Melbournians love a good cup of joe. In fact, Melbourne has become synonymous to the best coffee in the world (seriously, we beat everyone else). So it’s with caffeinated excitement that we are looking forward to MICE from March 17-19 to take a sneaky sip of the best Melbourne has to offer.
Origin Alley
Start your coffee adventure at Origin Alley, where you can wander around and discover the homeland of your favorite coffee beans. On the international circuit, Brazil, Honduras, Costa Rica, Columbia, and Indonesia are among the top exporters of coffee beans. Chat to green bean traders and growers to ask any burning questions you might have about the origins of the coffee beans used in your daily flat white.
Roaster’s Alley
Move along to Roaster’s Alley and watch the experts at work, as they perfectly roast and serve their award winning coffee. If roasting catches your fancy, be sure to check out the ASCA Roasting Championship where competitors go head to head roasting the same coffee beans to various specific profiles. However, if you’re anything like us, we’re more interested in tasting the world’s best coffees brewed by Melbourne’s best roasters. There’s the good old reliable St. Ali and Axil Coffee. But don’t forget about the other cool (or should we say hot?) kids on the block: Zest Roasters and Rumble Coffee Roasters.
Sensory Lab Brew Bar
Still in need of caffeine? Head over to the Sensory Lab Brew Bar powered by Huhtamaki. If you like it hot, they’ve got classic pour over coffee and cool and chemistry reminiscient siphon coffee makers. More into drinking your coffee cold? Sensory Lab’s got your back with their cold drip coffee. That’s not even the best part! Love your coffee? Grab any of the brewing equipment used and join one of the coffee masterclasses to recreate the perfect cup of joe in the comfort of your home.
Nitro Coffee at Coffee Keg
Nitrogen ice cream? Been there, done that. But nitrogen coffee, now that’s new. Haven’t heard of it? It’s the cool kid’s version of an iced coffee. The nitrogen makes the coffee tastes crisper and sweeter compared to cold brew. It’s also stronger compared to traditional coffees. Can’t wait to get your hands on one? Head over to the guys at Coffee Keg to try it out! Totally Instagram worthy.
Australian Barista Competition
Now that you’ve seen the journey of coffee bean to roaster to consumer, you can see the pros battle it out for the title of Australia’s best barista. What’s at stake? Pride, bragging rights, and the chance to represent Australia at the World Barista Championships in June. This year’s winner has some big shoes to fill with Australian Sasa Sestic beating out over 50 opponents at last year’s competition. So watch coffee history in the making and cheer on your favorite baristas.
Insider Tip: Coffee Celebs
Be sure to pass by the Pura and Vitasoy stands to see Cafenatics’ Caleb Cha, aka the winner of the World Latte Art Championships, pouring out some crazy cool designs. If you ask nicely, he may even pour out his award winning Flirting Peacock, Love Triangle, or Caffeinated Zebra design. Following in Cha’s footsteps is Australian Latte Art Champion, Ben Morrow who’ll be representing Australia at World’s.
If you’re lucky, you may also bump into Sasa Sestic? Name ring a bell? Yup, he’s the World Barista Champion of 2015.
Watch Sarah from MICE chat to us about which coffee to try at the Expo, what’s trending in the Melb coffee scene and where else she sips her brew!
Looking for something else to do this weekend? Here’s everything that made it On The List.
Written By:
Nadine is a media communications and psychology student at the University of Melbourne. In her spare time, you’ll typically catch her reading a good book, hitting up Melbourne’s coolest restaurants and bars, or finding her next adrenaline rush. She also can’t say no to a good scoop of gelato or pizza slice. See what she gets up to on her Instagram.
