Glitter Cat Expands All-Expenses-Paid US Coffee Competition Training Series

The Glitter Cat logo via www.glittercatbarista.com

With a mission to “change the face of what the average competitor looks like,” Glitter Camp Bootcamp is expanding for the upcoming 2020 competition cycle, providing all-expenses-paid training to United States Coffee Championships hopefuls.

After a successful inaugural event last October in Philadelphia, the Glitter Cat Barista Bootcamp has dropped the “Barista” from its name, as this year they are providing tailored training for more competitions, including: the U.S. Barista Competition, the U.S. Brewers Cup, the U.S. Roaster Competition and the U.S. Coffee in Good Spirits Competition.

The event series is designed to increase participation from members of marginalized communities, including LGBTQIA+, womxn, gender non-conforming, racial/ethnic minorities and persons with disabilities. Glitter Cat’s shining achievement is that it manages to offer selected applicants full two-and-a-half day training sessions with competition equipment and seasoned competition trainers and judges, all free of charge, including travel, room, board, training expenses and materials.

2014 US Barista Champion Laila Ghambari leading some instruction at the inaugural Glitter Cat bootcamp last October in Philadelphia. File photo by Roosevelt Nguyen.

Competitors throughout the country are already gearing up for the 2020 U.S. Coffee Championships cycle, with the first of 13 USCC-sanctioned preliminary events taking place later this month. The date and location for the 2020 U.S. Coffee Championships has not yet been announced.

Glitter Cat Bootcamp, meanwhile, is accepting applications for its four 2020 cycle events until Thursday, Aug. 15. The Roaster bootcamp will take place Oct. 25-26 at Mill City Roasters in Minneapolis; the Barista bootcamp will take place Nov. 2-4 at Dillanos Coffee Roasters in Sumner, Washington; the Brewers Cup bootcamp will take place Nov. 16-18 at Workbench Coffee Labs in Kansas City, Missouri; and the Coffee in Good Spirits bootcamp will take place Nov. 23-25 at Kohi Coffee in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Check out the Glitter Cat website for application requirements and additional information.