Seattle, WA--The winners of the Coffee Fest Seattle 2005 "Stirling Signature Beverage Open", which occurred at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center, October 28 through 30, were Jake Light of Jakelight Productions in Seattle, Washington, who took the $500 prize for "Best-Tasting Beverage" and Lino Mastrangelo of Brazza Gelato and Coffee in North Vancouver, British Columbia, who won $500 for "Most Creative Beverage". The competition is intended to be a free-form event to showcase and reward quality and creativity in beverage making.
Jake Light's Caffe Theobroma (a.k.a. Gingerbread, Man Mocha), a mixture of cocoa, half-and-half, maple syrup, espresso and Stirling Gingerbread, Man, and whipped cream flavored with Stirling Granny's Snickerdoodle syrup. "This beverage was inspired by the sweet memories of eating gingerbread cookies as a child," says Light. "The Gingerbread, Man Mocha captures the classic flavor that brings you right back to those days."
Lino Mastrangelo's unique Caffe Arancia wowed the judges and took the cake for most creative beverage. Ingredients included orange-infused espresso, Belgian dark chocolate, creme Ingelese (a mixture of milk, sugar and egg yolks), orange zest, Stirling German Chocolate syrup and whipped cream. "My passion is making great coffee and gelato. I have been recognized as one of Canada's top baristas and I work daily to keep my skills well-tuned," explains Mastrangelo. "The real creative part about this drink was that I infused my espresso with orange by adding freshly grated orange zest to my ground coffee in the portafiler. I spent four weeks perfecting the technique and was pleased to unveil it at the Stirling Signature Beverage Open in Seattle."
Judges for the Seattle competition were 2003 US Barista Champion Heather Perry of Coffee Klatch in San Dimas, California, who brings an understanding of the importance of creativity in beverage retailing as well as first-hand experience as a barista competitor to her position, and Jeffrey Greiner, vice president of Stirling Gourmet Flavors, who also possesses a culinary background. Guest judges included Hsiao-Ching Chou, food editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Nicholas Cho, owner of Murky Coffee in the Washington, DC, area and co-director of the Barista Guild of America.
Equipment for the competition, including a two-group espresso machine and grinder, was provided by Astoria. The blender was provided by BlendTec and espresso was supplied by Fidalgo Bay Coffee Roasters.
Stirling Gourmet Flavors is known around the world as an innovative, customer-service oriented syrup manufacturer. The full line of Stirling's products includes more than fifty flavors of high-quality cane-sugar syrups (including its new seasonal Great Pumpkin Spice and Gingerbread, Man flavors) and nearly twenty 6.3-oz. gift size syrups as well as 14 sugar-free syrups made with SplendaŽ. Stirling also offers mocha mixes, display items and more. Stirling gourmet flavorings are extremely versatile and are used in coffee beverages, Italian sodas and iced beverages, cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages, baking, and culinary arts.
More information on participating in the next Stirling Signature Beverage Open, which will occur at Coffee Fest Washington, DC, February 24-26, at the Washington, DC, Convention Center, can be obtained by contacting Coffee Fest at www.coffeefest.com or 425.283.5058 or by contacting Stirling Foods, Inc. at www.stirling.net or 425.251.9293.