The ASCA Barista Guild recently held the successful Barista Camp on the Gold Coast.
Attendees enjoyed cupping sessions, flavour profiling, and even picked their own cherries at Wirui Estate. Amy Schubert and Kelsey Fletcher were two of the attendees who found the camp to be fantastic experience.
Kelsey Fletcher:
“Taking part in the 2017 ASCA Barista Camp got me so excited to be a part of the coffee industry!
There is always so much more to learn and so many rabbit holes to get lost in, and the people that I met on the camp – both organisers, and fellow campers – had such a wealth of knowledge and experience. On the camp, we covered every aspect of coffee – from tastings and sensory training to visiting a coffee farm and hand picking a basket full of red cherries!
Aside from the planned events/activities, we also caught up in the evenings for dinner and more chats – never enough time in the day to talk about coffee! It was so good being around like-minded people, and learning something new from roasters, baristas, judges, farmers and business owners.
By the end of the weekend, I was exhausted, but my heart was full and my head was filled with even more questions and thoughts about everything I was lucky enough to experience. I now have a network of awesome friends who I can annoy with questions and we can share stories and experiences with, as well as an even bigger passion for all things coffee.
Massive thanks to Nic and Dave for organizing this incredible event, hopefully I’ll be back again next year!”
Amy Schubert:
“ASCA Barista camp 2017 was a great opportunity to get away with like minded people to learn and inspire each other while gaining more appreciation for our unique industry. We spent a morning with the great team at Silipo coffee roasters where Dave Boudrie and Nic Michaelides took us through a cupping of coffees from interesting and varied origins. We also got to ask all kinds of questions about roasting and espresso coffee of the head roasters at Silipo.
Richard Bradbury then gave an excellent report on the subtropical coffee growers association and the Australian coffee growing economy’s struggles and strengths.
After all the coffee we spent the afternoon at the historical Beenleigh rum distillery learning all things flavour profile related and of course, tasting the product for our selves.
It was a treat to have some down time to meet other people who have found a place they love to call home in an industry of coffee and enjoy the company of others from all aspects of the industry.
It felt like a dream come true to arrive and wander through the rows of coffee trees at Wirui Estate. Zeta welcomed us with coffee she grew, processed, roasted and brewed before taking us on a comprehensive tour of the farm, processing shed and roastery. We were able to pick and taste cherries and explore the wonderful groves of coffee trees.
Michaela Gerrard took us through some sensory skills training and we got to spend time in a relaxed environment on the beautiful estate, training whilst doing some blind tasting and more comparative cupping.
Paradox coffee roasters was the next place we set up camp. Here, we sampled beautiful coffees and met Julia Lee Roth, a wonderful passionate coffee professional who hosted us in their cupping room. Georgina Lum talked us through diailing in alternative brew recipes and we all tasted samples as we changed the recipes and discussed the results in the cup. She also led a group deduction on physical and mental health in the work place and service industry and many people contributed and shared.
To wrap up the whole weekend Brian Raslan shared his wealth of judging and competing experience while taking us through the technical score sheet for the WBC barista compositions sharing insight and hands on wisdom.
The weekend was a valuable wealth of information, experience and sharing. I anticipate next year will an even bigger opportunity for growth and meeting more inspirational coffee passionates.”