The time is drawing near: Canada's National Barista Championships are approaching, this October 21-22 in Montreal.

Although the mere thought of barista competions get my heart racing, as there is no more nervewracking event I've been in (this includes Track Cycling Nationals in Victoria, which I competed in 2006), preparation for the event is falling into place beautifully.

For the event, this will include creating a new blend slightly different than 49th Parallel's Epic we use daily at Museo. We will be debuting this mystery coffee about a week before competition in the cafe. Our signature drink will roughly be the same, however the serving method will change, as well as a few of the ingredients. For those that don't recall, the signature drink was a three part drink of espresso, saskatoon berry reduction and a creme fraiche concoction including cinnamon and orange oil. Lastly, training and prep work for the event is constantly progressing, and we'll be getting more into that in the coming weeks.

Museo will be launching a competition microsite with more information in about 10 days.

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