvement in various coffee industry communities and professional organizations. One of these organizations is the Barista Guild of America.
The BGA is a trade guild of the Specialty Coffee Association of America and focuses on enhancing coffee quality, promoting craftsmanship and cultivating a sophisticated “public face” for the industry. Scott has proudly served on the board of directors for the BGA for the past two years, and is here to tell you about his recent adventures at the annual SCAA/BGA joint committee meeting…
“This year’s board meetings were held in Atlanta, GA, future home of the 2009 SCAA Conference and World Barista Championship. Here are a couple of great ideas the BGA and SCAA are currently collaborating on:
• An SCAA-supported barista certification program is ready to hit the ground running! The program will be led by the Barista Guild of America and will feature comprehensive and continuous educational opportunities for motivated baristas.
• Another great idea in the works is the World Barista Championship ‘barista buddy’ program, meant to pair international champions with U.S. baristas. Many baristas travel abroad to compete, but the stress involved with finding last-minute ingredients or meeting new people makes the experience not so much fun. Through this program, participating U.S. baristas will help visitors navigate the city of Atlanta during the 2009 Championship, hopefully making the competition experience as exciting and stress-free as possible.
• Visit the Barista Guild of America online forum or download the most recent BGA newsletter.