Calgary coffee slinger dubbed top barista in Canada

After nearly a decade in the coffee industry, a Calgary coffee shop owner has been named Canada's top barista.

Cole Torode, the co-owner and director of Rosso Coffee Roasters, took home first place at the Canadian National Barista Championships this past weekend.

It's his first win in seven years of competing.

"It feels pretty amazing," Torode told the Calgary Eyeopener this week. "I think it's finally starting to set in and it's quite the honour."

The competition isn't just about making a cup of joe, though. There is an element of performance involved as well.

"I usually explain it as a choreographed dance routine where you're sort of singing at the same time," he said. "Although there is no true dancing or singing, you do have to give a speech while you dance around and make coffee."

Competitors are given 15 minutes to put out not only the most drinks, but the tastiest ones, too — and this year Torode put out 12 such drinks.

To make his award-winning drinks, Torode said he used two coffees, one from Panama and the other from Colombia.

"They're both the same varietal called Geisha," he said. "Not rare, but a different sort of coffee. It's very fruity, very citric, floral, silky and tea-like."

Torode said he showcased the aromatics of the coffees in his signature drinks, or "coffee cocktails."

"I tried to strip back the processing techniques and showcase what the root of both of them tasted like," he said, "simplifying and making them easier for the judges to understand."

The coffee connoisseur said it's been a labour of love coming up with his signature drinks alongside his business partners.

"We spend a lot of time coming up with this stuff because we've been doing it for quite some time, and I mean it's truly quite the honour to be the Canadian barista champion now," he said.

With just 2½ weeks until Torode takes the stage at the World Barista Competition in Amsterdam, there is little time for rest.

"It's been maybe 36 hours at this point, and we've been talking for about 24 of those about what we should do for our next step," he said.

"Because we're going to have to change and shift a whole bunch of it, so we're just constantly brainstorming ideas back and forth — just like Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, right?"

• Listen to Rosso Coffee Roaster's co-owner and his plans for the world championship:

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With files from Elizabeth Withey and the Calgary Eyeopener.