The Australian Aeropress Championships went down on Friday, May 16th in Melbourne, at Filter, the new CBD cafe opened by the Small Batch Roasting Co. team. The event, overseen by Patricia’s Coffee Brewers‘ Tim Varney, the Global Competitive Pressing of Aeros Ombudsman himself, was packed to the gills with eager coffee people, many of whom were in town for the 2014 Melbourne International Coffee Expo and the 2014 World Latte Art Championship, World Coffee In Good Spirits Championship, and World Cup Tasters’ Championship.
The excellent World Aeropress Championships website has a breakdown of the top three winning Aeropress recipes, which we are shamelessly reblogging below, alongside our photos of the event. Sprudge attended as documentarians and DJ’s, alongside the incomparable tunesmith styles of of DJ Mark W. Free.
Eileen P. Kenny, Sprudge’s Melbourne desk writer, was also on hand for the event, celebrating the launch of her new book, Birds Of Unusual Vitality vol. 2, the first imprint of Sprudge Publishing. Sales were brisk for the collection of photos and interviews with a diverse range of notable coffee figures. You can get your own copy online here, or look for it at retail at selected fine Australian and North American coffee shops soon.
The event was a lively one, with MC’s Ryan Shelton and Jenni Bryant of Market Lane Coffee doing a great job of keeping the commentary running, and a strong field of competitors, including regional competition winners and open-round entrants. Judging duties were handled by Tim Styles of Workshop Coffee, Andrew Kelly of hosts Small Batch Roasting Co. and Russell Beard of Reuben Hills. Mr. Kelly’s Small Batch also graciously provided the top prize at the Australian AeroPress Championship: flights and accommodation in Rimini, Italy to represent Australia in the impending World AeroPress Championship event.
For a fun look behind the scenes of this event, check out this video made by Julian Lucas breaking down all of the ingredients necessary to hosting your own successful Aeropress competition.
And now, what you’ve all been waiting for: the recipes!
3rd Place: Sean McManus, Single Origin Roasters, Sydney
Grind 18g delicious filter coffee (wipe out any visible husk).
Micro sift for 60 seconds.
Bolder sift till your left with 13g’s of pretty much “near f’ing perfect” ground coffee.
Wrap your sexy AEROPRESS in your favourite “comical” stubby cooler now known as your aeropress warmer.
Pour boiling water in your inverted aeropress and leave for at least 2min.
Rinse filter.
Inverted.
Coffee in.
85 deg water (200g) in.
Agitate while pouring for 20seconds.
Compress brew to surface.
Screw base.
1min flip.
3 light swirls.
25second extraction (gentle push down).
Stop as soon as see grounds.
Celebrate your efforts by introducing a beer to your face.
2nd Place: Eva Shao, Cup Coffee, Brisbane
Preheat inverted aeropress.
Select beans. 14.5g course grind.
Remove chaff stuck on the side of collector, and also with a puffer.
Slowly pour 220g of 85degree water in 30sec period.
At 45 sec dip/break and clean like cupping.
Place rinsed 5x5cm square filter paper and able fine metal filter on cap.
Cap, remove air then flip at 1:45.
Slowly press out 200ml from 2:00 to 3:00.
Light stir, allow brew to settle a bit, then slow pour to serve.
1st Place: Dylan Johnson, Paramount Coffee Project, Sydney
Sort and sieve coffee.
Non-inverted aeropress.
Dose coffee.
Add 50g of water, stir gently to wet coffee.
@30sec add 50g of water, stir well.
@1min add 100g of water, stir well.
Insert plunger.
Plunge from 1.30 to 2.30.
Swirl coffee well to aerate.
Congratulations, Dylan Johnson! We’ll be seeing you in a little over a week in Rimini, Italy for the World Aeropress Championship!
Alex Bernson is the Assistant Editor at Sprudge.com. Read more Bernson here.
