2007 COFFEE RESULTS Royal Sydney Show

Presso

Congratulations to the winner of the CLASS 1 Champion Espresso!

Any other award recipients on the Crema site?

askthecoffeeguy

sorry i missed that who won what and where? pat

Presso

Each year at the Easter show they judge the best. Winner Short Black: High Trees Silver: Coffee Hit, Bronze; Veniziano

askthecoffeeguy

Way to go veniziano! I've got some of the Makin espresso blend at home which I am very happily devouring! P

admin

Hi guys - full results on:http://www.sydneyroyalshows.com/mediacentre/releases.html - you need to click on the pdf for 'espresso' These were the key results: GOLD: High Trees Estate Alstonville NSW SILVER High Trees Estate Alstonville NSW Amoree Coffee Moonee Ponds VIC (2 Silver) Biobean Coffee Helena Valley WA (2 Silver) Byron Bay Coffee Company Newrybar NSW C4 Coffee Design Service Mordialloc VIC Coffee Hit Abbotsford VIC Five Sense Coffee Victoria Mornington VIC Gloria Jean

Coffee_Gusto

An interesting note on the champion espresso ( Hightrees) It's really lovely. Many reasons why, but we did decide to use this espresso for the recent barista competitions held by AASCA in melbourne recently. Not one judge liked it! Our competition barista ( Azza) gets excellent extraction, as you would imagine, but who knows why none of the judges thought much of it. I cupped it several times before using it at the comps, and it has excellency in most departments, except maybe a touch light in body. It's an Australian grown single origin, and one we should all be proud of. Why this strange result? I would have to put it down to the LaMarzoccos. Or, was it the palate of those involved? Anyhow, I cup for a living, and this is excellent espresso, and so a HUGE well done to Philipp and Lynne. Beautiful espresso! Carlos.

nzroaster

There are a few points to consider.What drives the different comps. 1) The Royal Sydney Show has rejected offers of judges by AASCA, they use judges from commercial coffee companies. Not to say that their is anything wrong with that but they have different preferences. 2) The setups for the Sydney show was 14gm baskets. This really does not suit all coffees, and shows preference to a particular type of blend. 3) The shear amount of coffee entered at Sydney. I know a few people who entered the same coffee under different names and were awarded 2 different scores. Generally the earlier the coffee is tasted, the better it scores. I am not saying that the winners do not deserve credit. They still produce a great product. And it is fantastic to see a locally grown coffee win honours.

Coffee_Gusto

Hi NZROASTER, Your reply almost seems to indicate that you think AASCA would have done a better job? Some, not all, the judges at the Sydney are considered some of the best cuppers in the country and beyond. AASCA has it's fingers into a lot of pies already, and I think it's great that this comp is held to more traditional parameters in some areas, even if I don't entirely agree. If you believe that there is shown a particular preference to a type of blend, then it would be extremely difficult to explain the enormous difference between the Gold and the Silver espressos as they were completely different, and yet had their own particular points of merit. In regard to your mention of the amount of coffees entered into the Sydney, I agree, yes there are a lot of entrants. That is because it is the largest, and most important coffee event in the country for roasters, both large and small. So, I don't understand your point. No offense, I just don't see the point. 🙂 The folk who entered the same coffee under different names may not be abiding by the rules, and should check to be sure they are not outside correct parameters there. The different scores is understandable, as there are different judges, and yes, palates do deteriorate over the day. The Royal would reject judges from AASCA, and for good reason. The show already has access to some very highly regarded cuppers that do this for a living, not part time judges, who do the occasional competition. Not taking away from AASCA, as they have some very good points, and at times do a very good job. However, the Sydney show has some big entries, and those are reflective of many years of hard work on the behalf of pro roasters, and their efforts. If the show was not worthy, many of the entrants would not continue year after year. But they do. Me as one of them. Why, because if you look carefully at the winners over the years, and the top ranking coffees in each of their classes, you notice something that is extremely consistent. Each winner, and the high rankers deserve to be there. Yes, I agree that the espresso setup could be different, but that does not mean it is not fine as it is. And what about Plunger? You can't fake that, or bend it to suit a certain style. The coffees that win, and rank highly each year at Sydney are extremely good, and reflect a very good standard of judging, on a continual basis. It is on that basis that I for one am thankful that this is one area that doesn't have AASCA fingers prying. Anyhow, my two cents worth, and hey NZ, I respect your opinion, even though mine may differ. I imagine you roast? What's your take on LaMarzoccos, as I would respect and appreciate your thoughts. Carlos.

nzroaster

Woah!!! I mean absolutely no disrespect. I still regard this comp as the premier comp in the country and it is not only doing great things to showcase the best coffees around, but it sets standards for others to aspire too. I do support the comp and congratulate all the winners, if I did not, I would not enter my coffee every year, nor advertise my medal winning blends if I did not agree with it. I think that you may have took my post out of context. For the point of the AASCA judges. I personally think it would be good to have a mix of judges on the panal. That is all, I am not saying that the judges are rubbish, just that they are all from one background. I do find it offensive toward AASCA that you mention part time judges and you insinuate that the AASCA juges are not pro-roasters. There are great judges from both parties. As for blend preference. It is the case (and many of my roaster freinds who also support this comp, and have won medals, and have very large succesful national companies) that certain blends will score better here than at other comps, and vice verca. We enter what we think this style of comp will score well. As you said, they look for a more traditional taste with certain catagories. You say that palates deteriorate over the day, is this fair to coffees cupped first and last? Just throwing out the question. Anyway, like I said, I do support the event and think it is great for the industry. And yes many winners deserve to be there. Of course there are issues, but as a whole I do think it is worthwhile. As for LaMarzoccos, what an issue, this is a page in itsself. The long and short is that I think they are excellent machines and have a place at the top of the specialty coffee market for high volume cafes. However, I am a fan of single boiler machines purely for the water quality issue. i myself have a single boiler PID Reneka at the roastery and a ECM Michealangelo 3 group at my take-away shop. My company sells ECM machines to our wholesale customers as I believe that they suit my coffee blends. But that is a whole disscussion in itself.

Coffee_Gusto

Hi NZ, thanks for your reply. If I have taken your post out of context, I do apologize. Your statement, " The RSS has rejected offers of judges by AASCA, they use judges from commercial coffee companies" sort of led me to believe that maybe you felt it would be better to have AASCA judges present, rather than use the ACTA organised judges. If you find it offensive towards AASCA that I mention part-time judges, then that is a problem I can not help. In fact, it is probably more offensive that you attempt to imply that I have somehow attempted to insinuate that the AASCA judges are not pro-roasters. I did not do that, so again, sorry if it came out that way. Maybe I did not explain what I meant very well. Sorry fellow roaster, let me try again. ACTA helps to put together some of the judging panel for RSS. Some of these particular judges are people who travel the globe on a regular basis cupping, and evaluating new crops at different estates, and with different co-ops and make rather frighteningly large financial decisions based on their own professional analysis. Some of these folk have been doing this for over 20 years, and yes, they do a large amount for commercial coffee companies. You know this. In regard to the comparison with AASCA, there is none. There are some that do cupping regularly, myself included, but not at the level previously mentioned. I do not believe there are 'great' judges from AASCA in much numbers. Some, who are quite experienced, but very few who cup on a regular pro basis at the sort of level that the pro 'cuppers' do. You have some very, very good roasters in AASCA. Several of my friends too. Some fantastic barista judges, and probably some with an excellent palate suited for pro cupping. BUt, I think my point was less offensive toward AASCA ( actually, I thought I had complimented them) and more a point of, it's nice to have something that is not just a thing AASCA thinks they own. AASCA has some very good things about it, and many not. That is the typical situation with any assoc. I hope I have made myself clearer, and I do not have a problem in dis-agreeing with you, but I do not wish to offend you in any way if I can help it, as I am also a fellow pro roaster and don't particularly like the fragmentation and back-biting that I see in the industry and so hope we can get along. This was not meant to be a slag of AASCA as I like what we are doing with barista comps. We compete regularly. I reckon you have an excellent point on having a mix of judges on the panel. They do already though don't they? I mean, isn't there some AASCA members judging at Sydney? I don't know, but I'm judging next year, so I'll have a peak and see if I can find a friendly about. Palates deteriorating? So true, and I'm with you on this one, but what do ya do? Maybe we can get a panel of roasters together and come up with an amazing idea to solve this one. And, how about parameters, and subjective differences, and .... anyhow. A roasters get together that is NOT purely an association affair would be really nice. No politics, until someone opens their mouth. Your thoughts on espresso machines are interesting in your brief. Except, I'll step out and say that I think the LM's are disgustingly over-rated. There you go, I said it. I am also a big fan of single boiler, for the very same water purity reason. I love ECM's and work with them a lot. We are not so different. What boiler pressure are you running? We are running just over 1 at the moment. My company also sells them, and I believe they suit my blends, although I have often wanted to really have a good suss out of our blends through some WEGAS. Have you used them? What are you roasting on? Thanks again, and I hope we can compare notes on espresso machines some time. Carlos.

nzroaster

Hey Carlos, as much as I am not a fan of the twin boilers, I have to say that I have had some exceptionally clean flavours in the cup through them. 1 particular espresso from a synesso really stands out. But like I said, I would never own one, overpriced and unnecessary. So many barista will fall short with technique, lack of understanding of the coffee and principles, and know-it-all attitude while blaming equipment. I have had exceptional espresso from a Klub (cheap and nasty), I have had terrible espresso from a lm (at comp level). It can make a difference, but I hate when a barista relies or blames a machine. At my roastery I have a PID reneka. It is great for tweakability. It runs just under 1 bar with a boiler temp of 117. This translates to the same group head temp as our Michealangelo at just over 1 bar, which we set them to. It also allows for adjustable pre-infusion settings (time, pressure) and basket clearance to the shower screen. I use 18 gm San Marino baskets, for the shape and edges, and adjust my clearance so that 18gm is a traditional dose (not up-dosed) and the espresso just has a hint of the ristretto characteristics, but is still a well balanced espresso. I have little experience with wegas, but I wouldnt comment on them without giving them a good workout. But ECM have a good range for price concious customers, although I tend to drop the pressure on the Raffaello a little. I am roasting on a Diedrich IR12, what a fantastic piece of machinery. My company is still very much a boutique roastery, I use a lot of estate grown stuff and I've been told my roasting style is very unique. I have only been roasting for 6 years now, only 2 for myself, and still consider myself a newbie, although I am very methodical in practice and do alot of research. Also having learned with and cupped for importers which I guess is an advantage. And in the first year of my company having started I picked up medals at Sydney & Wrest Point Festivals as well as 3 of the top 11 spots at the golden bean comp for milk based, so I'm doing something right. How about yourself, what are you roasting on? Jason