MJ Kim of Shamble Coffee Brewers has won the 2019 Australian TCX Cup Tasters Championship.

Juwon Jung of Mikro Coffee Roasters in Victoria placed second, and Matthew Smithies of Five Senses Coffee in Western Australia placed third in the competition.

MJ scored a perfect 8/8 in six minutes and 28 seconds, the longest time recorded of the six competitors.

“I knew everyone else competing would be really good, so I just went for the perfect score and wasn’t really worried about the time,” MJ says.

Runner-up Juwon Jung finished with the fastest time of one minute and 41 seconds and scoring 7/8.

Third place Matthew Smithies of Five Senses Coffee in Western Australia scored 7/8 in three minutes and seven seconds.

MJ Kim will compete in the 2019 World Cup Tasters Championship at World of Coffee in Berlin, Germany from 8 to 10 June.

“I’ll definitely do more palate training [ahead of the World Championship], try to relax and go for a perfect score,” MJ says.