The northside Brisbane Become A Barista competition for high school students took place at Cleanskin Coffee, Brendale. We thank Jason Joffe and his staff – for providing the space, machines and beans.
This competition attracted students from far and wide across Brisbane for the following schools …
- Calamvale State High School
- Dakabin State High School
- Genesis Christian College
- Murrumba State Secondary College
- San Sisto College.
Following a brief calibration, the judges were able to rotate over the 12 performances. Thank you Paul Holiday (Coffee Education Network), Taylor Heslop and Chie Dahms (freelance baristas), Kayla Hanna (Xtracted Espresso Solutions), Lucas Marciniak (Jacobs Douwe Egberts) and Edwardo Walther (Minas Hill) for the fine effort in judging so many students in so short a time – and the team of teachers who kept the program flowing as runners, timekeepers and workstation managers
The staff at Cleanskin had everything well set up before we arrived, so we could start on time. Here’s a snapshot of the first 6 performances …
Although there were a few nerves prior, during their performances, students seemed relaxed and confident. Some of the techniques performed were only learned a few months ago. What continues to amaze me too, is how well these students perform using machinery they’d never used before. With just a short explanation and a little practice prior, they manage very well.
And here’s a snapshot of the second 6 performances…
The winners were …
- Brandon Nugent (Dakabin State High School) and Rachel De Weldon (Murrumba State Secondary College) – a tie as overall winners
- Ryley O Callaghan (Genesis College) – highest technical score
- Nikki Taylor (Murrumba State Secondary College) – highest technical score
- Nikki Taylor (Murrumba State Secondary College) – best espresso
- Nikki Taylor (Murrumba State Secondary College) – best milk beverage
- Brandon Nugent (Dakabin SHS) – best signature beverage.
Here are some of the results of the performances …
Following the competition, Taylor gave a demonstration on how to construct a signature beverage in line with industry trends – one without the use of milk or cream. First of all, he explained the importance of maintaining coffee as the primary flavour and using ingredients that complement the particular flavour profile of the coffee you’re using.
He went on to make a simple signature beverage by adding freshly squeezed lime juice, sugar syrup and soda water to a chilled espresso. He poured it into a glass over ice. He explained the role each of the three components played – with the lime juice adding acidity, the sugar syrup adding sweetness and the soda water adding body. He said the proportions of each are something you need to experiment with to get the balance right; balance of acidity, sweetness and bitterness being the key factor in the construction of any signature beverage. Thanks Taylor; the students learned a lot.
