Thread: AASCA Victorian Cupping - 20th Sept. Melb Show.

The 2009 Victorian Cupping Championships

The Australian Cupping Championships (ACC) is the highlight of the Australian Coffee Roasters year.

Growing in popularity every year, the ACC seeks to find the best Cupper to represent Australia at the World Cupping Championships held annually through the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE), an affiliate of the Australasian Specialty Coffee Association (AASCA).

Both Regional and State Finals are run across Australian States with Cuppers having to The competition is organised as a number of triangular tests. 3 cups are set up. 2 of which are identical. The aim of the competition is for the participant to identify the odd cup out. This can be achieved any way the competitor prefers. We are only testing the cuppers ability to discriminate between coffees not to identify them. This is done because the ability to identify will depend on the tasters coffee cultural background.

In the competition 8 triangular tests are set up and the competitor who singles out the most correct cups from the 8 sets, wins. If there is a tie where more than one competitor has the same score, then the one that completed the task in the shortest time wins.

The AustralAsian Specialty Coffee Association (AASCA) was founded in 2001 by a group of very enthusiastic coffee lovers. We want to provide a first quality coffee association to fellow coffee lovers, roasters, growers, equipment suppliers, offices, barista, cafes and restaurants of Australasia.

What makes AASCA different? It is a not-for-profit whole-of-industry association, registered under Federal legislation for Australia-wide coverage. The association has over 15 categories of membership and is open to anyone with an interest in specialty coffee.

AASCA has secured the pathway for up-and-coming Cuppers to compete for Australia at the World Cupping Championship through its relationship with the true Specialty Coffee Associations of:

America (SCAA)
Europe (SCAE)
Ireland (SCAE)
Brazil (BSCA)
Japan (SCAJ)
India (SCAI)
Hawaii (HCA)
and World Barista Championship (WBC), and SCAE World Latte Art Championship.

Our Objectives Include:

Holding the Australian Cupping Championship, and sponsoring our national Cupping champion to the World Cupping Championship;

Create and maintain Roasting quality control standards for the Australasian region;

Develop and manage specialty coffee festivals across Australia;

To form alliances with other likeminded organisations at an international level;

To endorse quality work practices amongst those involved in the processing, distribution consumption and education of specialty coffee.

Thanks Luca.

Ill get the revised form up there when I get one.

Originally Posted by Andy Freeman link=1219051393/0#3 date=1219112883

Thanks Luca.

Ill get the revised form up there when I get one.

Awesome. The competition is tonnes of fun and it would be nice to see some CS members participating.

Im sure that there will be lots of things that people can do to volunteer if they are interested - the information evening will be worthwhile attending.

Cheers,

Luca

What time is the information night held on?

Also when choosing 2 indentical cups how is the conclusion reached, through espresso or brewing? Do factors such as over extraction make it difficult to get 2 exact cups?

Hi Dannyhc,
not sure the time has been set yet (I would take a punt on 6pm though)

All the coffee for the cupping is brewed (filter) so getting 2 cups the same is easy.

See below for some rules from the last competition

[hr]

AASCA Victoria Cup Tasting Championship Guidelines

The rules and procedures for state championships will be the same as for the national championships.

The competition is organised as a number of triangular tests. 3 cups are set up. 2 of which are identical. The aim of the competition is for the participant to identify the odd cup out. This can be achieved any way the competitor prefers. We are only testing the cuppers ability to discriminate between coffees not to identify them. This is done because the ability to identify will depend on the tasters coffee cultural background.

In the competition 8 triangular tests are set up and the competitor who singles out the most correct cups from the 8 sets, wins. If there is a tie where more than one competitor has the same score, then the one that completed the task in the shortest time wins.

The coffees selected for all 8 tests will be the same for all cuppers.

All coffees should be medium roasted to the same degree and colour of roast, and ground identically. They should be prepared in a standard 1.8 liter good quality drip filter brewer with a brewing temperature between 92-96 degrees Celsius. The brewing cycle should be 4 to 6 minutes, and the temperature of the finished brew should be between 80-85 degrees Celsius when stored in an airpot. The brew strength should be 60g/lt.

Standard tap water should be used providing it is of a good quality without any detectable taints. The jury should decide if it is necessary to use filtered or purified water.

The size of each cup or glass used in the tests should be between 125ml to 250ml and the coffee volume presented to the contestants should be between 75ml - 150ml

The 8 sets of cups should be placed in front of the competitors at the same time. The sets should be identical, but should not be placed out in the same order for the two cuppers. Furthermore, each pair should have a different set up as this will avoid those who follow trying to cheat by following what a previous contestant chose.

The cupper can use any sense to identify the odd cup. The cupper can use what is available on the table, and if preferred their own tasting spoon.

Each pair of contestants will start the testing simultaneously after a signal from the head judge. The test is over when both competitors have stepped back from the table and signaled that their test is over or after a maximum of 8 minutes. The head judge will signal when half the time has elapsed, and thereafter each minute. The cupper must identify the odd cup by pushing it distinctly forward completely clear of its previous position.

The winner is the contestant that has the most correct number of cups pushed in front. In the event of a tie, the contestant who completed the test with the shortest time wins.

In the state championship there will be 3 competitors in each heat and the 3 highest scores (after a time count-back) will go into the final. The final will be run the same way.

The first thread has the new and improved cupping entry form.

http://coffeesnobs.com.au/attachments/09CuppingChampionshipApplication.pdf

...and below is the sponsor info if anyone wants their business exposed to 1000s at the grand pavilion of the Melbourne show.

CoffeeSnobs Site Sponsor Diamond C has offered-up a Diamond Italia in the first prize pool *http://www.myitalia.com.au *and Les from Coffee Roasters Australia is also chipping in http://www.coffeeroasters.com.au

Im sure all the prizes and prize pools will be announced soon but expect it to be huge, we hope one of the best of any coffee competition in the country so get your entries in CSrs.

We would all love a CSr scoop the prize pool!

An updated entry form is attached to the 1st message in this thread.
(updated for the very last time!)

;)

Is coffeesnobs going to be there Andy?

I would be more than happy to help out again with any volunteering if required.

I just want to wear my Apron and bright Yellow Tshirt again. [smiley=vrolijk_26.gif]

-Linda

Good on ya Linda, we will be there brewing and pouring 50 litres of coffee to be slurped, depending on the number of entries it might be morning and afternoon heats and 100 litres of brew! We can always do with some volunteers so Ill pass your details back to AASCA so we can scrounge you a free ticket into the show on the day.

Lots of CS sponsors are involved with this one, David Makin will be there pouring art and killer shots, Diamond C are providing a machine and grinder for prizes, Cafetto will be there, Coffee Roasters Australia might have a roaster there to play with and Bruno from C4 is taking his Probat sample roaster along... lots of toys to play with!

The Roaster Guild are also running a coffee cart (which we hope will be busy) so there should be plenty for you get your hands coffee stained if the 20th is free.

You could always enter too!
(CSrs Luca and Rice are entering and volunteering, they just cannot help with the actual cupping)

Should be a blast!

Originally Posted by Andy Freeman link=1219051393/0#9 date=1220358108

The Roaster Guild are also running a coffee cart (which we hope will be busy) so there should be plenty for you get your hands coffee stained if the 20th is free.
Should be a blast!

Yes I am free!!! ;D Just let me know, and to work along side with you again will be a blast.

-Linda

wow a coffee machine for cupping? nice one....if only state champions for barista comp got such a cool prize!

Yep, it might be one of the richest coffee competitions in the country!

So you should enter David. How hard could it be to sip and spit a couple of dozen coffees?

Hi Andy and fellow CSs Im looking forward to this event, should be a blast. I would be all too happy to avail myself for any assistance and volunteer work required on the day....let me know if i can help.

Thanks for the offer NicMic.

Are you entering too?

If you are available to lend a hand, drop Ross Quail an email: roaster@jaspercoffee.com
He is putting together a list of happy helpers so we know that everything is covered. Coffee cart, roasters, brewers there are plenty of hands-on jobs for people to do if they have a passion for coffee and want to talk peoples ears-off all day.

It should be a great day out and certainly the biggest public exposure event the AASCA Roasters Guild has ever put together.

Thanks for the info Andy, I wont be entering but letting my coffee passion exhaust itself on the day...I will email Ross and advise of my availability.

Good on ya Nic!

Just wondering what time is the roasting demonstration? Im looking forward to it

Hi Snobs,
As we are sponsoring the cupping championships I will be there most of Saturday ,if you would like to catch up with me and i am not at the stand you can reach me on my mobile on 0413611296.
Les

Are you taking the 2kg one Les?

Im curious just how much smoke off the sample roasters we can create before the RAS start flapping their arms!

Should be a fun day!

Its on tomorrow (Saturday)

See those of you that are going there!


:)

Its on tomorrow (Saturday).

If you are coming along for a look stick your head in and say gday, we might have some competition brew for CSrs to try and if there are enough non-competing coffee-tragics around later in the day we might run a couple of fun heats so people can try their spoon skills!

It should be a great day.

I know where Id rather be today - I wish there was a live feed to these events! (hint, hint)

Anyone know any results yet???

I believe the results are:

1st Place - Tom Beaumont - Grinders Coffee
2nd Place - Toshi - St. Ali
3rd Place - Luca Costanzo - Freelancer

Whoa, wasnt expecting that.... Congrats are in order then

A great show from Tom and Tosh, the former of whom won on 8 out of 8.

I cant say that Im was especially happy with my performance, but, as always, I had heaps of fun. *The whole thing was pretty laid back and it was a bit relaxing to get behind the espresso machine with Toshi, Nim, Steve et al. *I also ended up walking away with a whole bunch of loot, including a pile of green beans from ARC and a barista kit from Cafetto, who also saved me the necessity of having to go and buy EVO espresso machine detergent. *Actually, carrying it all home on public transport was somewhat challenging!

AASCA/Roasters Guild managed to get some primo real estate and heaps of exposure. *There must have been a hundred people standing around watching the entirety of each flight, as well as passers-by watching bits of it. *Cupping comps seem to be pretty decent spectator sports, even for people who arent that into coffee; the whole slurp and spit routine is pretty funny and over quickly, then the whole cup revealing thing is a bit of a tension-builder. *

Those of you that didnt show up missed out on some opportunities to get some decent stuff for free, or next to nothing. *Our big gun world barista and latte art competitors Con and Dave did some lessons and demos on the home machine, as well as manning the espresso machine to sell coffee. *When Con and Dave werent on, the dudes behind the machine were always pretty good. *I loved Toshis 3x rosetta in a takeaway cup, which was promptly covered in chocolate to make the cappuccino that had been ordered. *Andy also brewed up an extra round of drip coffee to do some cupping comp run-throughs with members of the public who had bought a bag of roasters guild beans. *The public comp was kept a bit simpler, with only three sets of three instead of eight. *The guys at cafetto thought that such a competition needed prizes, so each entrant ended up with a cleaning kit. *Not too shabby! *I think that the flight winners also got the bigger barista kit or Innys Espresso Quest book.

Big shout-outs are definitely warranted:

All of the sponsors for making the event possible (presumably I cant mention names?).

Ross for coordinating everything and emceeing.

Bruno, Steve and Martin for generally doing heaps of work on the show floor.

Our very own Andy and Linda for taking care of the logistics, with the help of Mick. *

Les and Jim for taking care of the roasting demos.

Dave and Con for competing, manning the espresso machines and doing demos.

All of the competitors, for making it an interesting, fun and relaxed competition.

Double thanks to Andy for roasting the filter coffee and Bruno (I think) for roasting the blend that was sold to the public.

Heaps of people helped out, so a general shout-out to anyone who I have inadvertently skipped.

Anyhoo, its about 11pm and as I sit back here enjoying a cappuccino, Ross, Bruno, Andy and Martin are back at the show grounds loading up all the gear!

Cheers,

Luca

Excellent result Luca [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Nice booty pack youve got there too 8-). Congrats to all the podium winners and everyone who competed, sounds like it was a great day... ;D

Mal.

It was a premium bit of real estate set aside for roasters guild Luca. We got to the show after 2.00pm and by the time we got to the grand pavillion it was about 3.00pm, so I missed the main comp.But I managed to watch some members of the public have a go, one lady who was obviously well coached by Andy got 3 out of 3.
I picked up some very cheap roasters guild blend and a book called The Coffee Plantations of the Sierra del Rosario [1790-1850] for free with the purchase of 2 bags of coffee for $10.
Luca was behind the espresso machine as I first had a gig and I got an espresso for $2 and later on while we were getting tea [ thats the one you eat, not drink] I got a lovely Latte for $3 but Im not sure the name of the guy who made it. I think it was Tom, anyway he was doing the comentry during the general publics go at cupping.
Andy seemed very busy while I was there so didnt get to have a chat, plus a 12 yr boy wanting to do everything

Well done Luca and to the other competitors. Must feel strange to put yourself out there like that, sipping, slurping, and spitting, in front of so many onlookers. But, I think that Bertie Beetle would make it all worthwhile!

Congratulations to all the Sponsors and organisers of the event too. Im sure that putting something together like this takes a lot of hard work, good planning, and preparation. Its great to see the passion of people like Andy & Co., who promote the delights of coffee and bring a better understanding and appreciation to the masses.

:)

pics, pics, lots of em

[hr]


Round 1.

3 cups in a set, 2 are the same coffee, one is different.
There are 8 sets of 3 cups per person (24 cups each x 3 tables 72 cups per round).
All you have to do is pick the odd one!
:)

Here is a shot of cups as far as the eye can see.

David leans while he slurps to ensure he doesnt block the Site Sponsors signage.

CS Linda has her first crack.

Seasoned cupper Luca knows the ropes...

Coffee Academy Mel counts cups to make sure they are all there...

CS Nim didnt like my roast profile on that one so he spat it...

The World Latte Art champion Con battles with CS Linda and Louise...

David "brain fades" and lifts a cup off the table. This then becomes his selection and gets pushed forward.

The final 3 is made-up of Tom, Toshi and Luca. All three scored 6 correct in the heats so we all know the final will be close.

Luca has the added pressure of the trophies watching over his left shoulder...

Tom gets through the final the quickest.

The trophys are ready...

and the winner is TOM with a perfect final round of 8 or 8 coffees.

Tom took home a huge pile of loot including a new machine and grinder package from CoffeeSnobs site sponsor Diamond-C and he tells me it will upgrade his Silvia at home.

Best of luck for the National comp Tom, with scores like that you should give it a shake!

:)

Some other shots from around the AASCA area.

[hr]

Site Sponsors Chris and Peter from Cafetto do the hard sell on Jimmy (center) from Quists Coffee.

Q: How many roasters does it take to make a Latte?

A: 2 and Tara to make sure they dont muck-up the orders.

A great supporter of coffee events all over the world. It more than just business for this bloke, its a genuine passion for the industry.

(left to right)

Site Sponsor Les from Coffee Roasters Australia watches over Will as he does roast in the solar 2kg roaster. Jimmy reads Innys manual to make sure they are doing it right...

Les slinks away when Will gets to "extra dark french roast"...

...but gets cornered and has to stay...

Bruno (C4 coffee) stops making Latte because the lure of roaster smoke distracted him. Day dreaming, he thinks loud enough for everyone to hear "Ahhh, this is what a demo area should smell like"