New Zealand Barista Championship – Christchurch heat

Tuesday saw the start of the heats of the New Zealand Barista Championship.

The C4 Coffee Company hosted the event in their new shiny Coffee Roastary! Very nice spot!

I went to observe the comp, and hopefully see the format on which the competition is run, hoping that it will help me a little when i have my turn in wellington in april.

From what i saw, everyone put on a good performance, and the quality was really good! Hats off to all the competitors, its incredibly hard getting up there and making yourself open and vunrable to the judges, peers, and public alike. Its great to see everyone giving it a good shot.

At the end of the day tho.. someone has to win, and the favourite didnt disappoint. Luciano Marcolino (a previous NZ barista Champion) pulled it off very well! Also drawing the biggest crowd of the day!

The Top 3 from the South Island/Christchurch heats were:

1. Luciano Marcolino. Luciano Espresso Bar, Christchurch
2. Raj Arora. Hot Shot Espresso Bar, Christchurch
3. Hideyuki Kono. Coffee Lovers, Christchurch

The Next heats will be on 5th of April in Auckland. Looking forward to seeing the results of that!

For more info on the Competition check out the New Zealand Coffee Roasters Association Website.