Espress yourself

SEATTLE - The pressure is on — 9.5 atmospheres of pressure, to be precise — for Salvatore “Sammy” Piccolo.

The Vancouver, B.C., native paces nervously, awaiting his turn at a gleaming new La Marzocco espresso machine with nearly 10 bars of pressure in its boiler.

Piccolo, whose family owns Vancouver’s well-known Caffè Artigiano, was already crowned top barista in Canada. He’s engineered his own espresso blend using beans from three continents. He spent months perfecting a unique signature drink. Now it’s time to serve.

Welcome to the 2005 World Barista Championship, where dreams are as potent as French roast espresso, where steaming-hot competition reveals the world’s best, where sports clichés (should you choose to dabble) flow as freely as vanilla syrup.

From an original field of 36, Piccolo is among six finalists — only the second North American to achieve that feat. He’s ready to take home the gold, or at least the golden-brown.

“You have to be bold,” said Piccolo, who was crowned No. 2 in the world last year in Trieste, Italy.

The U.N. of espresso
The top prize here brings global renown — among coffee geeks — plus professional espresso toys and free travel (to visit a German roasting-equipment manufacturer).

Jon Bonne / msnbc.com Salvatore “Sammy” Piccolo of Vancouver, B.C., prepares a portafilter full of espresso as technical judge Sherri Johns and chief judge Justin Metcalf look on. Piccolo took third place.

Competitors have journeyed from Thailand and Lebanon and the Ukraine to the coffee mecca of Seattle; hometown fave Phuong Tran, who swept the U.S. championships last month, has appeared with loyal fans in tow.

This room full of caffeine freaks is astoundingly mellow. The obvious comparison is to the Olympics, but the WBC really is more like a United Nations of espresso lovers. Competitors are quick to praise each other; friendships are brewed out of mutual admiration.

At the same time, the contenders — all having won top honors in their respective countries — hope to hone the intricacies of a perfect shot, and filter their know-how down to the average corner coffee shop.

“Everybody has his own technique, and it should stay like that,” says Dutch champ Donar Teunissen. “It’s like the Formula One. If there’s new stuff, then five years later, you see it in normal cars.”

12 perfect drinks
What differentiates true baristas from mere java jockeys?

Forget your local Starbucks. Their spectral presence lurks (it is Seattle) but the three dozen competitors display a world of talent you’ve never seen unless your neighborhood coffee house is downright obsessive.

Competitors are expected to pull a perfect shot of espresso in 20 to 30 seconds. That’s where any similarity to your average cup ends.

Each competitor receives 45 minutes: a quarter-hour each to set up, serve 12 beverages and leave their station pristine. Technical judges poke and prod the equipment, reviewing the most niggling details. Espresso pucks must be firm and smooth even after extraction; machine heads must be clean, grinds must be just right. Any small glitch and points are deducted.

Four sensory judges stand at a makeshift countertop, waiting to be served three drinks apiece: espresso, cappuccino and a competitor’s signature drink, which can take months to invent.

First, the espresso itself must be perfection incarnate — just the right balance of sweet, bitter and acid, with just the right consistency and color of crema, the foamy mass atop the shot.  Quality is key; many competitors even roast their own coffee.

Next, milk. Cappuccinos must balance coffee flavor and the textures of both steamed and frothed milk. None of these even vaguely resemble one of those everyday drinks that throw a dollop of milky foam atop bitter coffee. These must taste like liquid velvet. Most are finished with latte art: intricate patterns drawn atop the cup by carefully manipulating the milk pitcher.

Finally, the signature drink — at which point a barista’s role transcends mere coffee and enters the chef’s realm. These drinks can feature anything (except alcohol) though judges have hinted they prefer drinks that highlight the espresso, rather than drowning it in sugar and syrup. Blenders, mixers and portable burners are a common sight.