SEATTLE, U.S. – After an overwhelmingly exciting competition during the latest SCAA event in Seattle, Kyle Ramage of Mahlkönig USA took the top honor, outperforming a range of skilled professional baristas that had showcased impressively inspiring presentations.
For the first time in the US Barista Championship’s history, the trophy went to a barista representing a coffee equipment manufacturer.
Kyle Ramage is living proof that passion for coffee can be just as deep and genuine among equipment manufacturers as it is among the people who grow, trade, roast or brew coffee as their profession.
Combing both scientific insights and profound barista skills, Kyle Ramage entertained and amazed the entire audience with his presentation.
He used dried ice to cool down his coffee beans to -78,5°C before grinding them in an EK43 in order to achieve maximum particle size distribution, citing a recent study by MIT chemist Christopher Hendon.
The beans used during the presentation came from Finca Nuguo in Panama and were freshly roasted by Counter Culture Coffee 10 days before the competition.
Components of Kyle’s signature beverage included mosaic hop tea, dark honey simple syrup, and tartaric acid solution (naturally occurring acid in grapes). Those ingredients were combined and then charged with nitrous oxide gas to make a foam.
After this exciting success, Kyle Ramage is now back in training for the upcoming World Barista Championship to be held in Seoul this November.
