Melbourne is Australia’s Coffee Capital, Wins State of Origin Barista Comp
Announcement posted by Harvest Ideas 27 Sep 2011
Victoria won a fiercely contested state versus state barista competition in Sydney earlier this month.
The inaugural winners of the Da Vinci State of Origin team challenge included two award-winning baristas from Veneziano Coffee, proud sponsor of the Victorian team.
The Victorian team is: Erin Sampson, current Australian Barista Championship runner-up and Victorian team captain as well as Craig Simon, finalist in the same competition; Remy Shpayzer from Eclipse, owned by Joseph Haddad of Cafenatics fame; and Ronald Ngo from the Five Senses roasting team.
The state of origin concept involves the four best baristas from each state making 30 coffees in twenty minutes, replicating a busy cafe environment.
The round robin competition has judges using temperature, presentation and taste as criteria and each nominates their preferred beverage, with the winner being the team with the most points.
At the end of the heats, the finalists were ACT and Victoria, with Victoria winning a nail-biting final by only four points. The final score read Victoria 17, ACT 13.