Preparing For The Public Event!

We woke up painfully early today—6 a.m.—to depart from our magical huts in the wilderness, for an exciting day back in Reykjavik: the traditional “public day”

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Blog Brought To You By Barista Magazine, The Nbc’s #1 Fan

Just got an email from my mom saying I should identify the fact that it is indeed me — Sarah Allen — and Ken Olson, editor and publisher respectively of Barista Magazine, who are writing this blog account of the 2009 Nordic Barista Cup.

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NBC Day 2 – Pool Party

So the second half of the day today was spent at a pool nearby where our huts and cabins are. And yes, there was a theme, as you can probably guess from the above image.

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Into The Icelandic Wild

This place is SO lovely, so deep in the woods, but we are hardly roughing it: the cabins we’re staying in today for our second night are absolutely beautiful, with hot tubs and a bar, of course!

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Build It, Beer It, Brew It

Now that’s a competition! The back to the basics theme really got things started this morning with a very cool competition unlike any I’ve ever seen. And in an interesting twist, the attendees joined the teams in the challenge: build a primitive roaster and grinder, and roast and grind coffee.

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Nordic Barista Cup Of Excellence

It’s a special treat to have Susie Spindler of the Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) and the Cup of Excellence (CoE) here in Iceland.

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Day 1 – From Reykjavík To The Wild

So a few things have happened since last we posted. Following the longstanding Icelandic tradition of a spontaneous afternoon dance party

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Fun In The Afternoon!

We’re not just being crazy and having fun here in Iceland—well, not all the time. We’re doing a lot of learning, as well.

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NBC ’09 Day 1 – Focus Country Costa Rica

The first real team challenge of the 2009 NBC just concluded. Each team was required to give a 10-minute presentation on a coffee growing region of this year’s focus country, Costa Rica.

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Now That’s A Twist

It’s the defining axiom of the Nordic Barista Cup. The only rule is there are no rules.

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