16
Apr
New Zealand Barista Championship 2011
April 16, 2011, 8:24 pm
What a day, months of training left us anticipating a truly outstanding result and that is just what we saw. 8 competitors in the ring for the 2011 title in this heavy hitting lineup. Here is a run down on how each competitor went.
Arui Zhou, Christchurch
Starting off the day, Arui (Chloe) had a good performance, beating the nerves of first performance to bring a coconut based espresso beverage from a good combination of flavour notes shown through her espresso and cappuccino.
Nick Clark, Wellington
Congratulations to Nick from Flight Coffee for his 3rd place. He presented a tremendous routine worthy of notable placement. Nick’s success was due to obvious skill coupled with great coffee, using a blend of Sumatran and the popular, yet expensive, Nekisse from Ethiopia. Well done.
Ben Boyle, Auckland
A true Auckland hero in the coffee world. Ben has done a lot to raise the standard of coffee in Auckland through his cafe and now through the representation in the finals. A solid performance enhanced with the Nekisse origin, Ben gave us notes of lemon, ginger and cardamom. The cold drip palette cleanser was a definite, tasty highlight. Proud to watch, it was an awe inspiring watch.
Aymon McQuade, Wellington
It would seem that you don’t need to be a full-time barista to do well in the barista champs… Aymon, a coffee sales rep, placed 2nd with an engaging routine. His strong story humanizing coffee origins and a well rounded technical performance proved a winner come announcement time. Well done Aymon.
Max Chao, Auckland
AKA Max the Baker was the winner of the Auckland regional contest and showed another great performance here at the finals. Utilising his baking prowess Max included cream and cherry into his signature, flavours he believed matched his Brazil Moreninha closely. A very good effort and a pleasure to watch.
Massimo Capellino, Wellington
Massimo was a successful recipient of one of two wildcards awarded after the regional heats. Massimo brought the Chemex brew method into his routine and utilised this for a coffee taster and a portion of his signature beverage. Massimo produced some good coffee on the day and was happily supported by his local crowd.
Hideyuki Kono, Christchurch
A huge congratulations to Hide for 1st place. Hide told me prior to the comp of the enormous effort from 6 months to now that he had put into the routine and was determined to pursue the national title even after the impact of the Christchurch earthquake. Hide was relatively unscathed by the earthquake but told of his Uncle being one of the 400 in Japan that is working relentlessly on the nuclear uncertainty – prayers are with you and your family Hide.
Hide’s performance was remarkable, and why shouldn’t it be, he is a remarkable barista with coaching available to him from previous champion and boss Carl Sara, he couldn’t go wrong. Roasting and sun drying nectarine to work harmoniously into his signature beverage was an epic move, that and flawless cappuccino and espresso elements were most definitely a winning combo.
Jenna Brom, New Plymouth
Syphons are used for more than just coffee as Gemma proved to us through her routine by brewing berries instead. Utilizing her knowledge as a trainer, Gemma pulled off a great performance that was elegant in it’s simplicity.
Congratulations….
Must therefore go to Hideyuki Kono, Aymon McQuade and Nick Clark for thier podium finish. Check back soon as photos will be loaded…
