#remi does art and it's unbelievable

[ro-rogue]

the tragic thing about john doe is that he was doomed from the start.

he was likely born in a low- or mid-tier district: new bostin high's old king, zirian, was the only one john had trouble beating, before he figured out how to amplify abilities, and at the time he beat zirian, zirian was a 3.7. zirian, pre-john, was considered incredibly powerful, nigh unbeatable. in new bostin, someone who was barely an elite was considered incredibly powerful.

god-tiers are already incredibly rare. they're even more rare than high-tiers, and whenever remi, blyke, and isen visit a low-tier district as vigilantes, everyone regards them almost as royalty - unbelievably powerful, unreachable, divinity on earth. they are with dozens, and they’re terrified of a single, non-hostile girl. also, some of the background characters say: “what’s a high-tier doing in branish?” “yeah, they would never come to a place like this.” most low-tiers likely have never even seen a high-tier in the flesh, let alone a god-tier.

add to that that wellston is supposed to be the most powerful school in the province, at least, and before john, there were only two god-tiers in attendance: an 8.0 and a 6.3. and before arlo became king, rei was, and rei was a 5.8. the king of the strongest school in the province was a 5.8.

jane doe was raised in a god-tier family. she knows, presumably, what it means to be a god-tier, when everyone around you is weaker than you, and not by a little bit. but jane has been gone since john was a toddler - and the only person left to raise him was his father. his cripple father, who has lived his whole life being spat on, disregarded, considered less than.

and then you have john. john first discovered his ability in his last year of middle school. unordinary doesn't give us an exact timeframe, but it is mentioned that he first uses his ability towards the end of the school year. if we assume that the education system in unordinary is comparable to the us education system, then that makes john about fourteen years old. it is never mentioned when most kids discover their abilities, but sera mentioned that she got martial arts lessons for a few years when she was a young child, but stopped when her ability came in. assuming sera's development is normal and abilities usually come in at the same age regardless of level, that would place the average age well before ten. another thing: everyone around john seemed to assume he would never get an ability. they considered him a cripple. which either means that late-bloomers are so incredibly rare that it isn't even considered a possibility, or john was so far past the age of ability manifestation that no one thought it was possible.

of course, his dad was also a cripple, and since genetics are a thing in uno, it would make sense for people to assume john would be a cripple even before he passed the manifestation age. (and treat him accordingly)

john got expelled in his second year in high school. when, exactly, doesn't really matter. once again assuming that the uno education system works like the us education system, that would place john at 15-16 years old.

so you have this kid, sixteen years old, who's had his ability for about two years. he spent most of his life being considered the lowest of the low - spat on, disregarded, less than. his dad, his only parental figure, has had those exact same experiences, and the only thing he can tell his child is that that is just the way the world works. it's unfair, but that's life.

but then he gets an ability. and within two years, he is almost twice as strong as the second strongest kid around. none of the adults have ever met someone as strong as him. him, the former cripple, with the cripple father. former lowest of the low, now a god amongst men. the kids, though, his classmates, his peers, they don't really understand his power. how much stronger he is than them. to tell the truth, he doesn't either, not fully. he's never met someone as strong as he is, at sixteen. but his classmates, they just remember when they used to walk all over him. when they would beat him bloody and then complain about getting his disgusting cripple blood on their shoes. and now he dares to stand above them?

they don't like him. of course they don't. cripples aren't able to become gods. they can't comprehend that john did.

and john, obviously, lashes out at his former bullies. he finally has a chance to pay them back, for all the cuts, bruises, broken bones he'd received from them over the years. he's stronger than them, and it's his turn to make them hurt. he goes farther than they did - their abilities are useless against the might of his power - but he doesn't really care. (they never held back, so he doesn't either, and the damage he does is much, much worse. the adults are mad, and he doesn't get why. he's only doing what everyone else does.)

the adults have no idea how to handle him. he's out of control. but they've never seen an ability this powerful before, except on tv, or in stories. high-rankers are supposed to keep order. (but no one listens to john. why would they? he's just a cripple, the lowest of the low, who managed to cheat the system.) his dad, kind-hearted william doe the cripple, has no idea how to help him. he can't relate to his problems at all. (is there even a problem? who wouldn't want to be powerful? for william, for adrian, for claire, it'd be a dream come true. it used to be, for john.) there is no one around who even vaguely knows what it's like to be a god-tier, or even a high-tier, or even just a high-ranker in general, except for zirian, who's barely a high-ranker at all, and who hates john for dethroning him. there is no one who understands him.

so then you have john. sixteen years old. god-tier. angry at the world, and the world is angry at him. how was he ever supposed to win?

#thanks for reading my incredibly long rant #i just. have so much to say abt john's character #unordinary #uno #john doe #unordinary webtoon

[scrawnydutchman]

Coco Movie Review

Note: this review contains spoilers highlighted by bold letters for readers convenience. If you have not seen the film yet skip the bold sections and come back to read them once you HAVE seen it.

So I just came back from the theater after seeing Pixar’s Coco with a friend. An adventurous little romp about a Mexican boys’ supernatural journey to find his destiny, Coco is a spectacularly colorful, visually stimulating, heartfelt and clever little masterpiece that shows that in spite of recent worries many people have been having (myself included) Pixar isn’t losing their touch in creating marvelously original animated pieces. Granted this film borrows a lot of stylistic choices from Disney Animation Studios as well as other animated films (cough *BOOK OF LIFE* cough) but it also arguably takes those choices and makes them better. I’ll delve into more detail about that in a bit, but let’s tackle this film one section at a time, starting with story.

Story:

Synopsis: Miguel is a young boy who is part of a large family in Mexico and has aspirations to become a great musician. But music is banned in his family due to an ancestor of his leaving his wife and child behind to selfishly pursue a career in it. This doesn’t stop Miguel from striving for greatness though as he feels it’s in his blood to play music. One thing leads to another and Miguel ends up transporting himself to the realm of the dead where he decides to learn more about his families past to find out just what happened all those years ago. But it’s a race against the clock as Miguel finds out if he doesn’t leave the realm of the dead fast enough he will end up staying there forever. Will he be able to find his destiny and discover the truth about his family in time?

This is a pretty typical Disney plot setup. Young protagonist wants to achieve something greater than what his family has planned for him, goes on big misadventure to discover his true destiny, his family learns an important lesson about letting their kid follow their heart. If you’ve seen a Disney movie you know the ropes. But while this storyline is undeniably common among Disney films, Coco actually has a unique take on the subject matter that I haven’t seen previous entries ever do before. The lesson of the family letting Miguel follow his dreams is still present, but this time around it isn’t as clear cut and dry as, say, Pixar’s Ratatouille, which also had an ongoing theme of passion vs. family. While in Ratatouille the family pretty much has to concede to Remy as the film demonstrates he was right all along, Coco has the angle that Miguel is also at fault for a lot of his actions and has to know the importance of family as well. The film also has a great plot twist that makes the point that there IS such a thing as going too far for your dream. Truth be told it’s probably the most refreshing take on the subject matter I’ve ever seen either Disney or Pixar do.

The plot twist in this film is arguably the most effective twist I’ve ever seen either a Disney or Pixar film pull off. Matter of fact it’s very similar to the plot twist in Disney’s Frozen, but I would argue Coco succeeded where Frozen failed. In Frozen the true bad guy is hidden through a cheat in the narrative. The prince acts all starry eyed and innocent even when in the context of the scene nobody is around him, and so it’s a bit of a cheat to have it be executed in this fashion. With Coco, the bad guy is shrouded in mystery for the majority of the film. Ernesto de la cruz plays a very similar role to Gusteau in Ratatouille, where he’s a role model the protagonist never really interacts with outside of watching films and pretending to be there with him. At least that’s what it is for the majority of the movie. But when we DO finally meet him and learn his dark terrible secret, and that he cheated and murdered his way to his success, it’s not unbelievable, because just like the main character we as the audience only saw what he wanted us to see. We only ever saw his on screen persona and heard other people talk about him, whereas again, in Frozen the context implies the prince is virtuous even behind closed doors. It doesn’t feel out of nowhere because the narrative doesn’t progress in a way where betrayal was ruled out. And this twist is beyond clever because, again, it takes the moral we all see coming and puts a completely different spin on it. There IS such a thing as going too far for your dream, and there IS a certain extent where you have to put your family before your aspirations. It’s a much more profound look than kids are used to.

Beyond the compelling plot twist and the clever spin on an otherwise overdone message, it’s a pretty cookie cutter Disney movie. There’s a comedic foil, an adorable sidekick, an ambitious young protagonist, and this time around more than a few tear jerker moments. But hey, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. And man, when it comes to the tear jerkers, this film comes from the realest place since Pixar’s Up. The last 30 minutes are especially gut wrenching, which I for one think is a welcome compensation after Moana was pretty lacking in the sad stuff (though I will admit as a result this movie is lacking in the more comedic side). Also there’s a more than healthy dosage of Mexican culture to really break up the monotony of the story we’ve heard millions of times.

Animation/Art Design:

This. Film. Is. GORGEOUS!!! Absolutely colorful, inventive backgrounds, great use of contrasting blue with orange, dripping with Mexican atmosphere, and it really showcases some of the most impressive and inventive visuals I’ve ever seen in a Pixar movie. For one, this movie is not afraid to zoom in on all the intricate guitar playing, and for good reason. You can see every detail, every plucked string, every held note in the guitar playing. You might think this is a minor point, but take it from an animator; animating guitar or piano playing is EXTREMELY difficult especially if you want to make a point on being as accurate as possible. There’s a reason why in most animated media they zoom out, zoom in to the face or depict the playing from the other side of the piano to hide the fact that they probably aren’t hitting the right notes. Also, the way the skeletons move is wonderfully creative and interesting. So much thought went into how they walk, how they interact with their environment, how they rebuild themselves after splitting into several pieces. I especially love the squash and stretch the skeletons have; it makes them look appealingly jagged and really sells how lightweight they are without all that flesh and meat. This films is dripping with inventive visuals from beginning to end. The use of colous are on point, the lighting is great, the Textures are the best Pixar has pulled thus far. It’s a visual marvel. The character designs are great too, especially Dante the very derpy looking dog. The way his eyes and tongue look make for an effective comedic foil as well as the way his lanky scrawny body moves. In fact, the animal creatures in this movie are all very appealing in different ways. Many people including myself were skeptical about the designs of the skeletons, particularly with the big expressive Disney-esque eyes. While I’ll admit at first I thought they looked a little too odd they grew on me over time.

Also this movie is great at using it’s visuals to better progress the story, like how Miguel’s body is becoming more of a skeleton to sell the passage of time without verbally pointing it out too often.

There is just one very VERY minor issue I have with the visuals. I’m not 100% certain on this as I’ve only seen the film once thus far so it’s possible there’s just something wrong with my sight or some other reason, but I think the film uses motion blur to it’s disadvantage at times. There are scrolling shots in this movie that are supposed to showcase how massive an environment is and how many people are present in a location, but the use of motion blur makes it too fuzzy to really take in and I honestly think they laid it on too thick at times for how fast the camera actually moves. It got to a point where trying to follow the movement actually strained my eyes a little bit. It would have benefited the film more if they just left it out in certain points to make the image pop as clear as day. All well, it’s a minor knitpick that for all I know might not actually be a problem, but for the time being i’m docking a wee bit from the overall score. Besides that, it’s an undeniably beautiful flick.

Acting:

Pretty standard Disney and Pixar quality here. Every voice actor and actress in this movie does a stellar job. The cast is authentically Mexican and it shows (lncluding a Gabriel Iglesias cameo), making for greater immersion into the scenery. No performance seemed out of place, everybody got the proper emotions across. Not a whole lot else to say really.

Sound Design:

Again, pretty standard Disney and Pixar quality. Being that this movie has a heavy music theme in it, the soundtrack is beautiful and, again, authentically Mexican. The recurring song “Remember Me” is especially beautiful. This is one of those movies where the music is actually so good that I ended up getting the soundtrack on Spotify. Also, though it’s a minor addition, the mariachi cover of the music for the opening Disney logo is a nice touch. The sound effects were effective as always.

EDIT: I forgot to mention this the first time around. Not only is the music stellar but it actually plays into the plot as well in a way that’s very effective in retrospect. The song “Remember Me” has 2 versions; the opening bombastic one done by the villain of the movie and the softer, more sentimental version done by the real musician. This is actually brilliant foreshadowing to the types of characters each of them are. de la Cruz is a self absorbed, entitled asshole, and so his version of the song reflects that by being a big over the top dance number. The phrase “Remember Me” in this case is more about him telling his audience about how important he is. In contrast, the lullaby version is soft, sentimental and genuine. It isn’t superficial and it’s beautifully simple. This is a reflection of the writer. He didn’t write it to become a star. He didn’t write it because he wanted attention or glory. He wanted to make a connection with his daughter before he left. A touch like this is brilliantly subtle.

Conclusion:

Coco is tightly written with a clever and refreshing take on a recurring Disney trope. It’s visually stunning, very inventive, dripping with Mexican atmosphere and culture, and showcases some of the most heartfelt visuals and audibles I’ve seen come out of Pixar in a very long time. Really, my only problem with it was the use of motion blur at times, and that’s me REALLY stretching for something bad to say about it that I’m not even entirely sure I can back up. It’s a great film to take your kids to or to see for yourself if you’re an animation fan.

Story: 2/2

Animation/Art Design: 3.9/4

Acting: 2/2

Sound Design: 2/2

Final verdict; 9.9/10 - DAMN close to perfect.

#coco #pixar #disney #disnerd #disney pixar #animation #3d animator #3d animation #film #movies #film review #movie review

[michaelfallcon]

2019 Los Angeles Coffee Masters Champ Carlos De La Torre: The Sprudge Interview

Add another trophy to the shelf for Mexico’s Carlos de la Torre! The Mexico City coffee polymath has already taken home some serious hardware, having won national titles at Cup Tasters (2012), the Brewers Cup (2015, 2016), and the Barista Championship (2018, 2019). And he has just added Coffee Masters Champion to his CV in his first-ever appearance in the competition. If this isn’t a coffee EGOT, I’m not sure such a thing exists.

Yet, even with his impressive résumé, keeping the US Coffee Masters title in a producing country (matching the efforts of 2018 New York Coffee Masters Champion Remy Molina of Costa Rica) would be no easy task. Standing in de la Torre’s way were no less than three national champions, multiple finalists, and two Coffee Masters Runners-Up. But even as a rookie, de la Torre was able to call upon his vast competition experience to rise to the occasion, even mowing down two of those national champions along the way.

To learn more, Sprudge caught up with Carlos de la Torre after his big win to find out what the fast-paced weekend was like and what’s next in store for him.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. 

Hey Carlos! Congratulations on your Coffee Masters victory! By way of introduction, can you tell us a little bit about what you professionally in the coffee world?

I’m the green buyer and head roaster at Cafe con Jiribilla and I’m in charge of Quality Control and Training at Café Avellaneda, both in Mexico City. I have an oncoming Cold Brew project and I run the coffee program for the new bar Cafe Ocampo. I’m also the current Mexican Barista Champion and I’ve been involved constantly in barista competitions as a competitor and coach for other baristas, and randomly I give some workshops and lectures on coffee.

As an experienced coffee competition veteran, what was it like competing in your first Coffee Masters?

It was an amazing experience. Even before I knew I won the competition I was saying to my wife, “I guess I’m not winning, but it was a lot of fun, I’m going to try again next year.” But now I guess there’s no Coffee Masters for me in the future at least as a competitor.

How did it compare to other coffee competitions?

It has long performance times with the big stress of competing one-on-one, so it demands a lot of energy and focus. I was so tired after it all that I didn’t even go out to celebrate, just a quick takeaway dinner before going straight to bed. But the most notable difference is not just the variety of abilities that the competitors need to display, but the fact of having the competitors perform against each other under the same circumstances, which removes a lot of advantages some competitors may have; it’s all up to the skills and knowledge inherent to the competitors.

Do you feel like your extensive competition experience (and success) gave you a leg up in Coffee Masters?

Yes, for sure. I was already a national champion in Cup Tasters, Brewers Cup, and Barista, which relates directly with the cupping, order, sig drink, espresso blend, and brewing disciplines at Coffee Masters, so it was sort of familiar to me and I guess that helped me a lot. On the other, I have almost no experience at cupping various origins or presenting latte art.

There were a handful of other national champions at Coffee Masters this year. Was it intimidating going up against such accomplished competitors?

For sure it was intimidating. Since Round One I was asking myself, “what the hell am I doing here?” I heard a lot of great things from Cole Torode about the competition when we hung out in China at the Fushan Cup last summer, and that inspired me to compete but I never expected to face him in the Semi-Finals. I was just scared as hell since he is not just the third-best barista in the world but one of the professionals I admire the most. Then Shin [Fukuyama] at the Finals, man!! He is a latte art god (fourth in the world) from a prestigious company and he trained so hard. Obviously I was so intimidated by every competitor and I respect them A LOT, but they were very friendly and supportive with me because it was my first time and they had more experience in Coffee Masters, so it made for a good friendship.

What was your favorite discipline in Coffee Masters?

I guess it was the cupping, I’ve always loved the rush of combining speed and precision in a competition.

What was the most challenging discipline?

I guess the origin because I have so few experiences cupping non-Mexican coffees.

Can you tell us a little bit more about your signature beverage?

It was a cocktail with “overnight espresso,” made with tamarind, lemon, Sotol (a Mexican distilled spirit), and gin. So refreshing, complex, spicy, and harmonious that I couldn’t resist to drink one with the judges so I crafted one for me too.

It’s actually a cocktail I created a while ago, thinking about giving “second chances” to the espresso that some times you don’t use when serving single shot drinks using a double spout portafilter, or just the coffee you forgot to drink at home and is “overnighted.” We used to have a lot of those espressos at the coffee shop and we would throw them into the sink, so this cocktail is crafted with stuff you can find at any party or in some fridges very easily; it’s almost a cocktail built from scratch turning a wasted espresso into an amazing drink.

Originally about recycling “overnight coffee,” for Coffee Masters we turned it into a concept drink using some Mexican ingredients representing the L.A. Mexican and Latin culture and also the second chances we look for when migrating to the US. Actually, that was part of bringing the ingredients across the border by car haha; we really wanted to build the experience of the drink and believe the story ourselves. For me, it was a very meaningful drink because it connected my passion, my origin, and my family (my wife is from Chihuahua, and that’s where Sotol comes from).

And more importantly, where did you get that wonderful pink silk robe in the video and will it a regular part of future competitions for you?

Hahaha! It’s my wife’s robe, I got it as a gift for her when I went away from home for two weeks to help out at Coffee in Good Spirits at the International Coffee Week last year. I don’t know if it’s taking part in competitions hahaha but surely in more funny coffee videos I’ll be borrowing it from her.

How does this win compare to your national competition victories?

It’s unbelievable, the warmth of an international audience giving you recognition as a well-structured professional in a field in which you have invested a third of your life in some way gives you a big satisfaction, but not quite as satisfying as having the opportunity to give a bit of exposure to Mexico and Latin America, not just as producing countries but also as consuming ones.

Any big plans on what you will do with the $5,000 cash prize?

Yeah!! I’m going to use it for the birth expenses of my son and the remaining cash I’ll use it for my road to WBC in Melbourne, maybe equipment, tools, or some training expenses.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank?

The other half of my success in coffee, Yaris Barrientos who supported me all the way, giving me advice, tasting, helping with stuff I may not be able to handle alone, even when she is currently having some difficult time expecting our first son. No one can read me better than her, she’s a wonderful woman and an amazing coach struggling with the fact that she cannot actually drink a lot of coffee or any alcohol. But she has that super-sensitive nose that her pregnancy gave to her as a very helpful side effect hahaha.

I also want to thank Cris Mancilla (Mexican Latte Art Champion) and Ale Lugo (two-time Latte Art finalist and Brewers Cup Runner-Up) who helped me improve my pouring. And last but not least, Sam Ronzon, my friend and coffee producer who supported us a lot during the competition days, showing that the relation between baristas and producers is not just about coffee; it’s not meant to be just a business relation but a great friendship supporting each other, not just as professionals but as human beings in regular everyday circumstances… and also, Sam smuggled my ingredients across the border.

Thanks, Carlos!

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

Photos courtesy of Los Angeles Coffee Festival/Coffee Masters

The post 2019 Los Angeles Coffee Masters Champ Carlos De La Torre: The Sprudge Interview appeared first on Sprudge.

2019 Los Angeles Coffee Masters Champ Carlos De La Torre: The Sprudge Interview published first on https://medium.com/@LinLinCoffee

[shebreathesslowly]

2019 Los Angeles Coffee Masters Champ Carlos De La Torre: The Sprudge Interview

Add another trophy to the shelf for Mexico’s Carlos de la Torre! The Mexico City coffee polymath has already taken home some serious hardware, having won national titles at Cup Tasters (2012), the Brewers Cup (2015, 2016), and the Barista Championship (2018, 2019). And he has just added Coffee Masters Champion to his CV in his first-ever appearance in the competition. If this isn’t a coffee EGOT, I’m not sure such a thing exists.

Yet, even with his impressive résumé, keeping the US Coffee Masters title in a producing country (matching the efforts of 2018 New York Coffee Masters Champion Remy Molina of Costa Rica) would be no easy task. Standing in de la Torre’s way were no less than three national champions, multiple finalists, and two Coffee Masters Runners-Up. But even as a rookie, de la Torre was able to call upon his vast competition experience to rise to the occasion, even mowing down two of those national champions along the way.

To learn more, Sprudge caught up with Carlos de la Torre after his big win to find out what the fast-paced weekend was like and what’s next in store for him.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. 

Hey Carlos! Congratulations on your Coffee Masters victory! By way of introduction, can you tell us a little bit about what you professionally in the coffee world?

I’m the green buyer and head roaster at Cafe con Jiribilla and I’m in charge of Quality Control and Training at Café Avellaneda, both in Mexico City. I have an oncoming Cold Brew project and I run the coffee program for the new bar Cafe Ocampo. I’m also the current Mexican Barista Champion and I’ve been involved constantly in barista competitions as a competitor and coach for other baristas, and randomly I give some workshops and lectures on coffee.

As an experienced coffee competition veteran, what was it like competing in your first Coffee Masters?

It was an amazing experience. Even before I knew I won the competition I was saying to my wife, “I guess I’m not winning, but it was a lot of fun, I’m going to try again next year.” But now I guess there’s no Coffee Masters for me in the future at least as a competitor.

How did it compare to other coffee competitions?

It has long performance times with the big stress of competing one-on-one, so it demands a lot of energy and focus. I was so tired after it all that I didn’t even go out to celebrate, just a quick takeaway dinner before going straight to bed. But the most notable difference is not just the variety of abilities that the competitors need to display, but the fact of having the competitors perform against each other under the same circumstances, which removes a lot of advantages some competitors may have; it’s all up to the skills and knowledge inherent to the competitors.

Do you feel like your extensive competition experience (and success) gave you a leg up in Coffee Masters?

Yes, for sure. I was already a national champion in Cup Tasters, Brewers Cup, and Barista, which relates directly with the cupping, order, sig drink, espresso blend, and brewing disciplines at Coffee Masters, so it was sort of familiar to me and I guess that helped me a lot. On the other, I have almost no experience at cupping various origins or presenting latte art.

There were a handful of other national champions at Coffee Masters this year. Was it intimidating going up against such accomplished competitors?

For sure it was intimidating. Since Round One I was asking myself, “what the hell am I doing here?” I heard a lot of great things from Cole Torode about the competition when we hung out in China at the Fushan Cup last summer, and that inspired me to compete but I never expected to face him in the Semi-Finals. I was just scared as hell since he is not just the third-best barista in the world but one of the professionals I admire the most. Then Shin [Fukuyama] at the Finals, man!! He is a latte art god (fourth in the world) from a prestigious company and he trained so hard. Obviously I was so intimidated by every competitor and I respect them A LOT, but they were very friendly and supportive with me because it was my first time and they had more experience in Coffee Masters, so it made for a good friendship.

What was your favorite discipline in Coffee Masters?

I guess it was the cupping, I’ve always loved the rush of combining speed and precision in a competition.

What was the most challenging discipline?

I guess the origin because I have so few experiences cupping non-Mexican coffees.

Can you tell us a little bit more about your signature beverage?

It was a cocktail with “overnight espresso,” made with tamarind, lemon, Sotol (a Mexican distilled spirit), and gin. So refreshing, complex, spicy, and harmonious that I couldn’t resist to drink one with the judges so I crafted one for me too.

It’s actually a cocktail I created a while ago, thinking about giving “second chances” to the espresso that some times you don’t use when serving single shot drinks using a double spout portafilter, or just the coffee you forgot to drink at home and is “overnighted.” We used to have a lot of those espressos at the coffee shop and we would throw them into the sink, so this cocktail is crafted with stuff you can find at any party or in some fridges very easily; it’s almost a cocktail built from scratch turning a wasted espresso into an amazing drink.

Originally about recycling “overnight coffee,” for Coffee Masters we turned it into a concept drink using some Mexican ingredients representing the L.A. Mexican and Latin culture and also the second chances we look for when migrating to the US. Actually, that was part of bringing the ingredients across the border by car haha; we really wanted to build the experience of the drink and believe the story ourselves. For me, it was a very meaningful drink because it connected my passion, my origin, and my family (my wife is from Chihuahua, and that’s where Sotol comes from).

And more importantly, where did you get that wonderful pink silk robe in the video and will it a regular part of future competitions for you?

Hahaha! It’s my wife’s robe, I got it as a gift for her when I went away from home for two weeks to help out at Coffee in Good Spirits at the International Coffee Week last year. I don’t know if it’s taking part in competitions hahaha but surely in more funny coffee videos I’ll be borrowing it from her.

How does this win compare to your national competition victories?

It’s unbelievable, the warmth of an international audience giving you recognition as a well-structured professional in a field in which you have invested a third of your life in some way gives you a big satisfaction, but not quite as satisfying as having the opportunity to give a bit of exposure to Mexico and Latin America, not just as producing countries but also as consuming ones.

Any big plans on what you will do with the $5,000 cash prize?

Yeah!! I’m going to use it for the birth expenses of my son and the remaining cash I’ll use it for my road to WBC in Melbourne, maybe equipment, tools, or some training expenses.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank?

The other half of my success in coffee, Yaris Barrientos who supported me all the way, giving me advice, tasting, helping with stuff I may not be able to handle alone, even when she is currently having some difficult time expecting our first son. No one can read me better than her, she’s a wonderful woman and an amazing coach struggling with the fact that she cannot actually drink a lot of coffee or any alcohol. But she has that super-sensitive nose that her pregnancy gave to her as a very helpful side effect hahaha.

I also want to thank Cris Mancilla (Mexican Latte Art Champion) and Ale Lugo (two-time Latte Art finalist and Brewers Cup Runner-Up) who helped me improve my pouring. And last but not least, Sam Ronzon, my friend and coffee producer who supported us a lot during the competition days, showing that the relation between baristas and producers is not just about coffee; it’s not meant to be just a business relation but a great friendship supporting each other, not just as professionals but as human beings in regular everyday circumstances… and also, Sam smuggled my ingredients across the border.

Thanks, Carlos!

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

Photos courtesy of Los Angeles Coffee Festival/Coffee Masters

The post 2019 Los Angeles Coffee Masters Champ Carlos De La Torre: The Sprudge Interview appeared first on Sprudge.

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