On a train riding home from #thecoffeeexperience and I feel exhausted but happy. Over the last couple of days, there has been a heap of ASCA competitions that I am happy to say went pretty damm well, all things considered. But more importantly (for me at least) I got to drink a heap of awesome coffee, and what could be better than that?
Of course there is not much new to that you might say, but being able to drink and judge the coffees made by Hugh Kelly of Ona Coffee in the NSW/ACT Barista Championship, and the filter coffee of Simon Jaramillo of the Reformatory Caffeine Lab in the NSW/ACT Brewers Cup, both who won there respective competitions, was a joy. I love passionate baristas, amazing coffee, and the skill that brings them all together, and these competitions had it all.
For anyone considering becoming a coffee judge, I would absolutely recommend it. Sure you get to drink the best coffee available, made by the best baristas, but more than that, you get to learn so much about speciality coffee and the vast chain of people who make that experience possible. For a #coffeegeek like me, having someone feed you with detailed information about the farming, the process, the roasting and then the brew is simply awesome!
The only down side of course (if you want to see it as one) it that you are totally accountable for your judgement. These baristas have put some much time and effort into their performance (and often quite a bit of $$ too), which partly justifies why I spend so much time and money trying to drink as much coffee as possible (at least that’s what I tell my wife). 🙂
So finally, I want to raise a glass and toast the efforts of all of those who entered the competitions, those who supported them (the teams, roasters, friends/family), the sponsors, the volunteers (who are AWESOME!) and everyone involved. Seeing the coffee community come together like this makes all of the effort behind the scenes worth it.
Now we get to get ready for nationals…. 🙂
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