Great results at the Australian Barista Championship with Project Origin coffee

The Melbourne International Coffee Expo 2017 has just taken place, with the calibre of competition increasing once again amongst the national coffee competitions. Project Origin was proud to have supplied several competitors with coffee, some of whom have taken national titles.

ONA Coffee’s Head Trainer, Hugh Kelly, has taken the Australian Barista Championship title for the second consecutive year, only the second time this feat has been achieved in Australia. Hugh will travel to Korea in late 2017 to represent Australia in the World Barista Championships. Kelly used Project Origin coffees for his performance, one from Wush Wush in Ethiopia and the other from producer Jamison Savage’s Finca Deborah in Panama.

His performance focused on customer feedback and communication between producers and consumers in the coffee industry. Using coffees from Ethiopia and Panama, Hugh’s performance finished with a breathtaking signature drink, in which he created a tangerine-infused fairy floss on stage and dissolved it with an espresso mixture.

Project Origin is also to proud to announce another national winner who used our coffee: ONA Coffee’s Head Roaster, Sam Corra, has won the National Brewers’ Cup title, and will be travelling to Budapest in June to represent Australia. Sam’s performance was as imaginative as it was innovative, as he invited his judges to join him on an imaginary journey to Finca Deborah in Panama, to meet a coffee producer and admire the beautiful landscape at high altitude while he prepared some incredible coffees.

Once a year, the coffee industry of Australia gathers together for the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE), the largest coffee event in the country and the main event of Melbourne Coffee Week. Over three days, coffee professionals meet with industry partners, colleagues and old friends, showcasing their skills and products. MICE also hosts the national competitions for Latte Art, Brewers Cup, Tasters Cup, Barista Championship and this year, the inaugural Roasting Challenge.

We are so proud of all of our competitors and to the team who orchestrated, built and operated our first MICE exhibition space. Special mention goes to Angus Mackie, who placed 5th in the Australian Barista Championships with an inspiring performance, which incorporated his ‘de-gassing curve’ and theoretical techniques involving CO2 release and coffee storage.

ONA Coffee Assistant Roaster, Danny Wilson also gave a breathtaking performance in the National Barista Championships, climaxing in the eruption of a handmade volcano with dry ice on the judges’ table as he prepared his signature drink. His semi-finals performance is a testament to his growth as a coffee professional and we can’t wait to see what lies ahead in his future.

Our own Project Origin Assistant, Yanina Ferrerya gave a heartwarming performance as she spoke about her journeys to origin, the discovery of a striped bourbon varietal and the mutual love of soccer and coffee with the producers of this coffee. We are so lucky to have our coffees sourced by people like Yanina; we couldn’t be prouder of her and we look forward to seeing her on the stage next year.

Head Barista of ONA Coffee’s largest cafe, ’The Cupping Room’, Yechan Isaac Kim gave an outstanding performance on the main stage, using an aroma diffuser as part of his signature drink to deliver a strawberry aroma, with notes of prune, bergamot early grey, raisin and milk chocolate finish. No stranger to competition, Isaac was also one of 16 baristas in the world, and the only Australian, invited to New York in 2016 for the Coffee Masters competition. 

For more information on the coffees listed above and for our current product list, contact [email protected]