Eight Southern California coffee roasters and 16 Southern California baristas will participate in a brewing challenge tomorrow, June 3, at Bird Rock Coffee Roasters, and Chuck Patton, owner and principle roaster of Bird Rock Coffee Roasters, will be representing La Jolla in the challenge. The event will start at 5 p.m. at 5627 La Jolla Blvd. Patton describes his relationship with coffee beans as passionate, nurturing and obsessive. At the roasting challenge, each roaster will contribute one coffee, and baristas will be randomly paired to collaborate and find the best of three extractions and brew methods for their particular coffee. Judges include Mike Perry, named “Roaster of the Year” in 2009 by Roast Magazine, and Sally Rivera from Café Imports, a leading importer for premium, fair-trade coffee. Patton’s roasting career started in 2001 with a home coffee roaster given to him by his wife. He then moved on to a one-pound capacity roaster and a farmers market stand, home deliveries and a small kiosk in back of an Albertson’s in Pacific Beach. He now roasts beans on-site at his Bird Rock coffee shop. Patton is a former community college English teacher and a slide guitar player. In his spare time, you can find him drinking good beer and perfecting the art of pork-smoking. He lives in La Jolla with his wife, Elke, and his Australian shephard, Roscoe.