Grand Barista Championship Australasia 2012

For a beverage that 's so amazingly complex and volatile, how can it be judged?  What makes one better than the next?

To achieve consistency across all our judges some guidelines must be present so as to look for the same objective - quality.  As judges we should all have a general understanding of quality in coffee. This year's Grand Barista Championship is designed to make it easier for the baristas to interpret their understanding of quality and the creation of flavour.  The competitors will be assessed predominantly on flavour by three sensory judges and also their technical skills by two technical judges.

2011 GBC Judging Guide 122 Kb  *NEW*

 2011 GBC Sensory Score Sheet 139KB

 2011 GBC Technical Score Sheet 128KB

 2011 GBC Head Judge Score Sheet 140KB

Sequence of drinks:
The order for serving the beverages is at the discretion of the Barista however the Express Latte beverage must be served last.

Only 1 (one) of the Express Latte will be tasted, and this will be a random selection by the head judge. The balance of the Express Latte beverages will be passed to the audience for sampling. Please refer to the judging guidelines for more details and a deeper understanding for the Express Latte beverage.

The Barista will serve all beverages to a dedicated judging area. The sensory judges will move to the same area to taste and score the beverage. One of the served beverages is for the barista's own evaluation.

For scoring, the Barista will be assessed by 2 technical judges and 2 sensory judges during the heats. In the final event there will be 3 (three) sensory judges. A head judge will be present during the heats and final event to ensure judging is consistent, to adjudicate when and where necessary as well score directly the Express Latte section.

The Barista is responsible for starting and stopping the time clock. If the barista stops the clock within the given 10 minute time frame, no points will be deducted. There is an additional 2 minutes of penalty time available. The barista can choose to use some or all of the two minute penalty time. Please see below a schedule outlining the deduction point system for using penalty time.

If the Barista has not stopped the time clock after 2 minutes of penalty time, the head judge will inform the Barista that time has expired and the Barista will be asked to stop the performance. At this point the Barista will also be informed by the head judge they are disqualified.

The penalty scoring system relating to time:

• Less than 10 minutes = no deduction of points.
• 10min to 10min 30sec = deduction of 5 points
• 10min 31sec to 12min = deduction of 15 points
• Greater than 12 minutes means the Barista is disqualified.