Local talented barista moves on

I write a twice-a-month coffee column for the Herald Times Reporter called Spill the Beans. I discuss all sorts of coffee-related topics. For example, I write instructional articles on how to choose a home coffee grinder or how to cold brew for the best iced coffee, to educational articles about cacao or certain coffee growing regions, to personal reviews of coffees I've had or cafés I've visited. Last week's column was about a fellow barista and friend of mine, Nic Bornemann, who is leaving the coffee world as a workday barista to join the world of cell phones and digital communications.

The HTR published the article I submitted, but edited the piece so that a couple of quotes from Nic were removed. I assume they did it for space considerations (even though it is a very short piece - much less than 400 words), because the article suffers without the quotes and a bit of Nic's voice in there. It's got a little more personality as initially written. So, rather than provide a link to the published piece here's the part of the original article that refers to Nic (it was a two-topic column).

The Manitowoc County coffee community has lost one of its best representatives, and one of a scant few honest-to-goodness baristas. Nic Bornemann, now former general manager of the Red Bank Coffeehouse in Two Rivers, has taken a job managing a couple of Wireless U.S. Cellular locations in Green Bay. Nic sent me an email a few weeks ago telling me that as of June 13th he would be resigning his position at Red Bank Coffeehouse and moving on into the world of personal communication devices.

"After almost 13 years of 'slingin jo' I will tamp and draw my last shot on that day," he wrote. It was not an easy decision for Nic, as he revealed that his heart was heavy over his "contemplating leaving the coffee world."

While I always teased Nic that he was the "second-best barista on the lakeshore" he was, in fact, the only SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) Certified Barista in our area. He and I had both attended the SCAA Coffee Fest convention in Milwaukee a few years ago and took some of the same classes and seminars. Nic, however, went further and took the actual follow-up test. The test is a combination of written exam and physical performance at the espresso machine while being observed and graded by an SCAA Certified Instructor on the various minutia of proper espresso drink preparation and station maintenance. Nic, of course, passed; no doubt with flying colors.

He indicated that while his decision to leave the specialty coffee industry was a very difficult one, the opportunities for both personal and financial growth were too attractive to pass up. "Coffee has always been my passion, but I do feel that it is time I spread my wings and explore the world."

I certainly will miss Nic's presence here in our little corner of the coffee world, as a peer and colleague, and as someone who respected coffee and all of its tangential associations. He has left some big shoes to fill around here. So, here's wishing best of success to the northeast lakeshore's second-best barista. (I'll have the final word on that friendly competition!)