Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE) 2015 – Day 3

Day 3 was a bit of a quiet day for new cafes given the distance I had to travel and the limited amount of time that I had to use before heading to MICE to volunteer again. So even though St Ali was over 13km from where I was staying and all I had to rely on was public transport, I think getting there was an achievement in itself.

IMG_20150314_075728That aside, walking down the finally alleyway to find St Ali, I was both interested in the fit-out and a little disappointed that it was so dark. That aside, with the friendly staff and the reputation preceding it, I was looking forward to the opportunity to give it a go.

I started off with a Guatemalan Finca El Zapote (gesha) espresso, and while ok… it was nothing special. It developed a little sour cheery as it cooled, but wasn’t really what I expected. I then had Ethiopian Wottana Boltuma which certainly was better than the first, but again, not quite what I expected of St Ali. It certainly had light floral notes and a mild citrus taste as it cooled, finishing with a light taste of honey. Not too shabby at all.

IMG_20150314_10081620150314_075334The Colombian El Meridiano bath brew was what you’d hope an American diner coffee would taste like. Stock standard coffee with a slight sweetness as it opened up, but perhaps with some pop corn at the end? Maybe this is a roasting defect, but I’d have to try more to be sure. But as a mac…. well it was chalk and cheese. This Colombian had masses of chocolate and a sweet cheery finish, with a very nice mouth feel and body. Unfortunately I heard from a couple that tried it as an espresso that it was quite lacking, so likely the mac saved the experience.

Finally I had an Ethiopian Wottana filter was was so much better than the espresso from the same coffee. Mases of floral notes with a syrupy clean mouth feel. It was on of the high points of a pretty ordinary experience at St Ali.

So while it was nice to visit St Ali given the number of times that I’ve enjoyed their coffee in Sydney as a guest roast, I am not sure that next time I will go to the effort that I did this time to search them out.

IMG_20150314_184353Once back at MICE, I was able to steal a bit of time and check out the Brewers Cup , Barisitas and Latte Art comps. It convinced me that next year I wan to spend more time being a sensory judge than trekking all over Melbourne seeking out the best coffee. Much better that the best coffee and more passionate baristas from around the country come to me… 🙂 One of the highlights though of MICE was spending time with Hidenori Izaki (Current WBC), James Hoffmann (2007 WBC), and a brilliant chat with Julieta Vazquez (Current Mexican Barista Champion, and who knows… maybe next WBC). Being a #coffeegeek around other coffee geeks is brilliant fun!

<– Day 1 — Day 2 —

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