In its 5th year the Brisbane Become A Barista competition was staged at a new venue – Di Bella Coffee. The Gold Coast competition, now in its 3rd year, remained at the Gold Coast Show.
Thanks to Raihaan Esat and his team at Di Bella we had a new venue for the Brisbane competition. It was a bit ‘squeezy’ with 11 competitors, 6 judges, a dozen or more teachers and other onlookers in the training room, but a very successful competition none the less. The small space meant that everyone was up a lot closer to what was going on, and the students reported how much they were able to learn from each other because of this.
Lots of new industry supporters came along to find out what the Become A Barista competition is all about. Judges were Raihaan Esat (Di Bella Coffee), Michaela Gerard (Grinders Coffee), Danny Andrade (Blue Sky Coffee), Dave Hawley (South American Bean), Bianca McCarroll (Mantle and Moon) and Chie Dahms (a freelance barista).
Due to the tireless efforts of the teachers involved, there was an improvement in the standard of beverages presented. Extractions were generally good, milk skills were improving and with the change of World Barista Championship rules from cappuccino to milk beverage, there was greater diversity in the beverages served. Particularly impressive, was the preparation of workstations ahead of time, with fewer performances going overtime.
Most of the students were relaxed and keen to talk about what they do. A lot of thought had gone into their choice of signature beverages and seemingly the message is getting though that they don’t have to have milk and cream! Seemingly too, someone said a martini glass is a good idea as there were plenty of those this year!
Schools and colleges represented in the 2015 Become A Barista were …
- Browns Plains State High School
- Dakabin State High School
- Emmaus College
- Marsden State High School
- Northside Christian College
- North Lakes College
- San Sisto College.
The teachers are to be congratulated for all the work they put into getting the students prepared for the competition. And for all the jobs they do on the day as timekeepers, ushers, runners, recorders of results etc. We especially thank Leanne Warner for her support in promoting the event. Also Sharon Flux, a retired teacher, for sitting at her laptop all day entering the scores as they come in. She has done this tirelessly on her own ear after year, but this year she had the support of Michelle Harris.
Winning students were …
- Jessica Hazelton (Marsden State High School) – overall winner
- Ben Gibson (Northside Christian College), Emma Tobler (North Lakes Christian College), Soraja Batlak (Browns Plains State High School) – 3-way tie for runner up!
- Ainsleigh Johnson (Emmaus College) – best technical score
- Ben Gibson (Northside Christian College) – best espresso
- Ben Gibson (Northside Christian College), Emma Tobler (North Lakes Christian College) and Soraja Batlak (Browns Plains State High School) – the extraordinary co-incidence of a 3-way tie for best milk beverage
- Jessica Hazelton (Marsden State High School) – best signature beverage.
Lastly, here are some highlights of the performances …
