Mark your calendars! Two big coffee events coming up soon...

Barista magazine recently put out a nice summary of upcoming coffee events that I thought a few people here might appreciate knowing about if they don't already. I'll include the basics in this post, but please feel free to click through for more detail.

1. Coffee Fest Chicago 6/8-6/10 - This sort of thing makes me wish I still lived in the Windy City! Son Ton, will you be able to attend?

"For the many who have always complained about Coffee Fest Chicago always taking place in the cold month of February, now’s your chance to experience it in the early summer! Navy Pier will be hopping both outside and in, as Coffee Fest rocks the Windy City from June 8–10. And not only is the trade show floor at Coffee Fest Chicago going to be exciting, but so will the New World Latte Art Championship, taking place in the mornings before the show floor opens. The 64-barista competition pits baristas against each other in pairs, the better pour of the pair going on to the next round. To see the list of competitors and the head-to-head battle pairs, go HERE and download the bracket."

2. 2012 World Barista Championship (Vienna) 6/12-6/15 - ROASTe isn't a sponsor this year, I see. Noteworthy: Counter Culture's Katie Carguilo is set to take the stage 6/12 at 9:36 a.m. EDT (did the time zone conversion for you; see this schedule, where her name is misspelled).

"The SCAE is hosting the WBC this year, and they have some big shoes to fill (hmmm… not sure about how this analogy is working) given that the FNC in Colombia blew it UP last year when it hosted the WBC in Vienna. Hopefully the SCAE is up to the task! The World Barista Championship begins June 12, with day one of the preliminary round. At the end of the day on June 13, the semifinalists will be announced, and the semifinal round will commence on June 14. Then, we’ll find out who our six finalists will be, and the finals round of the 2012 WBC will kick off on Friday, June 15. If you’re not going to be in Vienna, you can check out all the action live online on the World Barista Championship’s official website. Also, Barista Magazine is excited to have produced the official WBC Event Program for Vienna. We’ll have thousands of copies to give away to all attendees of the WBC and the SCAE, but if you want to follow along at home, be sure to check Barista Magazine’s website to see the whole program as a pdf, beginning June 11!"