This piece is dedicated to Michael Boyette, Patreon supporter and my uncle, whose coffee is the best.
PHILADELPHIA, PA— This week, one barista’s uncle made headlines when he won the Northeast Regional Barista Championship using Folgers and his trusted Mr Coffee.
“I work at a third-wave coffee shop. I know what good coffee is supposed to taste like. But when I tell you his coffee is the actual best, I mean it,” said Lena James. “So I entered him into regionals. I’m not surprised at all that he won.”
“I was actually more surprised that the competition existed than that I won,” shrugged James’s uncle Michael Lafayette. “I got up there and plugged in my Mr Coffee and just made coffee like I always do when guests come over. I asked the judges how they were doing and made a little bit of small talk about my work day, politics, and the book I’ve been reading. They didn’t say anything back, but I think when you can sit with someone and not feel like you have to talk, that really shows that you feel comfortable.”
“He said we could expect our coffee would taste ‘smooth’ and ‘bold,’” said Mark Macon, the head judge on shift at the time. “And it did; it really did. And honestly, it was delightful.”
Lafayette now has three months to prepare for his national debut at the United States Barista Championship in April. According to our sources, he plans to make coffee “like usual.”
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