4 May 2008

ACT Barista Championships

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Recently on 19-20 April 2008 the Canberra leg of the 2008 AASCA (AustralAsian Specialty Coffee Association) Championship Circuit was held at the Parvaiz Café in Forrest. Congratulations go to Patrick Connolly (not sure where he works – anyone?) ACT’s new Barista Champion. Runner up was Bobby from Gus’s café. Couldn’t find a list of all the placings.

Given the number of posts that coffee stories seem to generate this one might interest a few.

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thanks for the feedback “Canberra resident” and yes i do work there! and i am sorry to say we didn’t find your note you left us.

p.s, CR “barista” is the italian word for a person working in a bar. In Italy a “bar” does not have the same connotations as here, a bar in Italy is like a local cafe’, where you can buy coffee, have breakfast, croissants, danishes, you stop for a beverage of some type (can also be alcoholic), you can also play lotto, buy cigaretts….but mainly it’s a place where you get a coffee, and you usually drink it standing up at the bar/counter. And a barista is the person who serves you the coffee and works behind the bar…So yeah, i suppose here in Oz, barista is just a “cool” way of saying “coffee maker”…. i hope that gives you a bit of context….

The God’s Cafe’ at ANU make the best coffee on campus….

Pat Connolly (the ACT winner) works at the Psychodeli cafe on Barry Drive.. he is a champ and makes a great coffee!

Gungahlin Al7:12 am 05 May 08

Well the bloke running the Mmmm coffee cart out at the Cotter picnic grounds on Sunday would not have won a thing.
Simply one of the worse and weakest coffees I’ve ever been served…

CR, ta. I have my moments.

guy who came third works at the “as you like it” cafe. that’s at the street theatre just on the edge of ANU

CanberraResident8:16 pm 04 May 08

aaahhh, thanks el, I understand now.

Very clever Spidey, lol.

CR: The barista is the person making the coffee.

Barista Championships

I thought you were talking about “Lawyers”

That would be an interesting battle….who could plea bargin the quickest…lol

First we had “iron Chef”, now we have “Iron Barister”

Now back to the topic… Hmmmm COFFEE…

CanberraResident5:36 pm 04 May 08

This barista label is always interesting – to me it’s just coffee.

Went to Coffee Guru in Cooleman Court once. Place was filthy, dirty tables, disgusting and littered floor, hardly any patrons, mid afternoon, staff standing behind the front counter talking, unfriendly, expensive, garbage tasting coffee – will never go there again. I left them a little note on a white napkin telling them what I thought … hope they found it.

Cafe Yala, Reid CIT has the best coffee in town. Super service. I go there about once every three months and I can’t wait to get my cappuccino. Very nice indeed and no bitter after taste.

So then, can someone define barista? Is it the machinery or the way its made? I have no idea.

I was there supporting a competitor.

It was a long day with 14 competitors (13 male, 1 female). Most were twentyish employed as baristas in Canberra. (One could say there are many more than 14 coffee shops in Canberra, maybe that’s why much of Canberra coffee is pretty bad).

For the barista competition, each contestant is given 15 minutes to make four cups of three different coffees – cappuccino, espresso and their own invention or signature drink. Scores are awarded for taste, style and technical use of the machinery. There is a panel of judges, and they take to the coffee much like wine tasters do to, uhhh, wine.

There were also Latte Art & Cupping competitions in the championships but these were not held in Canberra this year.

Not sure where Patrick works, and a total list was published on the day, but I also don’t know where to find it now.

Some other competitors were Audrey who works in Russell during the week, and Lincoln who works at Coffee Guru Tuggeranong on weekends (the one near Good Guys). Get them when they are not rushed & you will get a good cup.

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