....NSW Barista Champs 2010

Saturday 15th of January 2011 saw the NSW Barista Championships held at NUMERO UNO roasting facility in Beaconsfield, Sydney. I was lucky enough to be asked to help with the sensory judging which was a lot of fun and a great experience for my own coffee making and training.





With ridiculously high humidity on the day the barista's certainly felt the heat - along with the audience who had no option but to grin and bear it while they supported their friend or family member. Even with the pressure of competition and the tricky conditions all of the competitors did a fantastic job and there were some really tasty espressos, buttery cappuccino's and some interesting signature drinks.





















It is awesome as a barista and a coffee lover to hear the stories of other barista and why they are in the coffee industry. Each competitor is required to make 4 espresso, 4 cappuccino's and 4 signature drinks (1 for each of the sensory judges. This process must take place in their 15 min competition time... all while explaining to the judges and audience why they are doing what they are doing, why they love coffee, and any other relevant information --- they basically must sell themselves as the best ambassador for specialty coffee in NSW - potentially Australia - potentially the WORLD.

With only 36 points separating the top 6 baristas, the day was won by Alex Stathis, who challenged the judges with some fascinating coffee chemistry. 





















Top 6 results for the Detpak NSW Barista Champion were:
1 Alexandra Strathis (Numero Uno)
2 Tim Goonan (Michel’s Patisserie-trainer)
3 Salavatore Magro (Pablo & Rusty’s)
4 Andrew Morton (The Source)
5 Lloyd Thom (Toby’s Estate)
6 Sam Sgambellone (Mecca)

Alex will go to the National Championships to take on the best in the country - - - Good Luck Alex

The Detpak NSW Cup Tasting Championship was also held. The four contestants were neck-to-neck until the last cup was checked.

Sam Sgambellone (mecca) took out the comp and will take his silver spoon to the nationals in the Gold Coast.

Special thanks to

• Gina de Brita (Numero Uno) for hosting the event
• all our sponsors for providing the support for the Championships
• Nadja Malovic for organising it all
• Aimen Krayem (Cafetto) for MC’ing
• Saxon Wright for judge calibration and head judging Team One, while Keith headed the A Team
• Phil, Sean, and Breana for technical judging
• Sanchia, John, Paul, Chris, Tobin, Gina, Denis and Dan for sensory judging
• Paul Geshos (Mecca) for preparing all the cup tasting coffees and Dan Yee for helping make it happen
• Jerome for score-keeping in that hot little judges’ room
• Our time keeper and several runners for keeping it all together.

***Results and thanks from AASCA website - thanks Keith Pettigrew

...coffee tastings

Over the last few weeks i have had the pleasurable task of tasting a whole bunch of new origins that we've received on top of our regular orders. Our head roaster Gilles Gabborit was nice enough to batch roast each origin to certain specs and then some work colleagues and I tasted each origin through a Nuova Simonelli, through a Diamond Italia 1 group, through a syphon filter and also cupped. We found some really interesting variations in flavour coming through the different extraction methods. It is also interesting to note that, for example, as a half long black or syphon filter coffee cools down, the prominent flavour will vary also.

I'm sure it would be even more obvious with a blend ---
note to self:
develop a new blend
make a half long black using new blend
taste at two minute intervals and note any variance in taste

Following is the list of origins we tried:

Java “Jam Pit” – excellent body, crisp clean cup of Indonesian characteristics with fruits and spice... great blender

Indian Monsooned Malabar – medium acidity with great body the Malabar is a unique bean. Displays sweet aggressive flavours of roasted nuts and subtle caramel

Guatemalan Antigua “Los Volcanoes” – crisp sparkling acidity with full body, this bean display intense flavours of bitter chocolate and spices

Ethiopian Yirgacheffe – medium bodied bean, extraordinarily bright displaying Kumquat and Jasmine in the cup... fantastic clarity and finish

Ethiopian Harrar – medium acidity and body with a dry earthy fragrance with sweet fruits, spice and fresh ginger

Ethiopian Limu – sweet and clean citrus characteristics... spice concentrates with a delicate floral finish

Zambia “TerraNova” – Exceptionally smooth and full bodied with a sweet creamy mocha and orange flavour in the cup

Nicaragua SHG EP - organic and fairtrade – light acidity with medium balanced body displaying  nut, cocoa and apricot fruit

Honduras “la labor” Organic – Wet processed and a quality focus has produced a clean, crisp cup of distinct and unique nutty tones and herbal spice... excellent body

--- keep them coming!!!

....some espresso shot shots

...our good friend from Noosa on the Queensland's Sunshine Coast took these shots of some sticky looking shots he poured earlier this year.
The photographers name is Jai Gabbard - photographer, film maker, barista and trainer
check out his Vimeo page
http://vimeo.com/1356373