As the trade show opens, I notice traffic is okay, not great, but not dead either. I see a lot of booths that I want to write about and will, most likely tomorrow. They include Social Coffee Company, Wicked Distribution / Intelligentsia, Transcend's booth, a few Toronto area coffee roasters, and one or two other places (Krups has an interesting display). Internet connectivity is, as per usual for trade shows - in other words, horrible. I'm using my iPhone's tethering ability, but uploading images is painfully slow. I may have to stick to text entries for the day, then upload photos this evening from the hotel.

The barista competition is going on and I'd have to say this year's lineup is the strongest of all time as far as the CNBC goes. I just got a look at Rob Kettner's setup and it is staggering. Judges will be looking at full taste profiles right in front of them as part of their stage setup, and he's using all custom-wood devices including cold drip brewers. I'll put some photos up this evening.

I'm getting a bit psyched up for my entry into the cup tasters' competition, coming up in about 1 hour. More later. I have a heap of photos and more proper entries, but I may have to upload them later today.