Crimson Sage

Seattle was recently the home to the United States Barista Championship competition to crown the "best barista" in the US. The winner goes on to compete in the World Barista Championship, which will also be held in Seattle April 15-17. This year's winner was a Washingtonian - Phuong Tran, who works at Lava Java in Ridgefield, Washington. Her signature drink is called Crimson Sage (espresso, sugar-cane juice, a pinch of white ground pepper and a topping of sage-infused steamed milk), which I'm now deperately curious to try.

Final standings from the competition are in the press release from the Specialty Coffee Association of America. More than 40 competitors entered and about half were from the great state of Washington. Color me crazy, but I am *amazed* that 1) only one washingtonian made the top five, 2) that it was someone from Ridgewood, WA and not Seattle, and 3) that I haven't already planned my vacation around the World competition.