First-Rate Foam

Imbibe congratulates Heather Perry, the 2007 U.S. Barista Champion. She was crowned Monday at the national barista championship in Long Beach, Calif., held in conjunction with the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s 19th Annual Conference and Exhibition. Perry, the director of training and consulting at Coffee Klatch in San Dimas, Calif., who also won the national title in 2003, is the first barista to earn the honor twice.

The four-day competition also saw impressive performances by 48 other baristas, including outgoing 2006 champ Matt Riddle of Chicago’s Intelligentsia Coffee, Northeast regional champ Chris Deferio of Carriage House Café in Ithaca, N.Y., Southeast regional champ Nick Cho (who also emceed the final event) of Washington D.C.’s Murky Coffee, Northwest champ Billy Wilson of Portland’s Albina Press, Mid-Atlantic champ Katie Carguilo of Murky Coffee and Midwest champ Robin Seitz of PT’s Coffee in Kansas.

Perry will go on to represent the U.S. at the World Barista Championship in Tokyo this summer. Her win is another achievement for the greater Los Angeles coffee scene, which Imbibe recently named one of eight up-and-coming American coffee scenes to keep an eye on. Look for the story in our May/June issue, on newsstands now.