Being in the coffee industry for over a decade, I’ve found it’s the constant development and new knowledge that drives me. I originally stepped into competition because I found myself getting bored just being behind a machine in my café all the time doing the same thing. My first competition experience, over 5 years ago, showed me just how much more there is to know about this magical little bean and the long journey it takes to get into our cups.

My journey began with latte art, and it was the creative side of coffee making that helped my passion flourish. Day after day I would learn new designs and challenge myself to get better. From there, it was a natural step into barista championships where, with the right guidance, the depth of knowledge and growth was exponential. In one of those competitions I claimed a 250 g Hottop roaster as my prize, which, lo and behold, propelled me into an all new realm of coffee.

I knew the theory of it, sure, but actually roasting … being in control of the 1000+ chemical reactions that take place in each roast … this would be fun. Sure, I burnt a few batches, but mistakes are how we learn. Researching different ideas and being open to advice from many different sources helped me get started. But trusting myself, exploring, tasting, making mistakes and fixing them next time, and not being afraid to try things differently, that’s where I found myself learning the most.

For Golden Bean, I wanted to see how what I had learnt compared to what others were doing out there. I selected the Indian Thalanar Estate as my coffee, and let it stand alone in the cup, as it has great balance for a single origin. I roasted it three different ways and sampled each to decide which highlighted the best features of the bean as an espresso. Then I replicated that profile … twice, because I had to submit a 500 g bag of coffee, and I could only roast 250 g at a time!

It was a great experience … another stepping stone on the coffee journey.

P. 0414 530 398
E. habibm@mocopan.com.au