Shae Macnamara of Grinders Coffee is the 2016 Australian Coffee in Good Spirits (CIGS) Champion. The coffee community gathered at Panama Dining Room in Melbourne’s Fitzroy on 10 March as the Australian Specialty Coffee Association (ASCA) hosted Australia’s best mixology baristas create coffee based cocktails.
“It’s unbelievable to be this year’s national winner. I’ve worked as a barista for the past 17 years and the whole time I’ve watched people win these competitions – people I aspire to be like – and now I’ve won,” said Shae, Grinders Coffee National Coffee Ambassador.
For his routine, Shae produced an Irish coffee and a signature drink called a Woodfire Flip. This consisted of Auchentoshan’s Three Wood whisky and a Costa Rican Caturra honey-processed coffee from Finca Las Julias, put through a customised cold drip.
Mikael Jasin of Operator 25 café won second place and Will Priestley of Pilgrim Coffee won third place.
In 2014 Shae placed runner up to St Ali’s Matt Perger in the Australian CIGS Championship. Matt went on to win the World Championship title. Shae will now get his turn on the world stage, representing Australia in the 2016 World CIGS Championship in Shanghai, China from 29 March – 1 April.
In the 2016 Australian Brewer’s Cup Championship (BrC), Devin Loong of Melbourne’s Slater’s Bench took home the gold trophy for the second time at Veneziano Coffee Roasters from 11 – 12 March.
In his second win in the Ausrtalian BrC, Devin placed ahead of Code Black Coffee Roasters’ Archie Chiu in second, and Auction Rooms’ David Kim in third.
Devin’s competition coffee was a washed processed Esmeralda Geisha from Panama, which he sourced from The Coffee Collective in Copenhagen. Devin spoke to a number of suppliers before deciding on the single origin, which he prepared using a V60.
“In my routine I used 15 grams of Esmeralda to 250-grams of water,” Devin said. “I used 50 grams of water to bloom, which I then agitated vigorously.”
Devin will represent Australia in the World Brewer’s Cup (WBrC) for the second time, after competing in Rimini, Italy in 2014. This time around however, he’ll be looking to take home the title at World of Coffee in Dublin from 23 – 25 June, 2016.
“When I went to Rimini, Italy in the WBrC my first child was just a few months old,” Devin said. “My wife is due to have our second child very soon – this time we’ll be flying to Ireland with a tiny baby.”
Veneziano Coffee Roasters also hosted the Australian Huhtamaki Cup Tasters Championship at its Richmond venue in Melbourne on 12 March.
For the second year running Hyunsuk “Harry” Ko from Dukes Coffee Roasters won the event. Frankie Shi of Tulip Shi won second place and Michael Raffoul of Monastery Coffee won third place.
In the Cup Taster’s event, speed, skill and accuracy is the name of the game. In a timed atmosphere, competitors must distinguish the odd tasting coffee out of a triangulation from eight flights.
“Some people don’t worry too much about what they eat in a lead up to a competition, but for me, controlling my diet works,” Harry said. “Two months ago I cut out salt and pepper and began to limit my alcohol intake – I’ve been really strict for the past two weeks. By taking these few steps I’m better able to focus on taste and aroma. A clean tongue is important too.”
Harry will also travel to Shanghai, China to compete in the 2016 World CIGS Championship from 29 March – 1 April.
The Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE) will host the last of the national coffee competitions, and one of the most anticipated – the ASCA Australian Barista Championship from 17 – 19 March.
For more information see internationalcoffeeexpo.com
