The same as last year, two Become A Barista competitions for school students were held in 2014 – one at the Gold Coast Show and the other at Blue Sky Coffee in Brisbane.
For the 4th year, Blue Sky Coffee once again hosted the Brisbane event and sponsored the beans. Again Geoff Michelmore from Espresso Mechanics set up the workstations and Dairy Farmers sponsored the milk. We are so grateful for the wonderful support from the coffee industry for our school barista competition.
Judges were Alex Milosevic and Danny Andrade (Blue Sky), Jolie Beckett and Bianca Martin (Mantle and Moon), Sherrie Smith (Abrisca Coffee) and Karen Puryicky (South American Bean). With 6 new judges from across the coffee supply chain, including green bean importers, roasters, baristas and trainers, a more diverse experience is provided for the students.
Blue Sky Coffee also added a social media campaign this year, with an Instagram competition resulting in teachers, sponsors and students all joining in the fun. The idea was that the person who got the most ‘likes’ at the end of the day would win a prize. Prizes for the Instagram competition were donated by Blue Sky Coffee and prizes for competition winners were donated by BaristaTools and Coffee Education Network.
The 9 participating schools and colleges were …
- Brown Plains State High School
- Grace Lutheran College
- John Paul College
- Marsden State High School
- Northside Christian College
- Runcorn State High School
- San Sisto College
- Westside Christian College
- White’s Hill State College.
There were 16 competitors and the winners were …
- Daniela Cveticanin (John Paul College) – overall winner
- Adrienne Ruedinger (San Sisto College) – runner up
- Daniela Cveticanin (John Paul College) – highest technical score
- Chantayjah O’Dowd (Marsden State High School) – best espresso (sensory)
- Daniela Cveticanin (John Paul College) – best cappuccino (sensory)
- Zac Crank (Northside Christian College) and Daniela Cveticanin (John Paul College) – a tie for best signature beverage (sensory).
Last but not least, we thank the teachers for all they do to get their students to the competition. Special thanks goes to Leanne Warner for helping to promote the event to the schools and for bringing a group of her students to help with the logistics of running such an event.