Team GB, Scandinavian cuisine & a continental hunt for milk!

For the second of our two part blog series looking at the highlights of 2014, Reece gives us a glimpse into life on the road as The Barista goes continental!

Life on the road with The Barista is one of fun, friendship and hard work, and 2014 was the year I bid a brief farewell to the UK and said ‘Hola!’ to my first international event at The World Mobile Congress – the world’s largest mobile industry exhibition.

Previous company experience, knowledge of working at overseas events and in Barcelona, and a lot of planning and preparation beforehand just left us with the task of sourcing fresh milk (or “leche frescha”) to ensure than our product remained at the highest possible quality.

After Spain came Geneva and Stockholm for a number of world-class medical events and whilst Barca’s La Sagrada Família wins hands down for sightseeing, the Scandinavian cuisine and high-quality coffee shops of the Södermalm district stole my heart completely.

Back in the UK, 2014 was the year I visited 27 different towns and cities. Sometimes I came home in between and sometimes I didn’t – like one week in early September, which saw me travel from Oxfordshire to Wales and then straight up to Manchester and Newcastle, in one long marathon of back-to-back events.

The Oxfordshire event was one of my favourites; it was Swim Britain in the grounds of Blenheim Palace which is quite possibly one of the most stunning places I have ever served coffee. The weather was glorious and we kept the general public well caffeinated between swims, but the real highlight was serving our Northern Espresso to some of the Team GB and Commonwealth swimmers.

2014 was the year we took The Barista to Europe for some of the world’s biggest events. It was the year I learnt “fresh milk” in Spanish. And it was the year Team GB sampled our own Northern Espresso blend. What a year!