Will Priestly from Pilgrim Coffee caf in Hobart was crowned Australia’s best barista at the grand final of the Almond Breeze Breezey Masters in Sydney on 25 October.
The event took place at the Espresso Room caf in Circular Quay and saw eight state finalists, selected from a pool of over 130 entrants, go head-to-head to craft the most creative and intricate latte art.
The best baristas from each state had 10 minutes to present six examples of latte art using their own coffee beans and Almond Breeze Barista Blend.
“It’s an honour to be the first every Breezey Grand Master. I’m looking forward to heading to the US next year. It’s great to see how Almond Breeze is supporting baristas and working with us to help the industry deliver the best results,” Priestly said.
As winner, Priestly has claimed an all-inclusive trip to the USA, valued at $10,000.
The competition’s runner-up was Andy Tseng from Pixel Caf in Perth.
The other six state finalists were:
- Julian Mou, Harriet Expresso Bar in the Northern Territory
- Raihaan Esat, Di Bella Coffee in Queensland
- Joshua Rivers, C.R.E.A.M in South Australia
- Samuel Taylor, Soul Origin in NSW
- Sengmany Sanoubane, Espresso Room in Canberra
- Aaron Dongsu Shin, Shortblack caf in Victoria
Head judges, Tony Macri from Coffee Brothers and Frankie Shi from Tulip Shi assessed each cup on presentation as well as taste.
“We know Australians love their coffee and we realised that more and more were interested in enjoying an almond milk coffee. We launched the Almond Breeze Breezey Masters this year to show our support for the coffee industry and highlight the world-class barista talent we have in the country,” Ringwood said.
Almond Breeze launched Barista Blend, the first almond milk specially formulated for baristas, in 2014.