Jack Simpson of Axil Coffee Roasters has been crowned the 2025 Australian Specialty Coffee Association (ASCA) Oatly Barista Champion, claiming the title for the third consecutive year in the head-to-head showdown.
Alongside Jack’s third consecutive win, Gabrel Tan of Veneziano Coffee Roasters earned his third second-place finish in the competition. Former Australian Coffee in Good Spirits runner-up Tony Xie of Plus Two Coffee placed third.
“I’m feeling great after the win, this time felt a bit different from previous years. Lots of hard work went into it from not just me but the whole team here at Axil,” Jack tells BeanScene.
“This routine meant a lot to me as I was inspired by the producer of my coffee, Johnathon Gasca, so to represent him was a privilege.
“It’s hard to wrap my head around going to worlds again, because I was so focused on the national championship. I’ll definitely take the next few days to refocus on the next goal, and hopefully I make Australia proud!”
The finals of the national barista competition took place at CWE in Epping, Melbourne, from 14 to 15 June and saw six finalists battle it out for the chance to represent Australia in the 2025 World Barista Championship in Milan, Italy, in October.
Also competing in the final was Liam Pratt of Extraction Coffee Roasters, Yi (Jason) Gao, and Mohamad Ali Malli of Ona Coffee. The competitors showcased their skills in espresso preparation, milk, and signature beverage rounds and were judged by sensory, technical, and head judges.
Jack’s routine focused on how specialty coffee isn’t just one person or a piece of technology: it’s every piece of innovation and everyone working together, all the way from farm to cup.
“It’s how we use our voice and the relationships we’ve made that establish the value in coffee,” he says.
For the espresso course, Jack used a natural Panamanian coffee from Jamison Savage at Finca Deborah – Nirvana which highlighted tasting notes of blood orange, blackberry, and earl grey tea. For the milk course, he presented a natural Colombian coffee from Jonathan Gasca of Finca Zarza which highlighted tasting notes of sweet cherry and malted chocolate. And for the signature drink course, Jack used another coffee from Jonathan Gasca to highlight notes of pineapple, raspberry kombucha, cola, and peach. He also used honey vinegar and cascara and passionfruit husk to show the value of waste products.
Axil Coffee Roasters has a long history of Barista Champion success, with a total of one World Barista Championship title and seven Australian Barista Championship titles.
