# UKBC Champion John Gordon makes the cut to the Semi Finals of the WBC2011 in Bogota



## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Earlier this evening John Gordon put in a solid performance and scored enough points to make the semi-finals round of the World Barista Championships currently being held in Bogota, Colombia.

John, his partner Jess and his colleagues from Square Mile Coffee in London now have it all to play for, as John will compete again tomorrow with the aim of making the top 6 who will contest the final on Sunday

The semi-finalists (in no particular order) are

Javier Garcia, SPAIN

Jose de la Pena, GUATEMALA

HyunSun Choi, KOREA

Miki Suzuki, JAPAN

Lina Zea, COLOMBIA

Matt Perger, AUSTRALIA

Alejandro Mendez, EL SALVADOR

Pete Licata, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

John Gordon, UNITED KINGDOM

Stefanos Domatiotis, GREECE

Yakup Aydin, NETHERLANDS

Ricardo Azofeifa Mora, COSTA RICA


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## Joe Coelho (Jan 2, 2011)

Update. John made the final!! Woooo TEAM UK! Good luck john and jess!


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

You can view the livestream from 7pm this evening for the buildup then performance

http://livestream.com/worldbaristachampionshiplive


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Following this thread ... very exciting to get updates. Please keep us informed









Good luck, JG!


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Will update this evening on the performance.


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

2 competitors in and they both performed exceptionally well

First competitor was Javier Garcia from Spain who put on a great show with a consistent rhythm throughout and a good commentary

I missed some of the performance so am unable to update further

Second competitor was Miki Suzuki, the only female in the top 6 this year

Her performance was completed in English with a complex (but very clear) set of instructions delivered to the sensory judges

Miki's performance was based around acids and their place in coffee (tartaric, malic, citirc acid)

Well worth checking out the replays and review this performance. We may be looking at the next WBC champion...

Miki used custom powder/teflon coated milk jugs and poured lovely looking tulips at the table for the judges. She had better check her bags in case some of these go walkies - they could be the next big thing?


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Third competitor was Matt Perger from Australia, the youngest of the finalists (20 years of age)

Matt's espressos (using Blackburn Estate (Tanzania) Clouds of August (lovingly referred to as 'Clouds') also available via Square Mile Coffee

Matt created a 3D map of the farm and spoke to the judges about the climate and the farm, pulling his shots into hand painted Terrakeramik demitasse cups (not cheap!)

After pouring some nice capps (raisin toast) Matt finished with a custom built sig drink tailoring the sweetness, acidity, bitterness and body by altering the proportions of his redcurrant jelly and other ingredients

Matt was so cool and collected throughout and is at present giving an insightful interview.

Another performance to review.

3 down and 3 to go - it's all to play for!


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Fourth competitor is Alejandro Mendez from El Salvador

I had the pleasure of meeting Alejandro during last years WBC in London. He is a very likeable person and enthused about coffee and his travels over a few beers.

This year he is using coffee from Ernesto Mendez's Finca La Ilusion, a small plantation on the Santa Ana volcano in El Salvador

Using both Washed & Full Natural in his performance he also used Cascara and the flowers from the tree, collected on carpet placed below the tree as part of f his signature drink

Mucilage and parchment parts of the coffee also used so that everything is experienced.

You need to watch the performance to see how the drink is constructed

Steve Leighton (Has Bean) was entrusted to roast this coffee. That's a huge endorsement. Well done Steve !

Alejandro asked the judges to filter off the crema to lower the temperature and enhance sweetness, after asking the judges to evaluate the crema

"Strawberries and Cream with a buttery mouthfeel" is how Alejandro introduced his Capps to the judges. He seems to be the crowd favourite so far judging by the noise when he serves each drink

Unbelievably Alejandro still had over a minute left to clean up afterwards too. A true professional.

My money is on Alejandro at this point


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## AndyL (Apr 10, 2011)

Alejandro Mendez was awesome Glenn, what a excellent performance. John Gordon next! fingers crossed.


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Second to last in the performance list today is John Gordon representing Team UK

This is John's second WBC and he's surrounded by familiar faces which will hopefully calm the nerves...

Commentary coming up soon

12 minutes to kick off


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

John's performance starts the same as the heats where he pours 2 sets of espressos to highlight the difference of varieties

Only 1 set is for evaluation - John clearly indicates this

"Marmalade and Black Fruit Syrup" is the descriptor of the served espresso

John is now juicing grapes for his sig drink

A Simcoe hop infused, citrus twist, chilled and reliably informed that it is very tasty!

His hearts are lovely on the capps and he has served the first 2 with bucketloads of time to spare

John leaves it right to the end to tell the judges about the coffee - to get around any preconceptions

30 seconds left, time for a clean up and calling time.

Great performance with 17 seconds to spare.


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## AndyL (Apr 10, 2011)

That was great performance by John Gordon and a great move to leave it till the last moment to divulge the coffees origin.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Next (and last) competitor is Pete Licata from the USA

Some people are doing a double check and making sure John's not going again - Pete and John look similar and are wearing waistcoats and ties.

Pete uses Cascara (the dried coffee fruit) and the mucilage as part of his signature drink being served first

Pete's now preparing his capps along to a large amount of audience participation (clapping) due to his music choice with a distinctly latin flavour

Unusually Pete has used 1 grinder with 2 different coffees and is blending in the portafilter for his Espressos

A risk? Who knows - it may just pay off!

Now we wait for the results in about 30 minutes (after some words from our sponsors)


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

If you've followed the story thus far then this is a fitting ending


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