Back to the barista competition

So...

Going back to the Queensland Heats- Anne trounced us. Cara came second by 2-3 points, I came third, and Luke came 4th by about 5points. It was pretty even from 2-4 then, and it was a great time. I can honestly say that I've never had so much fun after the competition with coffee, since the comp injected me with so much enthusiasm. Since that time Anne had been busy with her CoffeeClub National Barista Trainer role, and in between she'd been trying to fit in her competitions practice. Running two grinders, one for her espresso and cappuccino, and one for her own signature blend was a gutsy move and her presentation was fantastic on the day even though she'd dropped a portafilter and also forgot half her lines. But even then, right after that performance I knew that she'd had it. By far it was easily the standard for the day. Surprisingly, in the following weeks Anne had felt that there was resentment from the rest of 'us' in the brissie coffeegeek scene since she'd heard so little from us. However that was far from the truth. For everyone that I've talked to, including her- we've all been totally hammered with work and getting back into the good life as well.

Which leads to--

One of the nice guys of Brisbane coffee, Alen Beganovic. He lent her the keys to his shop to do some after-work competition practice and she managed to fit in two or three shot-trainings with the mazzer minis. The second time around, Matt my housemate and myself were present to try and help her out. Anne was such a bundle of nerves, and really cute. In my eyes, I saw someone with over twice my experience, a much broader coffee perspective, also one of my first coffee mentors and it was really quite humbling for me that she asked for my opinion on things and for me to be able to be there with her supporting her during training.

Anne came 4th in Australia, and according to some reports I've heard she was both happy and sad with it. For someone to come 4th in australia on what's been only their 3rd or 4th comp, it's really quite amazing. Sad maybe because she might not be participating next year due to the heavy workload she will be experiencing. So next year I will be facing her padawan learners. Next year hopefully it will be May and myself leading the cibo charge in Brisbane. :)