Victor Vu from Code Black Coffee has won the Melbourne Precision Smackdown Series.
Andy Wong from Harvest Blend placed second and Troy Ly from Sons of A Pizzaiolo placed third at the smackdown event at Genovese Coffee on 15 March.
Detpak, with the support of Paul’s Professional, have hosted five smackdown events around the country in the lead up to the Melbourne International Coffee Expo.
As the winner of the Melbourne event, Victor receives a $500 cash prize and automatic entry into the Barista & Farmer – Genovese Coffee Selection Final, taking place on the Detpak stand at MICE on 23 March.
In the Final, Victor will join Dee Espinoza of Coffee Hit, Heath Dalziel from Third Time Lucky Coffee, and Cat Bygraves from Secret Buddha Café.
The Final will see 16 baristas go head to head in an elimination format Latte Art Smackdown. Baristas must pour the same randomly-selected pattern for assessment by three judges. The winner will proceed to the next round until just four remain. The top four competitors will then compete in a cup tasting challenge of four triangulations. Each triangle will consist of two identical coffees, and one odd coffee.
Competitors will identify the odd coffee by pushing that cup forward into a selection zone. All four competitors will compete at the same time, and each competitor must raise their hand to signal when they have completed the challenge.
The winner will be the barista who guesses the most correct cups in the shortest time. They will then fly to Colombia to join participants from around the world in the Barista & Farmer program as the Australian representative.
Regional winners have already been decided, however limited places are available to compete in the Final.
The event is only open to amateurs (entrants must not have won any Australian Specialty Coffee Association competitions).
To apply for the chance to win a trip to Colombia, email Simon Craig at Genovese Coffee by 12pm 17 March at simonj@genovese.com.au. Applicants must state their experience, where they work, and why they want to go to Colombia.
By just attending the smackdown at MICE, spectators will also go in the running to win a trip for two to Amsterdam to attend the World Barista Championship. The winner will be announced at the Finals event at MICE.
For more information, follow @detpakpacking, tag #smackmetoWBC and enter www.detpak.com/precisionseries/
