Day two was much slower than Day 1. My parents and I decided to skip the morning lectures and have breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast, Dad and I took the shuttle bus to the Georgia World Congress Center. We got the Expo and visited the area for the Roasters Guild. They were in the process of cupping the coffees of the year and the sound of slurping was everywhere. For those of you not versed in the art of cupping coffee, it is a noisy affair. Cupping coffee is done by taking a small amount of coffee in a bullion or cupping cup and slurping it into your mouth. The slurp is to make sure the coffee coats the entire tongue. On Day 1, Dad and I took a beginning cupping course from the SCAA and enjoyed see more experienced cuppers at work. The World Barista Championship was to start at 11 am. I went down at 11 because Colin from Ireland was to start first. Colin's coffee was roasted by my online friend, Stephen Leighton from HasBean coffee. Before the competition started I visited the WBC barista bar. The bar was manned by volunteer barista's from around the world and showcased various coffee roasters. In two days, I had around 10 espressos and cappuccinos from the WBC bar. I got to my seat in time to Colin start his performance and earlier enough to talk with Steve for a few minutes. Colin has a great story. One year ago he was a banker in Ireland. He was tired of his job and decided to become a barista. Before starting as a barista, he had never turned on an espresso machine! Colin did a great job advancing to the finals on Sunday.

My parents joined me to watch several of the barista's compete. We got to see Michael Phillips of the US and Gwilym Davies of the UK. Gwilym had a fascinating specialty drink because he allowed the judges to pick the ingredients for the drink. Both Mike and Gwilym advanced to the finals. The other finalist were from Hungary, Korea, and Canada. There was a total of 48 contestants in the WBC. I can say that I believe the baristas are artist. Their specialty drinks have to be prepared in 15 minutes and have all the ingredients work together perfectly. The drinks they make, put the special in specialty coffee. My parents went back to the hotel room earlier in the afternoon. I had planned on taking the shuttle bus back to the hotel to join them for an early dinner. Unfortunately, the shuttle buses stopped running at 5:30 pm. This was a problem because the WBC did not conclude for the day until 5:30 pm. I had to make a brisk walk back to the hotel. Dinner ended up being an experience because the meal and our transportation. At the hotel, we asked on the the valets to recommend a steakhouse close to the hotel. He said he knew of one in Atlanta that got good reviews, but was "a little too far to walk". It took up 30 minutes by taxi to get to the restaurant! The restaurant was called Bone's. We did not have reservations so we waited an hour of a table. Fortunately, the wait was worth it. The food at Bone's was excellent. I don't eat steak often and am glad to been able to enjoy a great piece of beef. Bone's is highly recommended for the food, but be warned the experience comes with a price tag. Our ride back to the hotel was exciting. The valet called us a cab. He was a GISDASU kind of driver. GISDASU means "Get In, Sit Down and Shut UP!" The taxi drove 80 most of the way back to the hotel and repeatedly crossed two or three lanes of traffic to make turns. It reminded me of the times when I rode taxis in Russia, Thailand and Guatemala. I ended the day with a call home to check up on the family and then crashing in bed.