"Welcome to Five Senses Coffee"

There were plenty of wired individuals on the Gold Coast recently, as the sunshine coast hosted the biggest event on the Australian specialty coffee calendar, the Australian Barista Championship.

The Championship is often dominated by baristas from the east coast. This year was no exception, with winner Tim Adams, from Queensland, making the most of the home crowd advantage. Zoe Delany (Victoria) was a close second, and veteran competitor Con Haralambopoulos (Victoria) took home bronze.

Ben Bicknell, 5 Senses’ Coffee Quality Manager, scored an amazing win in the Cupping Championship, slamming the competition and coming heart-stoppingly close to breaking the world cupping record. Ben scored an impeccable 8 out of 8 in the incredibly short time of 1 minute 29 seconds. Victorian, Luca Costanza, was next best with 7 out of 8 and South Australia’s Brian Raslan placed third with 6 out of 8. Ben will go on to represent Australia in the World Cup Tasting Championship in Cologne, Germany in June. It seems Ben will be spending some quality time in the 5 Senses lab, shaving off precious seconds in his attempt to make world coffee history!

The Latte Art Championship was won by Erin Sampson (yet another Victorian) who awed both crowd and judges with her flawless designs. Habib Maarbani (NSW) came in second, with Will Presley (Tasmania) placing third. The Australian Barista Championship is always an awesome weekend, as the nation’s most passionate and talented baristas gather to flaunt their skills and talk all things coffee. This weekend was no exception, with huge audience numbers cheering on competitors and enjoying the show.

Ben’s win brings his list of coffee qualifications to ridiculous lengths, and affirms his place as one of Australia’s most gifted baristas. Congratulations, Ben, and good luck in Germany!

© Photo provided with permission by Michael Brown/Photoworx. All rights reserved by photographer.