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On my return I voiced that I wanted to compete again but the organiz- ers back then wanted a fresh face and didn't allow me to compete, as I did not win the WBC that year. We now laugh about it, but it was no laughing matter to me at the time. I wanted so much to remain involved that I man- aged to find the cash and flew to Boston for the next WBC to be involved in the first official judges' workshop. That being the first of many, I have been certified and judged at every WBC since 2003. It's great to see how much the championship has evolved over the years. That knowledge and time with others around the WBC spurred me to make changes in New Zealand. It was not fair that they had this competition that was completely different from the WBC. It was not fair to the baristas or to coffee itself. I campaigned to the organizers over the years and slowly began to make changes within New Zealand to make it somewhat aligned with the WBC event. In 2008, the New Zealand Coffee Roast- ers Association (NZCRA) took over running the event, myself as the event organizer. It was a tough year, I have to say, to try to get it right and satisfy my own standards of what it should be. To calibrate judges to a standard worthy of the (WBC) and run a smooth event. I am im- mensely proud of all those that stand alongside me to make it happen, all volunteering their time freely for this barista event. We are now in our fifth year of the event in New Zealand, and have changed our format to include barista and judges workshops around the country, and one three-day competition event. SA: How do you and other New Zealand coffee professionals work together year round to develop strong barista competitors? EMW: I guess we are quite lucky in New Zea- land, we have a pretty tight community here. And though we have many coffee companies— around 160 for a four million population base— we are still pretty open to working as a team. We have just re-formed our association here, too—it is now the New Zealand Specialty Coffee As- sociation, which now has guild memberships for baristas and roasters. This can only help the growth of those within the industry by sharing events, skills and knowledge. I guess Team New Zealand is seen (recognized) in the WBC arena, too. We are always together as a team that works and plays together for New Zealand. Company rivalry and business is always set aside for the team. SA: There's so much going on in Australia, but New Zealand is smaller, so do you feel New Zea- land falls into Australia's shadow, coffee wise? EMW: Well back when the coffee association was formed in 2005, I would say that New Zealand had a real edge over Australia coffee wise. Now it's a slightly different story. The Australians— though I hate to admit it—are doing some great things with specialty coffee. Just a few of them, but enough for us to take notice and have a look. www.baristamagazine.com 49 I think New Zealand has a great community of coffee people and we seem to be like family with each other. There are so many great roasters in New Zealand, large to small, and all are taking different parts of the market or appealing to different sectors. SA: Tell us about Monster Trucks. EMW: Monster Trucks was founded in 2011 and named in part from the British comedy Little Britain, from Andy 'I want that one!' Monster Trucks!. It also describes me, as I am about as subtle as a monster truck and like to keep it real and straight to the point. This particular style, I have to say, is not to everyone's taste or cup of tea, much like a monster truck. Monster Trucks is first and foremost a consultancy/training business. It also allows me time to do my event management work for the Coffee Association. I do roast/profile a wee bit of coffee on the side, though it is not called Mon-