Three local baristas have returned to Sacramento fresh from the 2010 U.S. Barista Championship. Young baristas from Chocolate Fish Coffee and Temple said they were amazed at the level of competition as they went up against 55 other baristas at the competition held in Anaheim last week. The six baristas from other cities who made it to the finals Sunday — people such as repeat winner Michael Phillips of Chicago and second-place winner Chris Baca of Santa Cruz — were easy to recognize from coffee culture magazines and videos. For the most part, the finalists had well over 10 years of coffee-making experience plus skills honed at several nationals, said Ben Lance, the 25-year-old manager of

Three young punk baristas from Sacramento are competing in their first national barista competition this week. Ben Lance, the 25-year-old manager of Temple, and Chocolate Fish Coffee employees Kyle Baumann, 21, and Erik Annonson, 22, left Wednesday for the 2010 U.S. Barista Championship in Anaheim. The competition is being held Thursday through Sunday as part of the 22nd annual Specialty Coffee Association of America Exposition. All three compete in preliminaries Friday to see if they'll go on to semifinals and finals at the coffee geek event of the year. More than 1,000 people may watch from the stands, and others from around the world will watch as the event streams live online. Lance

How well do you know your coffee? From the grinder to the filter (bleached or brown), from the water to the method of brewing (Mr. Coffee or French press), Temple Coffee and master barista Ben Lance have the answer. Thursday, Temple Coffee informed the java-loving public with its "The Art of Brewing" event at the newest 2829 S St. location. The event started off examining the flaws of the common coffeemaker notoriously associated with cramped hotel rooms and finished with what looked liked, at first glance, a chemistry set equipped with Bunsen burner and all. The common home coffeemaker produced a light-flavored cup of coffee that the crowd felt lacked the desired viscosity. As a novice,

Rick Mahan was shaping hand-rolled pizza dough for Friday's lunch rush at his newest restaurant, One Speed, when a customer brought in tomatoes fresh from the garden. The plump red fruit later found its way onto a Caprese salad -- almost as quickly as pizza had made its way into the chef's heart. Mahan said he's been dreaming about creating a pizza place since opening The Waterboy in Midtown nearly 13 years ago. "I've never gotten over my pizza fascination," said Mahan, one of two pizza cooks cranking out pie after pie. "For me, the most satisfying thing to cook from start to finish is pizza. I've cooked everything over the years and I've loved it. This is proving to be a very satisfying