How did the new world barista champion come into being? Interview with Anthony, the WBC champion barista in 2022

The World Barista Competition (World Barista Championship), as the highest standard international competition in the coffee industry, the brilliant operation on the field truly reflects the industry's use and progress of coffee in different dimensions. Contestants play the role of transmission, presenting superb coffee skills to strict professional judges with words and actions, so that tasters can get a better coffee experience.

At the WBC held in Melbourne, Australia last year, the championship trophy was held by Anthony Douglas (Anthony Douglas) from Axil, an Australian cafe. Yes, it was Rui Xing who announced the "great god" he had invited a few days ago.

Born in Noble Park, Anthony is an out-and-out Melbourne. He dropped out of high school and moved to Sydney, Australia, to work in the deli section of a Spanish restaurant.

Speaking of the initial coffee brewing experience, Anthony said: "I make about four or five cups of coffee a day, especially enjoy the feeling of making coffee, like the whole operation procedure." The few coffee products every day made him fall in love with the profession of barista. The following year, 19-year-old Anthony moved back to Melbourne to start his career as a barista.

In 2015, Anthony, who had a certain coffee base, came to Axil Coffee Roasters and was completely shocked by a cup of espresso. "I was amazed. I had never tasted coffee like this before. Only then did I know that coffee could still do this."

So he applied for a position in the store of the coffee brand, and his boss, Dave Makin, hired him on the spot, and Anthony became a member of the Axil team. Dave, the boss, was the runner-up in the 2008 international barista competition and often encouraged his employees to participate in the competition, which paved the way for Anthony's coffee competition career.

Over the past seven years, he has been repeatedly summing up and polishing the production techniques and processes, from regional selection to Australian sub-competitions. In 2022, Anthony finally won the domestic competition, representing Australia in the international barista competition for the first time and won the championship.

Anthony said of his victory: "I am extremely proud to be named this year's world champion. I am honored to represent Australia and, more specifically, Melbourne." I couldn't have done this without the support and commitment of the Axil Coffee Roasters team. " He firmly believes that the honor should be attributed to the joint efforts of himself and the team.

His team (including coaches and bakers) prepared for six months, tested hundreds of coffee beans, and finally chose anaerobic fermented coffee from Huilan, Colombia, a hybrid of Tibika and Bourbon, Sidra.

Anthony shows espresso with blackberries, cherries and white wine on the flavor spectrum, and the finish is as long as wine, mainly due to the effect of anaerobic fermentation.

In the part of milk coffee, he uses freeze-drying technology to make milk into "milk powder" and fuse it with fresh milk to double the sweetness, fat and protein of milk. It not only enhances the original cherry flavor of coffee beans, but also increases the unique taste of cream sugar and chocolate mousse.

In making the last special drink of the competition, he used jujube honey from the original coffee farm to obtain complex sweetness, used passion fruit fermented by lactic acid bacteria to enhance the fruit flavor, and used hibiscus cold extract tea to increase the tannins of red wine. and use "freeze-dried" jujube syrup to increase the overall mellowness of the drink. Finally make the coffee taste like a sweet truffle.

Under this series of operations, Anthony strengthens the flavor characteristics of coffee itself, expands the taste range for special drinks, and adds new sensory experiences. This is why Anthony's excellent performance impressed the judges and stood out among all the contestants in the world.

After winning the world barista championship, Anthony shifted from the training manager of Axil Coffee Roasters to the R & D department, hoping to further explore boutique coffee. "I think the role of baristas is to bridge the gap between boutique coffee and customers, by providing a wonderful experience that best represents coffee and everything in it, and sharing it in an approachable way, so that customers can enjoy the charm of coffee."