Episode 6 : Barista Championship
You see them plying their trade every day as they provide the weary and red-eyed masses with their drug of choice - caffeine. Their job doesn't appear to be remarkably difficult, and it seems surprising that there could possibly be a coffee subculture complete with its own latte art competitions and barista championships. Bob will enter into this world when he enters into the Canadian National Barista Championships. He'll compete by making four espressos, four cappuccinos, and four signature beverages in fifteen minutes, in front of technical and sensory judges and a large audience. Bob will train with Canadian Champion Barista Sammy Piccolo, who warns that it is not as easy as it looks but that with hard training, Bob might be able to compete after four weeks. Bob's challenge is to pack the training into just five short days. His reward? Entry into a unique and close circle of people who are passionate about the bean and live for the art of caffeine.
Recipe:
(Courtesy of Marta Pan, Pan-O-Pan Fine Foods)
- Mexican Coffee
- Double shot of espresso
- Dark chocolate-chilli truffle cinnamon spoon
- Vanilla infused milk and foam
- Ingredients for the Dark chocolate-chili truffle cinnamon spoon
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup dark chocolate nibs
- 1 pinch of fine sea-salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground chipotle pepper
- cinnamon sticks
- Method:
- 1. Combine all ingredients (except cream) in a glass or metal bowl
- 2. Bring cream to scalding point in a saucepan, and proceed to pour over chocolate mixture
- 3. Let sit for ½ a minute
- 4. Stir well with spatula or whisk until all chocolate is melted, and all ingredients are combined
- 5. Let cool for 4 - 5 hours in refrigerator and DO NOT cover bowl
- 6. At the end of a cinnamon stick, shape truffle mixture into a spoon
- 7. Let spoons cool in the fridge for 1 hour
- 8. Over a double boiler melt 1 cup of dark chocolate and dip spoons into it
- 9. Refrigerate dipped spoons until set - about 20 minutes
- 10. Brush entire spoon(s) with 24K gold dust – Optional
- Ingredients for the Vanilla infused milk and foam:
- 4 cups milk
- 1 vanilla bean
- Method:
- 1. Cut vanilla bean in ½ lengthwise and scrape all the seeds out with the back of a knife
- 2. Put both seeds and bean into milk
- 3. Simmer milk and vanilla in saucepan to infuse