Mike Phillips, World Heavyweight Barista

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Whenever he turned away from the table to work at the espresso machine, stand-ins playing the role of judges emptied their water glasses. They were testing Phillips. Would he notice and refill them?

Phillips showed little rust. His espressos were creamy and intense, his cappuccinos rich, stiffly foamy, and topped with symmetrical, well-drawn hearts. But the true measure of an elite competitor is whether "you're trying to broach some concept and share an idea or experience." That's where the signature drink comes in. Last year his signature drink deconstructed an espresso, dividing a single shot into two different drinks—one based on the inky, chocolatey, more extractive first half of the pull, the other based on the lighter, juicier second half.

In preparation for this year's festival, Phillips had decided to focus on processing. While visiting Costa Rican supplier Coopedota in February, Phillips was inspired by the varied processing methods used (washed, natural, and honey), and came up with an idea for a new drink. He planned to make three drinks from the same bean, processed each of the three ways, as a study in how processing method influences bean flavor. The full-flavored natural bean—fermented in the sun with its skin on—would be mixed with a ginger-rhubarb reduction. The crisper, washed bean—stripped of pulp in water—would be combined with tart cherry juice and Pellegrino, resulting in a sort of coffee spritzer. For the third—a hybrid of the two methods—he would mix a sweet, honey bean with a date reduction. "I'm happy," he said, "because there's no chocolate and no milk, which are cheap shots."

Phillips finished the 15-minute drill with four seconds to spare. His performance went better than he had anticipated, although he saw room for improvement. "I think the second set of capps came in a little thin," he lamented. The date reduction was too thick to blend properly with the coffee; the ginger-rhubarb reduction had none of the sweetness he had hoped for—he thought he might have forgotten to add agave syrup. Also, he wished he had gone faster in order to have time to clear the pitchers at the end. "I've got a lot of work to do," he concluded.

Two weeks later, on June 25, Phillips won the world title in London, becoming the first American to do so. It would also be his last competition. Phillips' bosses at Intelligentsia, which has fielded four of the last five U.S. champions, have decided the company should step aside and give someone else a chance. Much of the once avant-garde coffee culture that Intelligentsia helped to pioneer has become the new normal among boutique roasters and cafés. Phillips and his colleagues are plenty busy just trying to figure out what's next.

CHAMPIONSHIP CUPS

Next time you're looking for a jolt, consider a cup from one of these national- or even world-champion barista's shops

Third Floor Espresso, Dublin: A new downtown café helmed by Colin Harmon, the Irish espresso star famous for his originality. He took fourth place in the 2009 World Championship with a drink that included Morello cherries, crème anglaise, and seaweed.

Caffè Artigiano, Vancouver: This café's baristas have dominated the national coffee scene for a decade. The group is led by Sammy Piccolo, who came out of retirement for the 2009 WBC. (His grapefruit-infused espresso helped him earn second place.)

Whitecross Street Food Market, London: Flat-cap-clad 2009 World Barista Champion Gwilym Davies pulls shots at a freestanding cart in this daily food fair in Islington. Also on staff is James Hoffmann, who held the world title in 2007.

Costa Coffee, Budapest: Hungarian star Attila Molnar—whose 2009 signature drink was made up of layers of toasted pumpkin seeds, maple syrup, and blueberry juice—trains the baristas at this British chain's location in Budapest.

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