Todd Goldsworthy, 2014 United States Brewers Cup Champion

Todd Goldsworthy is your 2014 United States Brewers Cup Champion! Out of a fearsome field that included top brewers and regional champions from around the United States, Mr. Goldsworthy emerged triumphant, taking some serious hardware back home to California on behalf of Klatch Coffee. This is Todd Goldsworthy’s first Brewers Cup national win, and he moves on now to represent the United States of America at the 2014 World Brewers Cup in Rimini, Italy.

We caught up with Todd Goldsworthy in the wake of his glory for a quick interview on the techniques and coffee he used, the recipe for his winning brew, and why it’s never wise to cross Heather Perry.

Todd! You’re the champ. How did you win?

For me, the entire presentation was based around simplicity. Brewing coffee is easy but when you really hone in and focus on each element of brewing coffee you can elevate the overall experience. Keeping everything you do simple but elevated.

What did you brew with?

I brewed with Panama Esmeralda Geisha from the Boquete region. It was their Trapiche microlot. It was a natural process Geisha.

How do you spell Trapiche?

T-R-A-P-I-C-H-E.

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Was that an auction lot or how did that work?

We kind of snuck it in a little bit before auction. Auction hasn’t happened yet but when I won the Southwest I knew I wanted to come to the US with an amazing coffee. Mike [Perry, Klatch’s owner] was going down to Panama and I asked him to see if he could find me some of the best Geisha he could find. He brought me back eight – this being one of them. The entire time we cupped he said we shouldn’t choose this coffee because it was a natural process and he was afraid the judges would be bias of a natural but I had to go with my gut because I liked it so much.

How much did you buy?

Fifteen pounds.

So you had just 15 pounds to work with?!

Yes! We roasted five pounds when we got it in – I used that for practice. We roasted two five pound batches this last Tuesday –one in the morning and one in the afternoon–and I ended up actually mixing the two roast profiles from Tuesday into today’s competition. Exactly 50% of each.

Did you do anything special with beans? Extra sorting? Sifting?

We did sort a few beans but other than that absolutely not. I feel like by not sorting, not sifting, no doing anything else, and using a conical burr grinder, it added more complexity to the cup.

What brewing device did you use?

I used NotNeutral’s Gino Dripper. The same brewer I used in the Westerns to win.

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Walk us through the brewing process.

I ground out 29 grams – slightly coarser than a drip grind. It was on my Baratza Virtuoso grinder – 20, 21 was the number. I ground out 14.5 grams of each roast. I did a forty gram bloom for thirty seconds, brought it up to 150 grams, and then gave 50 gram doses until 350 gram total weight.

How hot was the water?

205 degrees in my BonaVita kettle with a flow restrictor.

You put a flow restrictor in the goose neck?

Yeah, I put a flow restrictor in their for better consistency with the flow.

Did you stir?

No, I don’t like agitation. Without a flow restrictor you get more agitation. I prefer cups that are less agitated – I feel like they are cleaner in the finish.

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What did you pour the coffee into when it was done brewing?

Into Klatch latte cups, because Heather Perry yelled at me at the Westerns because I didn’t use Klatch cups. I like the wider top because it helps to cool it quicker. I wanted the judges to be able to ensure that they tasted it all the way to 85 degrees so the Klatch latte cup cools quicker because of the wider cup.

What are you drinking…right now?

Wild Turkey 101.

Are you gonna try to do something different for the World Brewers Cup?

I’m going to start figuring that out soon. after I fly home I will start searching for my Rimini coffee.

Congratulations!

Thank you.

All photos by Charlie Burt for Sprudge.com.