Tamper Authority Branches Out: Reg Barber talks about designing the WBC trophies
Posted: Jun 29, 2010
Fresh Cup editor Chris Ryan has been in London for the past week, taking in the World Barista Championship and SCAE conference. He recently caught up with Reg Barber, designer of the WBC trophies handed out to 2010 champ Michael Phillips and the other top competitors.
LONDON—Vancouver, B.C.'s Reg Barber is well known in specialty coffee for designing and manufacturing tampers, an integral tool in any barista's day-to-day job. But for the last few years, he's been helping baristas in a different way: He has produced the trophies for the top six finishers at the World Barista Championship. This year's creation features an oversized tamper upon a castle-like wooden structure. Barber talked to Fresh Cup about putting it together.
Q: How did you expand from tampers to trophies?
A: Well, my main thing is tampers. When I do trophies, I have to do it on weekends and after work, and it takes up a huge amount of time. But I do it for the baristas. Because if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have a job. A lot of people don't realize that, how important the baristas are to us. So that's why I treat them so well.
Q: What's the story behind this year's trophies?
A: This year, because it was in England, I decided to make a castle. I actually thought of it the day I knew it was in England—I said, "OK, I know what I'm going to do." If there's a country that has a theme, then I'll go try to go with that. This year's is the biggest trophy I've ever made.
Q: What's it made of?
A: The wood is African rosewood. It comes from Central Africa and it's very expensive—you wouldn't want to build a house out of it. Then on top of that is a tamper made from solid aluminum and then polished. It's a big piece of a bar of aluminum, and I put it inside my metal CNC lathe and shaped it inside that, and then polished it.
Q: Have you received any feedback from competing baristas about the trophies?
A: Yeah, lots of people—they say they love it. But [the first-place] trophy is really heavy. To pick it up is a task.
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