Angus Mackie of Ona Coffee has won the Australian Specialty Coffee Association (ASCA) 2019 Central Region Barista Championship for the second year in a row.
Representatives from Ona Coffee rounded out the top three positions, with two-time Australian Barista Champion Hugh Kelly placing second, and Joao Carlos Henriques placing third.
The competition was held at Specialty Coffee Curators in Marrickville, New South Wales from 27 to 28 October.
On stage, Angus used a washed SL34/SL28 coffee from the Nyeri region of Kenya. His performance focused on the tasting systems and how flavour is generated. For his espresso, Angus used custom built temperature gauges to guide the judges through their taste experience.
For the milk course, Angus used an Ethiopian heirloom varietal and textured his milk with The Milk Cloud steamless machine.
For his signature beverage, Angus calibrated the judges’ palates by instructing them to smell melted chocolate before tasting his beverage. He also asked the judges to apply nasal strips to the bridges of their noses, to open their air passages and allow for a better aroma experience.
“There’s so much that happens in the experience of drinking coffee, so many variables,” Angus says. “I call them ‘post-extraction’ variables.
“By guiding the judges through this and thinking about our tasting system, we can better understand the flavours that we have in the cup and create a better taste experience.”
The event also included the ASCA 2019 Central Region Brewers Cup, Latte Art, and Cup Tasters Championships.
Yanina Ferreyra of Project Origin placed first in the ASCA 2019 Central Region Brewers Cup, while Isaac Kim of Ona Coffee placed second, and Chanho Hong of Normcore Coffee placed third.
Yanina used a carbonic maceration-processed Ethiopian heirloom coffee, from the Project Origin CM Selections. The coffee, Jasper 0418, was created using controlled fermentation processes in the Zb Washing Station in Guji, Masina.
In her performance, Yanina spoke about her experiences as a barista and green bean buyer, particularly about how experimental processing can be a risky venture for coffee producers.
Jibbi Little of Jibbi Little Coffee won the ASCA 2019 Central Region Latte Art Championship for the fifth time. Alice Park placed second, and Li Tao of Tonic Espresso placed third.
Jibbi’s designs, named Little Red Riding Hood, Fantastic Mr Fox, and The Lion and the Mouse, followed a fairy tale theme.
Nuno Park placed first in the ASCA 2019 Central Region Cup Tasters Championship, Frankie Shi of TulipShi Specialty Coffee placed second and Kamin Sumi placed third.
Nuno correctly identified eight out of eight coffees in four minutes and six seconds.
Related stories:
- Tilly Sproule wins ASCA Northern Region Barista Championship for fourth time
- Jack Simpson of Axil Coffee Roasters wins ASCA Southern Region Barista Championship
- Zhao Ting Wu of Cote Terra wins ASCA Southern Region Latte Art Championship
- Devin Loong of Ona Coffee wins second ASCA Southern Region Brewers Cup Championship
- Juwon Jung of Mikro Coffee Roasters wins ASCA Southern Region Cup Tasters Championship
- Matthew Smithies of Five Senses Coffee wins 2019 Western Region Cup Tasters Championship
The winners of the four competitions have earnt spots in the ASCA Australian Championships taking place at the Melbourne International Coffee Expo from 7 – 9 February, 2019.
The final regional competition of the 2019 season, the Western Region Coffee Championship, will be held at the Double Shot Coffee Fiesta in Unley, South Australia, from 3 to 4 November.