SprudgeLive’s coverage of the 2015 United States Barista Championship is made possible by direct support from Nuova Simonelli, Cafe Imports, and Bonavita. All of SprudgeLive’s 2015 barista competition coverage is underwritten in partnership with Square and Urnex Brands.
We’re proud to serve as official media partners of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, who produce these extraordinary events.
We reached out to each of the 2015 US Barista Championship competitors prior to their routines, to learn a bit more about them as competitors and coffee pros. We hope you enjoy these interviews!
KEVIN BOHLIN
Company: Saint Frank Coffee
Number of years behind the bar: 7
Number of competitions: 9
2011 SWRBC Finalist
2011 USBC Finalist
2012 SWRBC Finalist
2012 USBC
2013 SWRBC Finalist
2013 USBC Semi-Finalist
2014 SWRBC
2015 SWRBC
2015 USBC
Coffee: Ethiopia Aramo & Burundi Dukorere Ikawa
Milk: Clover Organic Whole Milk
Signature Beverage:
Dukorere Ikawa Espresso
Passion Fruit
Lemon Verbena Simple Syrup
Gelatin
Black Walnut Aromatic Bitters
Secret Weapons: Genuine Passion
Playlist: Some old competition hits:
Cut Copy
Common & John Legend
Plus my grammy award winning friend from college, Lecrae, who just played on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon!
Theme: My presentation is about development and growth:
of my passion as a barista
of conventional coffee to specialty coffee
of market to movement
Total Practice Hours: when its on the mind it can’t be counted
Coach(es): I haven’t had a coach since my Ritual days with Pele Aveau and Ben Kaminsky. I miss those days honestly but since starting Saint Frank I’ve prepared alone.
This is the first time in a while I’ve taken time to get help with from friends in preparing. I’ve had help from my cafe manager Emily Olson and friends Ben Kaminsky and Aaron Van der Groen of Ritual.
Pastry Chef Andrea Correa has also collaborated on the signature drink.
Fashion: I typically wear Banana Republic because one of our customers works for them and gives us rounds of friends and family coupons to dress the staff in Banana, haha.
Trivia: You guys already know a decent bit about me, I still love competition, thats why I still do it. Unfortunately owning and running a business has made preparing for competition the last two years incredibly difficult. My wife has always been so supportive of me in competition and this year is no exception. I feel much better about my opportunity to prepare for this competition and hope I can perform to the level I believe I can honoring my team and producers.
Social Medias: @kgbohlin
