Latest news with #Hegeman
USA Today
04-06-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Starbucks coffee competition draws top baristas for latte art, blind tasting challenges
Starbucks coffee competition draws top baristas for latte art, blind tasting challenges Show Caption Hide Caption Starbucks to cut 13 drinks from menu amid restructuring Starbucks cuts 13 drinks from menu, streamlining operations and improving service, with more reductions expected in coming months. Straight Arrow News For the past 15 weeks, Cali Hegeman's life has revolved around coffee. By day, the 22-year-old Starbucks barista crafts lattes and mochas at the Chicago Reserve Roastery. In her off hours, she reads coffee books, listens to coffee podcasts and combs through YouTube for coffee recipes. It's all part of her training for the inaugural Starbucks Global Barista Championship, a three-day event that kicks off June 9 in Las Vegas. Hegeman is set to compete against 11 other baristas from around the world, each showcasing their talents and knowledge of the morning staple through blind coffee tastings, latte art, storytelling, store rush simulations and their own signature beverages. The competition will showcase the winners of Starbucks' regional and Reserve Roastery championships, which featured more than 84,000 baristas. Starbucks named one champion for each of its six regions (North America, China, Japan, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa) and one for each Reserve Roastery location (Seattle, Chicago, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo and Milan). Hegeman was named champion at the Chicago Reserve Roastery last year after competing in front of a crowd full of friends and family holding signs like 'Rally for Cali' and 'You can brew it.' Now, she spends four hours each week working with an assigned trainer to prepare for Las Vegas, perfecting her latte art and writing a script for the storytelling challenge. Hegeman said she adds daily challenges during her regular shift hours as well, such as adding latte art to every tall order. Starbucks unveils 2025 summer menu: See the new food, drink items 'The one thing I'm really missing is the longevity with coffee – I've only been a partner for a little over two years – so I definitely felt that pressure,' she told USA TODAY. 'My roommate thinks I'm crazy, but gosh, probably over 200 hours (have been spent training). It's a lot.' The competition, which takes place during the Starbucks Leadership Experience conference, will be livestreamed on YouTube starting June 9. The winner will be named June 11, with the final four baristas competing in front of an audience of roughly 14,000 Starbucks employees starting at 7:30 a.m. PT.
USA Today
04-06-2025
- Business
- USA Today
'200 hours' of training: How one barista is prepping for Starbucks' global championship
'200 hours' of training: How one barista is prepping for Starbucks' global championship Show Caption Hide Caption Starbucks to cut 13 drinks from menu amid restructuring Starbucks cuts 13 drinks from menu, streamlining operations and improving service, with more reductions expected in coming months. Straight Arrow News For the past 15 weeks, Cali Hegeman's life has revolved around coffee. By day, the 22-year-old Starbucks barista crafts lattes and mochas at the Chicago Reserve Roastery. In her off hours, she reads coffee books, listens to coffee podcasts and combs through YouTube for coffee recipes. It's all part of her training for the inaugural Starbucks Global Barista Championship, a three-day event that kicks off June 9 in Las Vegas. Hegeman is set to compete against 11 other baristas from around the world, each showcasing their talents and knowledge of the morning staple through blind coffee tastings, latte art, storytelling, store rush simulations and their own signature beverages. The competition will showcase the winners of Starbucks' regional and Reserve Roastery championships, which featured more than 84,000 baristas. Starbucks named one champion for each of its six regions (North America, China, Japan, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa) and one for each Reserve Roastery location (Seattle, Chicago, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo and Milan). Hegeman was named champion at the Chicago Reserve Roastery last year after competing in front of a crowd full of friends and family holding signs like 'Rally for Cali' and 'You can brew it.' Now, she spends four hours each week working with an assigned trainer to prepare for Las Vegas, perfecting her latte art and writing a script for the storytelling challenge. Hegeman said she adds daily challenges during her regular shift hours as well, such as adding latte art to every tall order. Starbucks unveils 2025 summer menu: See the new food, drink items 'The one thing I'm really missing is the longevity with coffee – I've only been a partner for a little over two years – so I definitely felt that pressure,' she told USA TODAY. 'My roommate thinks I'm crazy, but gosh, probably over 200 hours (have been spent training). It's a lot.' The competition, which takes place during the Starbucks Leadership Experience conference, will be livestreamed on YouTube starting June 9. The winner will be named June 11, with the final four baristas competing in front of an audience of roughly 14,000 Starbucks employees starting at 7:30 a.m. PT.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Commissioners change one voting place and make two name changes
ANNISTON — The Calhoun County Commission passed a resolution at its Thursday meeting to move a voting place for Ohatchee residents and passed two resolutions for name changes at voting places. Municipal elections will take place on August 26. The Ohatchee Baptist Church will no longer be a voting place. The residents will go to the Ohatchee Senior Center, 7805 AL-77, which is behind the city's town hall and connected to the Ohatchee Public Library. In Piedmont, voters will still go to the same place only with a new name. The recreation building, where voting has taken place under a different name and address, is the Clyde H. Pike Civic Center, 500 Mill Street. Also, a name change for the DeArmanville residents means the voting place is now called the DeArmanville Methodist Church, located at 370 DeArmanville Road. The voters will still go to the same address. Among several resolutions passed that were routine in nature, the commissioners passed a resolution to relinquish the Commission's partial interest with a quit claim deed for the Noble Street Park, 1102 Noble Street. Prior to the change, Calhoun County and Anniston City shared ownership. The change took place because the city has made several improvements to the park and will be responsible for maintaining it. Certifications of recognition and a proclamation were made at the meeting. The commissioners made presentations of recognition to the 4-H students on the Calhoun County Extension Agency's agriculture team. The director of the team is Amy Hegeman who explained the purpose of the trip. 'We took two teams, a junior and a senior team, to the Southeastern Livestock Exposition in Montgomery,' she said. 'They competed in the Youth Livestock Judging Contest.' Previously, the students had prepared for the competition at the Calhoun County Ag Center and learned the best ways to evaluate an animal's structure and muscles. The purpose of the trip, Hegeman said, was to judge how well the students had learned to evaluate cattle, swine, sheep and goats. At the competition, they were scored on how closely their scores compared to the animals' official rankings. Several of the students described the experience and thanked the commissions for their support and for providing a van to travel to the event. The commissioners also read a proclamation recognizing April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. They presented the proclamation to Courtney Clark, Calhoun County's director of the Department of Human Resources that focuses on preventing child abuse. The proclamation, presented by commissioner Danny Shears, read in part, 'We can build a future where every child grows up safe, healthy and filled with hope.' Clark thanked the commissioners. 'Child abuse is a hundred percent preventable,' she said. 'It takes each one of us for that to happen, and Calhoun County DHR is here 24-7. If you see something, say something. We're available and on call, even after hours. Make a report, even if you don't think it's something, let us investigate it, assess it, and determine if the report is legit to make sure that these kids of Calhoun County are safe.' Other staff members at DHR who attended the proclamation ceremony were Nena Poe, senior special work supervisor; Patricia Anderson, caseworker; Brandi Welton, program supervisor; and Britney Moman, program supervisor.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Winter Carnival to bring the Ellicottville community together this weekend
ELLICOTTVILLE, N.Y. (WIVB) — Even though the clocks spring forward this weekend, there's still time for skiers and snowboarders to hit the slopes at Holiday Valley in Ellicottville. They have events planned all month long, including this weekend with their Winter Carnival. 'We'll see thousands of people there this weekend,' said Dash Hegeman, Director of Marketing with Holiday Valley. 'It's a little weather dependent, but even when the weather is not perfect, people come out for this.' From live music, to their annual snow bar, to face painting, ice cream socials, and skiing competitions, there are events planned for all ages on Saturday and Sunday. With the consistent cold temperatures and around 180 inches of snowfall so far this season, Hegeman says this winter has been night and day compared to the last two. 'I would encourage anyone that hasn't been happy with this winter to start skiing and snowboarding and then they'll be happy with it because it has been fantastic,' Hegeman said. 'When we're successful, the village is successful and vice versa. We're stoked to be able to do our part to bring people into this Western New York community.' 'Our goal is to bring people into Ellicottville, we want them to stay the weekend, we want them to shop, we want them to dine, we want them to come down during the week too and make a whole vacation out of it because we are a resort and destination,' Barb Pump, executive director of Ellicottville's Chamber of Commerce said. The Chamber of Commerce says their village Mardi Gras weekend traditions, including the Mardi Gras parade, started more than 25 years ago, to bring people into Ellicottville, promote the businesses, and bring the whole community together. 'Holiday Valley Ski Patrol does a collection for the food pantry, and this year–there's going to be a boot collection for Zach Golley, there was a tragedy that happened,' said Pump. 'They are going to be out there this weekend on Saturday, collecting funds for his wife Emily and their daughter Bailey.' Pump says anyone who cannot make it to the parade, but would like to donate, should call the Village of Ellicotville for more information, or donate to the GoFundMe page. The village's annual Mardi Gras Parade will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. For more information on the Mardi Gras and Winter Carnival activities, visit the Chamber of Commerce website here. For future events at Holiday Valley, and hours of operation, visit their website here. Kayleigh Hunter-Gasperini joined the News 4 team in 2024 as a Digital Video Producer. She is a graduate of Chatham University. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
