A whole week dedicated to coffee events in Melbourne is any coffee lovers dream. The organisers of the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE) have fulfilled such dreams with the Inaugural Melbourne Coffee Week, scheduled just prior to MICE. So our annual pilgrimage to Melbourne has been made all the more worthwhile with two back-to-back coffee events.
Inaugural Melbourne Coffee Week
Melbourne Coffee Week was one big celebration of what Melbourne’s coffee scene has to offer. Coffee companies from crop to cup can register an event that’s then advertised as part of Melbourne Coffee Week with the registration proceeds going to Streetsmart, a charity that supports the homeless. This year too, some of the competitions were staged away from MICE in coffee companies across the city.
The Grinders launch of their revamped Lygon Street store was a highlight of MCW – especially for someone known to chase stories about Australian coffee history. With 80+ Giancarlo Giusto in attendance it was a lovely trip down Lygon Street’s colourful past. Giancarlo came to Australia as a migrant in 1960, eventually pooling resources with a friend to roast coffee for fellow Italians under the Grinders name. His original (and now iconic) red roaster takes pride of place in the new-look store, reminding everyone of its owners’ humble beginnings. Selling to Coca-Cola Amatil 45 years later in 2005, for an undisclosed sum, Giancarlo is now retired.
The Competitions
The Australian Coffee Championships each had a unique vibe being hosted in different locations throughout the city. Six events took place over a week with all the winners being announced on the final day of MICE.
The winners in each category were …
- Australian Barista Champion – Hugh Kelly (ACT)
- Australian Brewers Cup Champion – Devin Loong (Victoria)
- Australian Latte Art Champion – Ben Morrow (Victoria)
- Australian Coffee in Good Spirits Champion – Shae McNamara ( NSW)
- Australian Cup Tasters Champion – Harry Ko (Victoria)
- Australian Aeropress Champion – Georgina Mary Lumb (SA).
Women in Coffee
With the emergence of Women in Coffee groups overseas, it was inevitable that we’d eventually form our own to support each other professionally and personally. And what better way to do so than cheer Tilly Sproule, our Queensland champion, along during her performance in the finals of the Australian Barista Championship.
With talk about forming an Australian chapter of the IWCA, 20 women met on the second morning of MICE to discuss about what’s involved in starting one – what the not-for-profit responsibilities would be and what the IWCA Chapter formation protocol involved. By the end of the meeting it was decided that, considering all, we’d hold off for the time being – until women with both the time and experience in such matters came forth.
Women in most states in Australia and sectors of the supply chain were represented and another outcome of the meeting was the decision to start with informal Women in Coffee groups in each state – to support each other, do some more research and gather momentum for the IWCA or another women’s charity at some time in the future. At the end of the meeting some of us gathered for a group photo.
We caught up with others wandering around the trade show, watching the competitions or at the various social events we attended. To others we said a quick hello on-the-fly as they darted to and from their duties as judges or as participants preparing for their turn on the stage. Two in particular, spent so much time recording the event behind cameras and notebooks, we rarely saw their faces!
Another Women in Coffee initiative saw two of our group receiving the Inaugural Genovese Women in Coffee awards. The awards were an initiative of ASCA (Australian Specialty Coffee Association) in collaboration with the Genovese family – in honour of Eleonora Genovese losing her battle with cancer at a young age. Eleonora had worked tirelessly in the family business that began when her parents, Alfio and Maria Genovese migrated from Italy in 1950 and set up a business ion 1970 with the aim of roasting coffee in the true Italian way. After a dinner to celebrate the occasion, Eleonora’s young son presented awards to Mel Caia for the ‘Australian Coffee Woman of the Year’ and Lucy Ward, for the ‘Rising Star’.
Highlights of MICE
Origin Alley, a dedicated section at the trade show grew out of the increasing number of producing countries attending MICE – possibly in response to initiatives that bring farmers closer to what’s happening at the other end of the supply chain, including the USA’s Cup of Excellence and Australia’s Project Origin. In Origin Alley, you could go from country to country getting a geography lesson of the coffee growing areas and learning about the coffees particular to each.
Roasters Alley attracted the biggest crowd of coffee lovers all on a mission of tasting and photographing as much coffee as they could in a day. I noticed a lot of new roasters I’d never heard of, indicating that growth in this sector is showing no signs of slowing down.
The Sensory Lab stand sported an even larger number of alternate brewing devices that ever before, with interest in non-espresso coffee beverages growing rapidly.
Almost everyone had a new espresso machine or brewing device to show off. We missed a lot, but there were the new Slayer with its marble design, the latest Black Eagle, the La Marzocco Linea PB, the Café Racer, the Faema E91, the Modbar and much more in the espresso range.
Lastly, here’s a snapshot of some old friends and new that we caught up with at MICE 2016.
