From 12 to 14 October, Coffee Masters – New York 2018 will see Brittany Gunther of Grinders Coffee represent Australia in the multi-disciplinary competition.
This is Brittany’s second time competing in a Coffee Masters event, making the cut for Coffee Master – London 2017 last year.
“I really enjoyed it the first time,” Brittany says. “It’s going to be interesting to see where my skills are at a year and a half later.”
Coffee Masters tests a barista’s skills in a range of categories, including: The Cupping, The Brewing, The Latte Art, The Order Challenge, The Espresso Blend, The Origin, and The Signature Drink.
“It covers all of the areas that you would need to be skilled in to be a really good barista,” Brittany says.
“With barista competitions or the Brewers Cup you’re focusing on one coffee or just preparing espresso drinks whereas in this competition, you get to show your skills in every discipline.”
To apply for Coffee Masters, Brittany had to craft a signature drink that was inspired by New York, and submit a one to two-minute video of her making the drink. She calls her creation The Big Apple.
“One of the single origin coffees that we have in the store at the moment is from the Gera farm in Ethiopia. It has a bold, red apple flavour. That’s the base of the drink,” Brittany says.
“To that, I’ve added vermouth, grapefruit, and a beach plum gin liquor I found. The beach plum is quite a sour plum native to the east coast of America.”
Grinders Coffee says it is proud to have Brittany representing the company, and Australia, at an international level.
“[Grinders] supplied the coffee for me to use in my signature drink,” Brittany says.
“My team in Brisbane has been helping me train and put together my video. Everyone there is really supportive of me and the recipes I’m working on.”
Sixteen applicants from around the world were selected to compete in the event, with other entrants from the United Kingdom, Russia and Puerto Rico.
“Putting yourself in that competition, or any competition really, is a great way to connect with other baristas and coffee professionals, to have conversations with and learn from them,” Brittany says.
Brittany will be heading to New York from Brisbane next week.