Australian Coffee Championships

The Australian Coffee in Good Spirits Championship promotes innovative beverage recipes that showcase coffee and spirits in a competition format. This competition highlights the barista/barkeeper’s mixology skills in a setting where coffee and alcohol go perfectly together. From the traditional Irish Coffee (with whiskey and coffee), to unique cocktail combinations.
The preliminary round takes place on the main competition stage. On the main stage, competitors produce four drinks—two identical hot/warm coffee and alcohol-based drinks, and two identical cold coffee and alcohol-based drinks. The six competitors with the highest preliminary round scores will compete in the final round.

The final round requires competitors to produce two Irish Coffees and two coffee-and-alcohol-based designer drinks. The highest-scoring final round competitor will be named the Australian Coffee in Good Spirits Champion.

When: 1-2nd of March 2025, 9:00am – 6:00pm
Where: Aunty Pegs, 200 Wellington Street, Collingwood VIC 3066
Who: Event open to public, all welcome to attend. Coffee in Good Spirits registration open below.

Coffee Machine: Slayer One Group
Esp Grinder: Victoria Arduino MY75
Deli Grinder: Option O Langom 01 with Mizen 102 mm burrs
Whiskey: The Gospel – Solera Rye
Liqueurs: Giffard Liqueurs range – from 3Two1 Drinks
Syrups: Monin range
Cream: Riverina Fresh
Glassware: Libbey Perception 3065 237mL white wine glasses for their Irish coffees (competitors must use the provided glassware and spares will be available)

Sub Sponsors:
Everpure Pentair- Water Filtration
Condesa CoLab – Trophy and Medal Sponsor

Competition Format: There will be NO spirit bar. Competitors must be prepared to take the preliminary round.

Preliminary Round
A. Competitors are required to make 4 drinks in total:
i. 2 identical coffee-and-alcohol-based hot/warm designer drinks,
ii. 2 identical coffee-and-alcohol-based cold designer drinks.

From the Preliminary Round –
The Top 6 will progress to the Finals Round.

Finals Round
A. Competitors are required to make 4 drinks in total:
i. 2 identical coffee-and-alcohol-based designer drinks,
ii. 2 identical Irish Coffees.

The Australian Latte Art Championship highlights artistic expression in a competition that challenges the barista in an on-demand performance. Baristas are judged based on visual attributes, creativity, identical patterns in the pairs, contrast in patterns, and overall performance.
For the preliminary round of the championship, competitors have eight minutes to create two identical free-pour lattes and two identical designer pattern lattes (which allow etching and decoration).

The top six semi-finals competitors qualify for the final round, where competitors make two sets of matching sets of free-pour latte patterns, and two matching designer pattern lattes. The top-scoring competitor in the final round is declared the Australian Latte Art Champion.

Machine: Eversys Fully Automatic Bean to Cup (TBC)
Cups: Ancap Torino Caffelatte Cups 320ml and Ancap Torino Espresso Cups 70ml
Milk: Riverina Fresh Full Cream Milk

When: 1-2nd of March 2025, 9:00am – 6:00pm
Where: Aunty Pegs, 200 Wellington Street, Collingwood VIC 3066
Who: Event open to public, all welcome to attend. Competition finalists only.

The Australian Coffee Roasting Championship (WCRC) recognises excellence in coffee roasting, evaluating competitors on their coffee evaluation, preparation, blending, and roasting skills. In this 3-stage event, competitors are evaluated on their performance evaluating the quality of green coffee (coffee grading), developing a roasting profile that best accentuates the desirable characteristics of that coffee, and on the ultimate cup quality of coffees roasted.

Certified Judges score competitors on dozens of criteria covering pre-roasting preparation and production roasting skills.

When: 1-2nd of February 2025
Times: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Where: Criteria Coffee, 37 Wirraway Dr, Port Melbourne VIC 3207
Who: Event open to public, all welcome to attend.

The Australian Cup Tasters Championship awards the professional coffee cupper who demonstrates speed, skill, and accuracy in distinguishing the taste differences in specialty coffees.

Coffees of the world have many distinct taste characteristics and in this competition format the objective is for the cupper to discriminate between the different coffees. Three cups are placed in a triangle, with 2 cups being identical coffees and one cup being a different coffee. Using skills of smell, taste, attention and experience, the cupper will identify the odd cup in the triangle as quickly as they can.

When: 1-2nd of March 2025, 9:00am – 6:00pm
Where: Aunty Pegs, 200 Wellington Street, Collingwood VIC 3066
Who: Event open to public, all welcome to attend. Competition finalists only.

The Australian Brewers Cup (WBrC) is a coffee brewing competition designed to showcase the craft and skill of manual filter coffee brewing.

There are two services in this competition: open and compulsory. For the compulsory service, competitors craft three beverages from the same whole bean provided to them by the competition organizers.  These coffees are evaluated by the judges on a standardised numerical scale based on sensory elements such as aroma, flavor, body, balance, and acidity. In the open service, competitor’s creativity is on stage. They can choose their favorite whole bean coffee from the available options and prepare a beverage along with a ten-minute presentation. The competitor’s presentation can include elements such as origin of the bean, preparation method, or tasting notes. A total dissolved solids (TDS) measurement is also taken for each beverage to ensure a maximum TDS of less than or equal to 2% (20,000 parts per million). 

When: 1-2nd of February 2025
Times: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Where: Criteria Coffee, 37 Wirraway Dr, Port Melbourne VIC 3207
Who: Event open to public, all welcome to attend. Competition finalists only.

The Australian Barista Championship proudly celebrates the artistry of coffee excellence and significantly elevates the barista profession on a global scale. Each year talented champions engage in this prestigious competition, where they meticulously craft four espressos, four milk-based drinks, and four unique signature beverages during a highly time-sensitive 15-minute performance. Their skills are rigorously judged based on key criteria that include taste, cleanliness, creativity, technical proficiency, and overall presentation.

A panel of Certified Judges evaluates each performance with keen attention to these important aspects. From the initial round, the top 12 competitors, advance to the semifinals, and the top six from that stage earn the opportunity to compete in the finals, all striving for the esteemed title of Australian Barista Champion!

More details to be announced closer to the event.