Runner Up Experience: Finishing as the runner up in such a prestigious competition is a remarkable achievement. How are you feeling about your performance and the result?
I am honestly so stoked! Leading up to the competition quite a lot of things did not work in my favour, one of them being my coffee arrived 2 hours before briefing; despite all of that I laid down everything I practiced including some last minute changes. So really, I did my absolute best and left it all on stage.
Learning Journey: What were the key lessons you took away from this year’s New Zealand Barista champs? Was there a moment that stood out to you?
The coffees that scored highly were the biggest learning point for me this year. The top 6 on Sunday all swapped coffee backstage (side note, how flipping cool is that, everyone was so friendly back stage this year. This was definitely one of my goals to create a more inclusive and supportive competitive environment). It’s interesting to learn what the New Zealand pallet is like.
Routine Development: Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your routine? What story or message were you hoping to convey through your presentation and coffee choices?
My routine inspiration came from the current down wind of owning a café. With COG going up and margin being incredibly tight, most of us café owners are just crunching numbers/percentage. If this trend continues then we will lose the soul of our café culture. Yes we need to survive the current economy but we also need to remember why we got into this industry to start off with and percentage can’t be it!
Challenges: What were the biggest challenges you encountered during the preparation and the competition itself? How did you overcome them?
Time! With having a 1 and a half year old, your spare time no longer belong to you, what is even spare time?! I had to be really disciplined and schedule my practice in which is really hard for me because I’m such a free ranger. Especially with the written part of my routine, I can’t just sit on the computer and write my routine. I normally get the spark and have to run to my computer to write it up. In a way it was also a blessing because I’m a last minute hucker, it prevented me from doing that too much. The way I overcame it was to have notes on my phone when ever ideas came.
Signature Beverage: Your signature beverage sounded incredible. Can you tell us more about how you developed it, and what made it special to you?
My signature beverage was fermented pineapple juice, fig syrup and milk whey. Since my routine was all about harmony and balance, I just found ingredients that harmonise with my coffee flavour notes. Now being ask about it, I think I worked in colours. My coffee was really warmth summer day fruity orange notes and I wanted to that sunset warmth to it. The fermented pineapple turned the nectarine tasting note to a mandarin Turkish delight and fig syrup turned to cacao nibs tasting note to a toasted caramel. Haha pulling this out of my brain made me sound a bit crazy!
Competitor Camaraderie: How would you describe the atmosphere among the competitors? Was there a sense of camaraderie, and did you share any memorable moments with the other competitors?
Man like I said before, it’s been the most amazing year back stage. Matt and I competed a lot together, so we’re like ban of brothers, always have each other’s back. Agnese and I shared so many hugs and supportive words with each other. While not really back stage, it was definitely a special moment when both Tom and I had our child on stage. It was just so special, got to know so many people. It was such a sharing, inclusive environment. Love it!
Supporting the New Talent: You very kindly donated your Cofinet support to Josh which was the tipping point for him to compete, and without that he wouldn’t have been able to participate. It was so generous and says so much about the coffee community. Can you talk us through your decision to do this?
Honestly I don’t feel like this should be such a big deal and it just should be done all the time. It’s bloody hard competing in so so many ways. People that have done it before should just help the new comers. Like if someone fall on the street, you should just go over and help them up. In this particular case with Josh, man have you met the guy – insane that he wanted to compete in the ‘most prestigious coffee competition’ and he’s not even a barista, the love for coffee is insane. I was not going to use the voucher from winning the regional because I’ve already lined up a coffee for national and it seems so wrong to use it in my shop for materialistic gain. So why not give it to the runner up.
Support and Mentorship: You had the wonderful Alan Bruce & the Flight Coffee team supporting you through this journey. How did their support influence your performance?
These guys supported my whole competition career period, I honestly would be be on stage without them. Alan is like my polite slap on the face – “I see where you’re going but no”. Over the years we’ve learnt how to work with each other and work really well together. This year’s routine was a bit outrageous for the team, I decided to fly high haha.
Reflection: Is there anything you would have done differently, or anything that you feel made you stronger as a competitor this year?
Yes lots, every year is a learning experience and there’re always always improvements to be made. I recently saw on a TV show “If Beyonce is still doing vocal lessons then the rest of us will be training for the rest of our lives”. Truth! In terms of what what I’m going to do differently, you’ll have to watch this space for my next years routine.
Looking Ahead: What’s next for you now? Will we see you back on the stage next year?
Yes always, every single year baby!