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Bean Scene: National Barista Championship

Imagine a jittery, caffeine-fueled room, full of smells, colours, steams, skinny jeans, molded quiffs, hip-hop and coffee. Welcome to the bean scene.

Australia’s elite baristas came together this weekend in the Shangri-La of coffee, Melbourne, Victoria, to compete in the 2013 National Barista Championships (NBC). Competitors from each state and territory vied for prestige, cash prizes, and a one-way ticket to the 13th Annual World Barista Championships (WBC) held in May.

The Melbourne Showground combined the famed bohemian café culture of Victoria and the traditional bravura of Italy in a medley of sights sounds and information.

Since its conception the WBC has played a large role abroad. Beginning originally in Vienna, the competition quickly spread throughout European, North American and most recently Asian café scenes. The championships aim to cultivate growth and excellence within the barista profession, as well as encourage advancement in knowledge and expertise of specialty coffee.

This year’s NBC was geared towards funk, hip-hop and soul in the coffee scene. Competitors not only brought the noise when it came to knowledge of the beans, origins and brew methods, but also provided a few laughs with backstage antics and on stage flair.

Moving through the stalls on the day allows you to experience the subtle (and delicious!) distinctions between brew methods.

Each bean has its beginnings, some picked in the high altitudes of the Central American rainforest, while others grown and milled in the rolling mountains of the South Indian states. Each plantation is unique from one another, every crop made distinct by changing climate conditions, ranging altitudes, soil quality and level of care used by farmers.

Contender Caleb Evans from the ACT, 25, found the time to provide a debrief on what the event means to him.

“Competing and consistently improving boosts the image of a company in the eyes of other baristas/states. The prestige of a win pumps up the credibility of the company… so every company wants a champion!”

Evans assures the spectators that while a win is great for the private business, the competition is all about the public and the industry.

“Every good barista would love to debrief the customer on origins, techniques and flavours, but it’s just not possible during peak café periods.

“[At NBC] barista’s can provide a level of engagement that’s more educational in style, rather than service based. It’s all about sharing the passion, and getting people to experience the ‘real’ specialty coffee.”

To experience the emotion, passion, techniques and fun I was able to walk away from the competition with a new respect for the industry, a new love of coffee, and a new Aeropress!

Final Results

Cupping (Tasting coffee and identifying type)

1st Elisha Mauger
2nd Lauren Stokes
3rd Jonny Piscinelli

Latte Art (All the pretty pictures!)

1st Jen Mark
2nd Ben Murrow
3rd Scott Luengen

Brewers Cup

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(Techniques going further then the machine)

1st Lockland Ward
2nd Jamie Thompson
3rd Eva Shao

Barista (Anything goes!)

1st Matt Perger
2nd Craig Simon
3rd Sasa Sestic

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