Highlights from the KZN Coffee Competition

This weekend the KZN Coffee Competition took place at the Coffee & Chocolate Expo in Durban. It was a weekend full of excitement as baristas from around KZN came to compete for the title of KZN Barista Champ. The competition included the Barista Competition, Latte Art Competition, and Cup Tasters Competition. Baristas can chose which competition they compete in and can compete in more than one.

Here’s a little explanation about each competition.

Barista Competition

Each barista gets 15 minutes to set up and prep for their presentation.
They then get 15 minutes to present to the judges, making 4 espressos, 4 cappuccinos, and 4 of their signature drink. Their signature drink is somewhat of a coffee cocktail but cannot include alcohol or any artificial flavours. Their presentation has a backtrack of music chosen by the barista and they speak the judges through their coffee and why they chose to use it.

There is something mesmerising about watching the competition. I felt completely immersed in each presentation… just a pity only the judges could taste the coffee 😉

2015 Winner : Craig Charity of Lineage Coffee

Latte Art Competition

The barista submit 2 pictures of the latte art they will replicated. They then gets 2 pours, a free pour and a design pour, that needs to look as much like the pictures as possible. The free pour is straight out of the jug into the espresso, whereas the design pour the barista can use an etching tool to get creative with their art.

2015 Winner : Sandile Cele of Famous Brands

Cup Tasters Competition

This competition is for anyone who has a good sense of taste and smell. I wrote a blog post about what cupping is, so you can read more about it here. The competitors get 8 minutes to taste 24 cups of coffee, and they need to identify the 8 odd ones out.

2015 Winner : Bernard Muneri of the Ninos group

Coffey & Cake is a member of SCASA (Speciality Coffee Association of Southern Africa) and part of my membership I have the privilege of managing their Social Media & Blogging. I live tweeted the competition this weekend and got to get some really great photos, so here is a taste of what the weekend was like.