Last time we talked to Washington, DC–based barista Katie Carguilo, she was working on her signature coffee drink in advance of the Regionals competition.

Carguilo emerged triumphant from that round, and is now preparing for the United States Barista Championship in Long Beach, California, on May 4. In this follow-up podcast, Carguilo explains how she’s kicking her signature drink up a notch: upgrading her ingredients and considering puréeing cherries onstage, for flair.

Carguilo has her eye on her competition. Will last year’s winner, Matt Riddle of Chicago’s Intelligentsia Coffee, keep his crown? Or will Billy Wilson of Albina Press in Portland, Oregon—the Susan Lucci of the USBC—finally win? Check back here in May to find out how Carguilo fared.