The Real World.

Well.... the dog ate my computer. Okay, so I dont have a dog... but I have had good reasons for not being able to keep up my blogging. Thanks to all of you who keep sending me messages and emails asking for updates, back on track now.

The past few weeks have been mad mad crazy busy with a demo/ rebuild of one of our stores and its reopening. It was our first fitout since we opened our South City store in 1999, so it was well overdue and looks awesome. Weather is starting to get colder now and so we are getting busier and busier.

Of course, we have been finding opportunities to enjoy the occasional coffee or three prepping up for the WBC in a couple of weeks. Our approach to the comps has been so refrshing this year. More than anythng we have been tasting heaps of coffees. Some new, some reprofiled.

We have a great little training set up for practice which makes life a whole lot easier thanks to the guys at Cerebos and NZCRA.

Training this year has also changed because of the timing of our Nationals. In previous years I have competed our Nationals have been run at the end of the previous year as they are also done in Canada (Normally around August/ Sept). This year our nationals were held just 6 weeks before we leave for WBC. It has meant that the standard that is required to pull out a win at the Nationals is so much higher. Previously there has been ample time to "step it up" for the WBC after the Nationals. So we piled in heaps of work before the Nationals, and while we are still working hard, some of that pressure has been lifted. Thats great because it has put me into a much better mindspace for the WBC.

So at the moment I have been arranging some of the logistical details that make up the WBC. I think that for many of you who have not competed overseas before it will be difficult to understand some of the logistics involved. Small things can become major and things that are given at home, cannot be taken for granted when travelling. A classic example of this for us here in New Zealand is milk. For us here, almost no matter which milk we choose, we are dealing with varying degrees of good. WBC Tokyo saw some tough issues with milk. How many dairy cows do you think there are in Tokyo (excluding any dressed as humans and kept as pets in 15sqm apartments)... obviously none. We decided to fly my milk with us, and saved a huge amount of headaches in the process.

This year however logistics are easier than in some other years. We are allowed 2 bags on the plane with us (Luciano thinks that means one bag for Ninja suits and the other for poker chips), and I also have far less gear than previous years. This is a good thing.

So as far as the routine is going, I am smiling. It is completely different to other years for me. I am leaving all my previous baggage at home, and just coming along to enjoy and learn. The end result is that I have been focused on areas that are small but making significant differences in both my routine and in the shop. Examples of this are with dosing techniques, pouring and grinder management. One of the cool parts is seeing my baristas picking up on heaps of the small details, and wanting to continue improving their techniques. Its one of the many positive spin offs from the comps.

Anyway I must go and sleep, another big day in the shops tomorrow, I am quickly learning that there is no better place to nail down the techniques I am practising for WBC, than behind a roaring espresso machine in a busy cafe!

Will keep up on the postings again.