“You'll never guess what I did—I freeze-distilled my milk!”
In barista circles, this joke gets a big laugh. Freeze-distilled milk is sweeter, creamier, and just flat-out more delicious than even the most unctuous of milks. The process is dead-simple: take a gallon of milk, freeze it, and let it thaw in your fridge, inverted, into a container. The milk's natural sugars and fats will dissolve first. I would never normally suggest any non-professionals do this at home, but now we all have a lot more time on our hands, and few rules to abide by.
Just a week before COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, began wreaking havoc in the United States, baristas from across the nation came together to compete for the title of the U.S.'s Best Barista. For coffee professionals, this is the competition. Each year, this gathering of talented pros sees new ideas shared, groundbreaking techniques pioneered, and serendipitous discoveries made—including, as competitor Sam Neely joked, the fact that everyone freeze-distilled their milk.
Baristas, like other professionals in the service industry, have been hit especially hard by the pandemic. Every few moments, my phone lights up with a new GoFundMe link or a virtual tip jar to help offset the loss of wages and tips that folks are suffering. To go from celebrating the best of our craft to suddenly wondering if there will be any baristas left at the end of this period is scary. There aren't a lot of people you see with as much regularity as you do your neighborhood coffee shop staffers.
As I try to figure out how much I can give, I find comfort in revisiting these photos from the competition, and remembering both the high level of skill displayed by my colleagues as well as the moments of lightness.
