NSWs Best Baristas

[flynnaus]

Five standout baristas show theres so much more to making good coffee than grinding, brewing and pouring, writes Jill Dupleix.

Baristas are not like normal people. Theyre geeky, focused, borderline obsessives. They live in a strange world of control valves, steam wands and portafilters; of grammage, roast dates and pressure profiling. They write in code: XC, which means a strong cappuccino, and SFW!!!, a skim milk flat white, extra hot.

Determined to find out what makes them tick, I put together a list of five dedicated baristas in Sydney, Newcastle and Canberra. First up is Daniel Karaconji, 30, at Marrickvilles Coffee Alchemy, winner of Best Coffee in the inaugural The Sydney Morning Herald Good Cafe Guide.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/restaurants-and-bars/the-steamy-language-of-love-20110716-1hikj.html#ixzz1SUuF7pup

[mattydv]

Re: NSWs Best Baristas

The fact that the Newcastle barista is saying his lattes are currently (merely) flat whites in a ceramic cup, I doubt hes as obsessive as they make him out to be...

[Identity]

Re: NSWs Best Baristas

Have to say I know Dan quite well and hes more than deserving of this accolade, being one of the nicest guys and best baristas you could ever meet.

Dom @ White Horse is ex-Mecca, and it shows in attitude and dedication to the cup, and Sasa has won the AASCA ACT barista comp with some pretty tasty cups of coffee - and some pretty tasty cups.

[jaysonleow]

Re: NSWs Best Baristas

A comment made on the article by "badboy", seems enough to make most of us here cringe,

Oh, for the love of God...yet another article in the SMH on coffee...best coffee, best coffee shop, best barista...blah blah blah blah blah. Who cares? Its not rocket science is it...its just mixing hot water / milk and ground up roasted coffee beans to the right consistency and charging gullible people $4 a pop when they can make themselves a perfectly acceptable cup for a fraction of the cost. Articles like this are nothing more than advertising for the coffee shops and an attempt to brainwash people into thinking that making good coffee is some dark art left only to the professionals - what a croc!

[trentski]

Re: NSWs Best Baristas

He does have a couple of valid points.

Its pretty easy to make good coffee, its even easier to make bad coffee. You can make it yourself for a fraction (or even a percentage) of the cost of what you buy it from cafes for.

Articles like this are advertising for the cafes, which I am grateful for, if they live up to their hype.

[Zaneus]

Re: NSWs Best Baristas

I met Sasa on sunday, hes a cool dude and a great barista. Happy to see him on the list!

That comment is somewhat right. But the real skill in being a barista isnt making good coffee, its making good coffee consistently while under pressure. And thats just the tip of it.

[Forte]

Re: NSWs Best Baristas

But the real skill in being a barista isnt making good coffee, its making good coffee

.....and chatting up hot chicks without spilling anything man