OziBarista

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Black Gold Movie

I've taken on responsibility to promote a movie called "Black Gold" to feature at the next Melbourne International Film Festival (26 July – 13 August).

The movie follows the efforts of Tadesse Meskela a man on a mission to save his 75,000 struggling coffee farmers from bankruptcy. As his farmers strive to harvest some of the highest quality coffee beans on the international market, Tadesse travels the world in an attempt to find buyers willing to pay a fair price.


If you would like to support the movie with the display of posters etc at your cafe, please email me (nwakeford@somage.com.au).

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Some latte art pics

I hope to enter next years barista competition with a little more preparation (and perhaps not try to bite off more than I could chew!). In true nathan style I went at the competition like a bull at a gate, developing my own competition blend largely unassisted (I even tried roasting!). It was a great learning experience (tasting a heap of single origin beans), but I think to save the palates of the judges (quite impressive to see how they kept straight faces), next time I might seek a little more assistance.

I thought I would start by showing where I am at now with my latte art, I will post some pics of my pours soon...



Here's my first successful attempt at a double rosetta..



I recently learned how to do a tulip also..



I'll share more as I refine my skills and pick up new techniques.

My First Blog

Well, after perusing the passions of many bloggers I felt sufficiently motivated and inspired to start my own blog.

I thought I would start with a passion close to my heart - Coffee!

I have been making coffee for some time now (on and off for some 7 years) but have been developing my skills more deliberately over the past 2 & 1/2 years when I began as a coffee representative for a boutique roaster. My passion has become stronger since participating in the Victorian Barista Championships this year (I got 4th..) and becoming a regular contributor in the Coffee Geek Australian region forums (check out "Mr Nang"). The competition allowed me to meet many people in the industry and the opportunity to work weekends at the Maling Room (a cafe that serves as a meeting place for Coffee Geeks in Melbourne) , where I have been able to gradually refine my skills with a Synesso / Mazzer Combination (and some coaching!).

I thought I would use this blog to share my progression in learning about coffee, as well as the trials and tribulations I have experienced in running my own business (I started a company that supplies premium drinking chocolate & organic teas to cafes / restaurants & coffee companies).

I intend on posting pics, questions regarding issues I confront and I'm happy to respond to any questions I receive. Hope you find your time reading my blog enjoyable.