New Zealand baristias have won the Bledisloe Cup of coffee making.
The barista-roos and the barista-iwis fought out the annual trans-Tasman barista champs today – it’s the Bledisloe Cup of coffee.
The teams have eight minutes to grind, percolate, froth and pour 30 cups of coffee.
First up it is 10 piccolo lattes and New Zealand, steams ahead of Australia.
For the judges it’s the first sip of the day.
“The competition’s designed as a cafe would be, what the customer would see and would say,” says judge Jeff Dutton.
Eventually it is time for the crème of the crop: the specialist lattes, in flavours like gingerbread. They are not for the traditionalist.
In a record six minutes and 50 seconds, New Zealand delivers their last latte. The final score though is up to the judges.
Can they think straight after so much coffee?
“Yeah,” says Mr Dutton, “we try not to drink too much.”
It is the second most traded commodity after oil, and the number one employer in the world. And these people all take their coffee very seriously.
“We have to work really hard to represent our country,” says Barasta-iwi Carl Sara. “For us it is a pride thing and a love of coffee coming out.”
Coffee, and of course New Zealand, were the winners on the day.
I’ll drink to that but it won’t be in coffee because although I have several vices caffeine isn’t one of them.
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