The Australian Specialty Coffee Association (ASCA) has introduced the Community Coffee Champs, a new format for barista competitions across Australia.
The new series will act as the preliminary rounds leading up to the Australian Coffee Championships (ACC), which take place in 2025. The regional competitions will include a Barista Competition, Brewers Cup, and Latte Art Competition. The first event, Northern Territory and Queensland, will take place from 20 to 22 September at Barista Equip Australia in Burleigh Heads, Queensland.
In a post, ASCA said: “This new format isn’t actually new at all, it’s a play on the principles that inspired the first World Barista Championship. These competitions were designed to mimic a real café setting, where the competitor plays the role of the barista behind the counter and the judges play the discerning customers. We’re throwing a competition where competitors from all backgrounds are welcomed with open arms, and given an equal opportunity to move forward to the ACC.”
While the pressure is on at the ACCs to secure a place in the World Championships, the Community Coffee Champs are designed to provide a level playing field and be accessible to all who want to participate. All equipment is provided by sponsors, including tier one sponsors The Alternative Dairy Co. and Oatly, so competitors just need to show up with a bag of their favourite coffee.
For the Barista Competition, participants will need to prepare four espressi, two animal-milk drinks (compulsory use of Riverina Fresh Milk), and two plant-based milk drinks (compulsory use of Oatly Oat Milk).
For the Brewers Cup, participants will present three individually brewed coffees. And for the Latte Art Competition, participants must present two matching animal-milk free-pour macchiati (compulsory use of Riverina Fresh Full Cream Mil), two matching plant-based milk free-pour lattes (compulsory use of The Alternative Dairy Co. Oat Milk), and two matching designer patterns with animal milk (compulsory use of Riverina Fresh Full Cream Milk).
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