BeanScene Magazine

Since 2003, when Paul Bassett thrust Australia into the spotlight of world standard competition, the specialty coffee industry has faced a rapid transformation. Baristas in training have access to online communities, previous winners’ routine videos and a wealth of information in the growing number of world-class Australian judges. Being witness to the creativity and professionalism that was displayed at this year’s National Australian Barista Championship, I could not believe that once again, the bar had been raised.

Eighteen competitors battled it out at the Queensland Food and Wine show over three days, combatting not only nerves and pressure, but the glare of cameras and a live feed streaming globally. Friday showcased the open heats, when any competitor from each state round was welcome to re-enter and using the judges scores, attempt to snare a spot in the semis. Saturday challenged the top five from the open heats against each of the state winners. They were eventually whittled down to six: Craig Simon from Veneziano, Melbourne; Erin Sampson from Veneziano, Melbourne and former Australian Latte Art Champion in 2009; Matt Perger from Melbourne; former NSW Champion, representing Axil Coffee in Hawthorn, Jean Paul (J.P.) Sutton; reigning Queensland Champion, representing Veneziano. Ronald Ngo and; Will Priestly, Tasmanian winner and 2010 Latte Art winner.

Matt Perger took out the top honours this year with a score of 700. A mix of attention to detail, cheeky humor and the mentoring of David Makin, world number two in 2008 and competition veteran, was the perfect recipe to get him across the line. He has altered his entire set up from the Victorian competition three weeks previously. He used a blend comprising of the darling of the state competition this year: The Guatemalan Santa Clara and a pulp natural, Brazil Santa Allina. He was calm and rehearsed as he introduced them to the judges by their first names and suggested that they taste them. Matt was particular with his descriptors, informing the judges that in their espressos, they would find an amber hue. Clara would bring a vibrant cherry and cocoa element to the blend and Elena presented a bizarre, viscous, dark, rich, fruity and sweet sensation to the palate. He then went on to prepare the cappuccinos, where in an unprecedented move, he informed the judges to stir the milk. I snuck backstage and managed to taste a lukewarm cappuccino that was beautifully balanced with a hint of cocoa. For his signature drink, he wanted to replicate the drying process of his Brazil pulp natural. He used a blow torch to simulate the sun and lightly caramelised macerated cherries with castor sugar, added mineral water as a separating agent and then poured his espresso over the top. It produced a short, balanced and sweet addition to the existing flavors in the espresso. To conclude, Matt instructed the judges to finish the beverage in two sips and described what they were tasting as: “one big juicy mouthfeel.” He will be an excellent representative for Australia in Bogota in June being no stranger to hard work and displaying a rare level of professionalism.

Erin Sampson was nipping at Matt’s heels at 687 points. I adored her polished, well organised set up of laser cut metal with sleek lines. She also used one of the most distinctive coffees I have tasted, the Ethiopian dry processed Nekisse and took the judges on a “sensory experience”. She spoke about the Hartman family who grow this coffee and the lengths to which they go to ensure quality, then began her routine by preparing a pourover as one portion of her signature beverage.  She had the judges smell the ground coffee and take in its unique aromas, then organised the other portion of her signature beverage: a heated apricot, apricot nectar, water and honey mixture. While that was infusing, she spoke about the second component of her blend, the Panama Rio Sereno and mentioned that it was processed using the same methods as the Ethiopian Nekisse. It brought body, brightness and cleanliness to the cup. Her espresso had a lovely spicy, anise and licorice element and her cappuccinos presented pronounced flavors of honey and dried cocoa. To finish off the second portion of her signature beverage, Erin added the apricot mixture to a soda stream, that would replicate the sparkling acidity of the blend and topped it off with espresso.

Will Priestley snared third place with a polished, minimalist set up. He got into explaining about the Red Bourbon varietal, which his blend was composed of. The tree has a low yield and high amount of foliage. This presents a coffee with a more complex acid content and an extremely viscous mouth feel. He blended the Brazil Santa Elena pulp natural which tasted of cocoa and dried fruit and a washed El Salvador El Retiro that brought a citrus and orange marmalade element. Sneaking up to the stage, Will gave me an espresso and I hailed it as the best coffee of the day, tasting sparkling orange sherbet and dark chocolate. A lively but really balanced espresso. When added to milk, the blend altered and gave off a particular “hot cross bun” sort of sweetness. For his signature drink, Will wanted to expand on the flavors already present in his coffee. Over heat he added a deconstructed orange (flesh, pulp and peel), water, dark brown sugar and salt. He then layered the orange reduction, added chilled espresso and placed cream on top. Producing what appeared to be a thick, crema laden espresso. Upon sipping I found flavor harmony with a definitive orange overtone and a lingering creamy, sweet finish.

Craig Simon picked the unlucky spot of first up the next morning. Being a competition veteran though, he walked through the whole routine without a glitch. He excitedly described his coffee as an El Salvador El Manzano which was picked and processed three different ways. He used two of these, roasted at different levels to achieve a tart, sparkling, tangerine espresso and a mandarin cappuccino.
He then prepared a Chemex using water and a honey from a coffee farm in Honduras, where they utilise the bees to increase their yield by 50 per cent. He pulled a shot of espresso and then added it to clarify the flavors. The second element of his signature drink was a blood orange jam and cream, heated to represent the body of the El Manzano. When given the opportunity to try, I grabbed an espresso, which was short and spicy with notes of caramel, burnt orange with a heavy body and a roasty finish.

J.P. Sutton was representing his home crowd and also the minority among three Victorians and a Western Australian. He brought a really informative routine with a high energy presentation. J.P. began by introducing his espresso blend as, “The Ultimate.” It consisted of 50 per cent wet hulled Sumatran, 40 per cent Guatemalan and 10 per cent Kenyan Peaberry, all sourced via Sweet Marias. He described it as honey and floral on the nose, sweet and juicy in the cup, with a dry finish. When I tried his blend I noted a huge body, wheaty dry finish with a very Sumatran overtone. The cappuccinos were sweet citrus and Ovaltine malt chocolate. For his signature drink, J.P. tried to reproduce a standout coffee that he tried while at Stumptown in the USA: The Esmeralda Giesha. He presented his signature drink in cupping bowls, strained a candied fruit mixture through a Chemex and served it to the judges with jasmine flowers sitting on top, needing to be scraped much like a cupping bowl.

Ronald Ngo had a beautiful set up. Stained dark wood with dark green Terra Keramic cups with fresh produce for his signature drinks lining the judges table. He used a blend of Kenyan Fairview Peaberry and a Brazilian San roasted by Five Senses. Together they created a blend with stone fruit acidity, silky mouth-feel with a sweet, clean cup. There were also darker notes of caramel, raw almond and butterscotch. The espressos that he presented had a preserved lemon acidity with an element of black currant. For his signature drink, Ron presented in two parts. He wanted to give the judges some insight into the blending process and each of the ingredients used stood out when cupped from his single origins. The first was a heated infusion of almond milk, cloves, sugar and vanilla. This was said to represent the flavor characteristics in the Brazilian. The next was a reduction of blueberries, cranberries, star anise, cinnamon and water. He then instructed the judges to move between the two and taste how they inter-played with one another.

Judging from the level of competition this year, I am already eagerly awaiting the next set of competitors and their unique perspectives on what makes a good routine. The surprising trends that popped up were filter style coffee being presented as a signature beverage, differing dosing and grooming techniques, Ethiopian past crop coffee and banishing the table cloth and instead using custom table toppers.
Keep your eye out for Matt in Bogota, June 2011.