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    CARA NADER
March 6, 2010

Northern People: Barista in training

Cara Nader of Cuppa Joe invented a drink

By MARTA HEPLER DRAHOS

TRAVERSE CITY -- Double-shot half-whole milk mocha latte. Quad split-shot grande in a venti cup Americano misto.

If you think deciphering coffee drinks is a tall order, try making them. Artfully. Without waste. While several judges watch your every move.

That's what Traverse City barista Cara Nader will be up against when she competes in the 2010 Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition Friday in Milwaukee, Wis. Nader will have 15 minutes to create and serve four espressos, four cappuccinos and four signature beverages to four sensory judges while two technical judges and one head judge score everything from presentation and attention to detail to the color of the crema.

The fierce three-day competition -- involving baristas from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin -- is the first step in what many in the coffee industry call "the Olympics of coffee." Winners advance to the United States Barista Championship in Anaheim, Calif., and, with luck, from there to the World Barista Championship in London, the most prestigious specialty coffee event of the year.

"The pay-off comes when you win and people know you. Then you can get endorsements," said Nader, manager of Cuppa Joe at Horizon Books and the barista trainer for the company's three Traverse City locations. "My goal is to someday open my own roasting company."

The 2003 Traverse City West Senior High graduate is a coffee lover who started working at coffee shops as soon as she was old enough to work on an espresso machine. Before joining Cuppa Joe she was manager at Crema just down the street.

"It's the thing I wanted to do since I was 16," she said. "I want to learn as much as I can about coffee: Where did this particular coffee come from, the trail of people involved, from the farmer to the roaster. It's just a lot of fun."

Loyal customers include Thomas Webb, whose four-shot three in the cup one on the side large latte is a drink Nader prepares at least once a day.

"I have had coffee drinks around this country -- in the three biggest coffee cities: San Francisco, Seattle and Portland -- and in Italy," said Webb, executive director of TREATickets, also at Horizon Books. "She does it just as good. She's one of the best. There's no one in town who has the passion for coffee she has."

Baristas in Friday's competition will bring their own ingredients and supplies, save for a coffee grinder and espresso machine. Nader has been working with Great Northern Roasting Co. owner/roaster Jack Davis to develop a custom espresso blend and to create her own signature drink in hopes of finding the winning edge in the world of specialty coffee competition.

"It's something that needs to be really unique and food-y," said Nader, whose drink involves her own juniper-berry-and-bay-leaf syrup, fresh tarragon, fresh-squeezed lemon juice and blackberries. "I spent two months in my kitchen. I had this idea in my head for creating a gin-inspired drink."

She said the ingredients are "muddled together" and strained into a four-ounce martini glass with a shot of espresso, then topped with San Pellegrino sparkling mineral water.

The drink is garnished with a blackberry.

To help prepare for the competition Nader offered free local practice drinks through Cuppa Joe's Facebook fan page and traveled to Seattle for the Millrock Free-Pour Latte Art Championship. She also participated in an in-house barista competition at MadCap coffee in Grand Rapids.

"It helped me realize I know what I'm doing. I've been doing it for six years," said Nader, 24, who was scored on everything from the sensory qualities of her drinks to her performance and overall impression. "I just need to channel and do what I do."

This is the first year Cuppa Joe is sending one of its baristas to the regional competition, according to owner Sandi Daley.

Next year the company hopes to send two or three.

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