BEST BEANS REVEALED Australian International Coffee Awards: 2013 Winners

The inaugural Australian International Coffee Awards (AICA) has today named Victoria’s Cartel Coffee Roasters as Champion Australian Roaster and New Zealand’s Toasted Espresso as Champion International Roaster.

Announced at the opening day of the 2013 Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE2013), the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV) presented two champion roaster trophies and three best in class trophies to local and international coffee roasters as part of the AICA.

Champion Espresso was awarded to New South Wales’ Belaroma Coffee Roasting Company for its Belaroma Single Origin, while Champion Milk Based Coffee was presented to Queensland’s The Coffee Roaster Pty Ltd for its TCR 33-BYS.

Cartel Coffee Roasters also took out Champion Filter Coffee for its Cartel Roasters Sumatran Lintong.

A total of 174 medals were awarded – four gold, 30 silver and 140 bronze.

RASV CEO Mark O’Sullivan congratulated winners and said the success of the AICA was testament to Australia’s strong coffee culture.

“On behalf of the RASV, I congratulate all trophy and medal winners on their success at the inaugural AICA.”

“Australia is recognised globally for its outstanding coffee and its reputation as an international coffee capital has been further strengthened with the introduction of the AICA, which has been embraced by the coffee community both in Australia and abroad,” said Mr O’Sullivan.

Australia’s first international coffee roasting competition, which is a related event of MICE2013, attracted 603 entries from more than 130 coffee roasters across the globe.  Entries were judged by a panel of 28 experts, including highly acclaimed barista and consultant Emma Markland-Webster, over three days at Melbourne Showgrounds.

The AICA provides coffee roasters with an opportunity to have their coffee assessed and benchmarked by industry experts.  Entrants also receive valuable feedback and can market their coffee with the AICA’s seal of excellence.

Best in class trophy for Champion Sustainable Coffee was not awarded due to entries not meeting the AICA’s high standards of excellence.

For more information, visit their website and follow the AICA on Twitter