Spro Pro, a new industry event with an embedded competition, is launching for baristas who live and breathe the craft.
Tim Sweet, National Equipment Specialist at Sanremo Australia, has worked in coffee since he was 14. Embedded in the industry, he knows a thing or two about what it takes to make a great barista.
Leveraging his more than two decades worth of industry expertise, which includes stints on a coffee farm, Tim is complementing Australia’s barista competition scene with his own event designed to celebrate the profession.
Spro Pro will provide a platform for baristas to demonstrate their raw skill without having to worry about nerves.
“There are a lot of baristas, much like myself, who have a problem with nerves when they’re in a stage environment. I wanted to create a very comfortable opportunity for them to show off their skills,” says Tim.
“At competition level, I wanted to show who can make a challenging coffee and really highlight the skill and knowledge level of the barista. I wanted to create a competition that was a relatable representation of the profession and, most importantly, accessible to all.”
After trialling the event with much success in Los Angeles in the United States, Tim is bringing Spro Pro to Stitch Coffee Roasters in Alexandria, Sydney, on 13 December – with Melbourne and Brisbane legs in the pipeline.
The concept has been percolating in Tim’s mind for nearly a decade. He floated the idea with Barista Group founder Joe Chalhoub, who helped fine tune the event and has come on board as its primary sponsor. As part of the partnership, the barista equipment provider will supply an Etzmax precision gravimetric grinder, DiFluid refractometer, and The Force Tamper to the first-place winner.
“We have talked at length about the industry over many years. Joe and I have a lot of synergy with our theories, ideas, and philosophies of coffee and what we wanted to do with the event,” says Tim.
Spro Pro has been designed to be a social activity, with its core aim to connect consumers to the industry and grow their appreciation for baristas’ craft. To encourage people to engage, Tim has created an almost party-like vibe and a range of off-beat activities.
“There’s no entry fee to get in – everyone is invited. It’s going to be an open community event with a live band and DJ. There’s also going to be a tattoo artist on site.”
As well as celebrating the skill of the barista, Tim says Spro Pro is also dedicated to the community, with proceeds going to charity Youth off the Streets. All vendors are encouraged to donate a portion of their takings from the night to the charity that supports young people in need.
Part of the charity’s output is encouraging people from troubled or disadvantaged backgrounds to seek and pursue careers in coffee.
“There are no gates of entry at the event and there’s no ticketing. Baristas don’t have to pay anything to compete. Everyone who attends is contributing to a great cause – whether they’re purchasing drinks, enjoying food, or getting a tattoo,” he says.
“The idea is that everybody who turns up has a very enjoyable time and gives back to the community in more ways than one. It’s a way to really connect the consumer to the industry, but also challenge pre-existing and emerging theories of extraction without bias, where taste is the only thing that matters.”
To make Spro Pro stand out from other coffee competitions, Tim has shaken up the traditional format. Four judges, comprising two people from the industry and two people from outside the industry, will judge the coffees from a consumer perspective.
“Some judges are going to be people that have 10 years of experience in the industry, and some will be people that walked in off the street,” he says.
“They’re going to be judging the coffee purely from an extraction point of view – from how a consumer would assess a coffee. Everybody has to work with the same product and the first round is going to be a coffee that no one’s going to know about. There’s no information provided.”
The coffee will be a single origin and competitors will have to dial it in to taste good as an espresso.
The second round, according to Tim, will be a little more challenging as competitors must use oat milk and a provided coffee blend to make a latte.
During judging, competitor names will remain private and the coffee scored based on the final product alone. Moreover, competitors will be awarded points so they’re not competing against anyone directly.
Tim says this approach to judging and scoring was developed to make it fair and equitable based on feedback from those who took part in the first competition in LA.
“We’ve created a system where it’s impossible to fluke a result and win. Each round, the four judges access the coffee based on points. However, the highest and the lowest score will be removed from judging and the competitor’s final score will be the average of the two middle scores.”
As there’s no real quantifiable measure for extraction, giving the winner the recognition and a platform to be able to speak and educate others on their craft is critical, according to Tim.
“I think giving the winner a platform will elevate the barista field. Whoever’s going to win this competition is going to be very talented and knowledgeable in extraction and they should have an elevated platform to be able to give advice and educate,” he says.
“This is even valuable to competitors that might be knocked out in the first or second rounds. The feedback from the judges can be translated into creating a better coffee and consumer experience. All competitors are going to get something out of the event.”
In the future, Tim would like to see the champions from America’s West Coast and the champions from Australia’s East Coast go head-to-head in a grand finale.
Above all, Tim hopes Spro Pro will form a connection between the consumer and the barista.
“The event will spotlight baristas who have dedicated their life or career to being a working barista and is a great way to bring the industry and consumers together.”
For more information, visit baristagroup.com.au
This article appears in the December 2024 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
