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SUBSCRIBE TODAY! DON't MISS AN ISSUE! www.baristamagazine.com P U L L : E V E N T S THE AICA COFFEE COMPETITION MAY JUST BE THE BEST IN THE WORLD AS IT'S ALREADY HOME to the annual Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE), it's not surprising that the city most famous Down Under for specialty coffee now plays host to the Australian International Coffee Awards (AICA). The AICA was started in 2011 by the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV) as part of Victoria's Food and Wine Festival. The RASV has a long history of providing awards and medals across multiple industries (wine, craft beer, cakes, cattle, wool fleeces, prize rams, etc.) to reward and advocate for quality. The aim is to compen- sate producers for the excellence of their products and hard work. The RASV's experience in hosting competitions gave the organization the wherewithal to put together an event as complex and vast as the AICA. As a consumer-focused competition, the AICA gives customers access to roasters they may never have heard of before, or thought of as quality roasters. The continual improvements, relevance of the judging criteria, and integrity of the judges only serve to reinforce the legacy of the RASV and provide contemporary significance to consumers. This adds value in helping the RASV identify excellence in a market that is seemingly saturated and skewed by advertising dollars. This success is reflected in the record number of entries that have been submitted this year. In its initial year, the AICA saw approximately 110 entries. Four years later in 2014, the AICA has more than 800 entries. Though dominated by Australian roasters in its early years, the AICA's international appeal has grown since then, with entries coming from Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and New Zealand. The competi- tion platform allows international roasters to have their coffee bench- marked against Australian coffee standards. The judges are highly experienced and qualified, and all testing is done blind in order to ensure the competition's ongoing integrity. Despite this competition's consumer focus, there are benefits for the roaster. Judges do give feedback for every cup they evaluate. The judging also allows the coffee to be measured along industry stan- dards. It gives everyone a chance to see which roasters are doing a great job, and whether or not their marketing message matches what is in the cup. Judges assess the coffee in pairs, each tasting coffee in their assigned classes. There are three categories: espresso, milk-based drinks, and filter. Within the categories, espresso has two classes: blend and single-origin; milk-based has one class: blend served as a cappuccino; and filter has four classes: plunger blend and single-origin, siphon single-origin, and pourover single-origin. As with any competition, especially with one of this size and caliber, there are challenges—the most important of which is minimizing variables. RASV is constantly consulting with various industry leaders and professionals representing all different sectors of the industry to achieve this. Along with brewed coffee, judges are presented with a sample of the whole beans, ground pucks, and, for the espresso and milk-based cat- egories, the coffee puck. This allows judges to assess the consistency and evenness of the roast and ensure that the extraction represents the beans presented. Judges understand that this is a competition about the beans, not the barista, and this is where assessment of the used puck, and whole and ground beans come into play. A head barista is present and has the job of monitoring the baristas pulling drinks for the judges, safeguarding consistency and approving or rejecting every coffee that gets sent out to the judges for assessment. RASV hires the most skilled baristas for the competition, and compensates them well for the four days of work. The competition in February will see the implementation of a head judge for the first time, as an individual in charge of calibration and available as a point person. This change is part of formalizing the competition process, and also having individuals responsible for each category (panel chair) and overall. All this adds value for the consumers and the roasters, and enables the competition to grow each year, providing a mechanism for consumers to actually trust what is good and what isn't. The AICA is one of four industry competitions held in Australia, and the RASV's hope is that the AICA will eventually be the go-to trusted and independent competition. It receives no sponsorship from roasters or other coffee companies. Judging for this years Australian International Coffee Awards will take place in February at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds. For more information, visit www.rasv.com.au. —Shanny Sena The AICA is the Asia Pacific's premier coffee-roasting competition, and is a partner of the 2015 Melbourne International Coffee Expo. Coffee is judged on a 60-point scoring system, with gold medals being awarded to coffees earning 54 to 60 points, silver awards to those with 49 to 53.9 points, and bronze to coffees with 44.5 to 48.9 points. This year's judges include such heavy hiers as Wendy De Jong of Single Origin Roasters; El Salvadoran coffee producer and Cup of Excellence winner Aida Batlle; Ross Quail of Sensory Lab; and Peter Wolff of Wolff Coffee Roasters, who will serve as head judge. 26 barista magazine