The Southeast Regional Jam is coming!

[Brady]

Hi all,

Wanted to share the news about an event that is in the works for November. The Southeast Regional Chapter of the BGA will be hosting a regional jam on the weekend of November 13th in Charlotte NC.

We're planning a pretty good lineup of events and presenters, including sessions on:
Competition Preparation
Dialing-In Espresso
Implementing Manual Brew Methods in a Retail Setting, and
Building your Local Coffee Community

Combine that with several open-jam sessions, the ability to play around with some top-notch equipment, convenient access to the SCAA's SBW classes that same weekend, AND the first ever All-Southeast City vs. City Latte Art Throwdown, and it should be a fun weekend.

There will also be the opportunity for interested baristas to take the BGA Level 1 Certification Test that weekend.

The cost to attend this event is $50 for BGA members, $90 for non-members. (Not a member? Go here: http://baristaguildofamerica.net/ )

More info, including links to the full schedule and registration information, will follow shortly.

Thanks!

[Jason Dominy]

Good updates. This is shaping up to be a kick-butt weekend, and Brady's doing a great job of building on last year's event by making it a full weekend event that shouldn't be missed. For those interested in Level One Certification classes or the exam, more info on any of the classes offered that weekend can be found here: http://www.scaa.org/PDF/SESBW.pdf

Brady said:

For those that are interested in BGA Level 1 Certification, there are a couple of items to note:

The 2009 SCAA Southeast Skill Building Workshop is that same weekend, November 13-15, at Dilworth Coffee, also here in Charlotte. Classes offered include Intro to Espresso, Hands on Espresso, Beginning Cupping, Comparative Cupping, and BGA Milk and Latte Art. These are recommended for certification, though not required if you have accumulated sufficient knowledge through other classes or sheer awesomeness.

Also, thanks to our friends at the SCAA and BGA Executive Council, the Official BGA Customer Service class WILL be offered as part of the Jam. Completion of this class is required to receive Level 1 Certification. Here's your chance to take it without flying to the west coast... so don't miss it.

ALSO... Jason Dominy and others will be administering the BGA Level 1 Certification test at Dilworth Coffee on Sunday the 15th. There is no cost for BGA or SCAA members to take this test.

So... if you are a BGA member and are interested in certification, we've got you covered. Spaces for all of these are limited, so please register if you are interested.

[Paul Yates]

I just joined the BGA, and I registered for the Jam! So pumped! Any suggestions on lodging?

[Brady]

Sorry for the delay, Paul. We're working on a couple of recommendations for hotels. Both Training Centers are on Charlotte's South-West side, really close to I-77 This opens up quite a few options, including uptown and the I-77 corridor. Even stuff over near the airport would not be too far. Will have some better recommendations in a little while.

Looking forward to seeing you there... this is shaping up to be a great event that everyone should really enjoy. FWIW, there will be several different manufacturers' machines available for use at the event, which may help you get some info on that front. We should have La Marzocco, Astoria +4U, Nuova Simonelli, and maybe some others at the events. Lots of Rancillio machines in shops around Charlotte, so you could get a good look at them as well.

[Brady]

Hard to believe this event is a little less than a week away. For those that haven't been to the wordpress site in a while, we've added quite a bit in the last week or so. Check it out here:

www.SouthEastRegion.wordpress.com

The big update is a change to the schedule of events for Friday afternoon. In order to make the BGA Customer Service class accessible to both SERJ and SE-SBW attendees, we’ve changed its time to 3-5pm. We’ve also moved the class to join the rest of the SCAA offerings at the Dilworth Coffee Training Center.

In its place, we will be offering a session on espresso equipment from 1-2:45. We’ll discuss espresso machine and grinder principles of operation, different boiler configurations, burr styles, care and feeding, advanced features, and tweaks to obtain best possible performance. Presenters for this class will be Authorized La Marzocco Tech Brent Hall of Counter Culture and Authorized Rancilio Tech Brady Butler of Carolina Espresso Services.


Between the Regional Jam, the Skill Building Workshop, and the Saturday Night Throwdown this is shaping up to be a great event. We've been pleased to see several of you register to join us. There are several spots still available, so please join us if you can. See you next weekend!

[Jared Rutledge]

might roll in if my inspections go well this week.

[Jason Dominy]

Cool Jared, we'd love to see you here!

Jared Rutledge said:

might roll in if my inspections go well this week.

[George H Holt]

Some photo's from Saturday nights Latte Throw held at Dilworth Coffees Roastery.

[Jared Rutledge]

yeah i didn't get down, was just too busy. i'll come soon though once i get this shop stable.