Apologies to those who are way ahead of me on this one, but if like me your need for well-made coffee makes you cross not just the street, but the other side of town then, read on…
So, there’s a world class barista of the year – well of last year I suppose, as selected at the 2011 World Barista Championship. Now before I go rushing out the door in search of him/her, I’d best pack a suitcase as the 2011 winner was Alejandro Mendez from El Salvador.
Unfortunately I can’t afford the flight this year (sorry Alejandro), but I didn’t have to search too far down the list to find an Aussie: in third place was Matt Preger from Axil Coffee Roasters, Hawthorn, Victoria.
The hunt is now on for our rep for the 2012 World Barista Championships to be held in Vienna in June 2012. All of which means the AustralAsian Specialty Coffee Association (AACA) are on the Nation-wide hunt for this year’s Australian representative, with state-based Coffee Championships being held across the country over the last few months.
Here are the results for NSW:
NSW Detpak Barista Championship
1st Place Trisatya Dharmawan (Mecca Espresso, Circular Quay)
2nd Place Dylan Johnson (Pink Papaya Juice & Espresso Bar & Cassiopeia Specialty Coffee Roasters, Blue Mountains)
3rd Place Toby Wilson (The Wedge Espresso, Glebe @WedgeEspresso )
And for my home state of Queensland:
QLD Barista Championships
1st-Matt Troughton (Dandelion & Driftwood)
2nd-Janelle Kingsley (Dandelion & Driftwood)
3rd-Jean-Paul Sutton (Veneziano)
Now there are a few different categories, including one for latte art (the art bit of which I’m partial to if not so much the latte). Check out their website for full details: www.aasca.com
All of which means I’ll be paying a visit to Dandelion & Driftwood on my next trip to Brissie – I’ve been hearing good things about this place for ages, not to mention the fact that their cakes and biccies always look amazing. I’ll also be venturing to Circular Quay (somewhere I don’t normally associate with great coffee) and popping in to Mecca Espresso.
The state champions will represent their state in the AASCA Australasian Barista Championships, taking place at the 2012 Melbourne International Coffee Expo from 4 – 6 May, with the winner heading to Vienna to vie for the title.
