Danes Specialty Coffee in Sydney has won the title of Champion Australian Roaster for the first time in the 2018 Australian International Coffee Awards (AICA), putting New South Wales in the spotlight for outstanding coffee production.
“To win an award where we are up against the top roasters from our region is a huge deal for us. Every step of the way, we put everything into making our coffee what it is, and we are so proud to take home an award as prestigious as this,” says Paul Jackson, Danes Managing Director.
Seven Champion trophies were awarded, with three of them going to Danes Specialty Coffee. Other Champion award winners come from Australian Capital Territory, New Zealand and Malaysia.
Opening its first specialty coffee house in 1995, Danes has been sourcing and supplying specialty coffees from the world’s finest estates, resulting in multi award-winning blends and a total of 16 medals awarded in 2017.
Danes also took home Champion Cold Brew for its Ethiopia Kochere and Champion Milk Based Coffee with Mocha Gold.
2017’s Champion Australian Roaster, Bean Roasters was named Champion Direct Trade or Microlot for the Colombia Castillo, featuring pineapple, dark wine, high-cocoa chocolate in a full body and complex flavour mix.
Chiasso Coffee Co. from New Zealand were awarded Champion Filter Coffee with their Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Kochere.
Conducted by The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV), the AICA is the first and only international coffee roasting competition in Australia, receiving 743 entries from 152 local and international coffee roasters in 2018, including coffees from New Zealand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, South Africa, Taiwan, Singapore, Greece, the United States and the United Kingdom.
A total of 210 medals were awarded including seven gold, 61 silver and 142 bronze, over three days of judging which took place at Melbourne Showgrounds from 7 to 9 March, with a panel of industry experts led by Head Judge Melissa Caia assessing the entries.
“The standard of AICA entries overall have improved over the years,” Melissa says. “These types of coffee awards are very important to our industry as a means of receiving industry recognition and understanding the level of coffee quality within the industry. This drives consumers to look for products that have had industry professionals (judges) critique the coffee and give their quality approval. It drives the roasting profession and entrants to keep developing their processes and look for ways to improve the products they are selling.”
2018 Australian International Coffee Awards Champion Trophies
Champion Australian Roaster – Danes Specialty Coffee, New South Wales, Australia
Champion International Roaster – The Roast Things Coffee Roasters, Selangor, Malaysia
Champion Direct Trade or Microlot Coffee – Colombia Castillo, Bean Roasters, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Champion Espresso – Cream, The Roast Things Coffee Roasters, Selangor, Malaysia
Champion Milk Based Coffee – Mocha Gold, Danes Specialty Coffee, New South Wales, Australia
Champion Filter Coffee – Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Kochere, Chiasso Coffee Co (NZ), New Zealand
Champion Cold Brew Coffee – Ethiopia Kochere, Danes Specialty Coffee, New South Wales, Australia
For more information about the Champion Trophy winners click here.