Golden Bean 2019 Success
The Golden Bean Australia/NZ 2019 in Port Macquarie was a huge success for the event organizer. The World’s largest coffee roasting competition had a total of 1,580 entries from 615 roasters from all around Australia/NZ.
The competition took place at the Rydges Hotel in Port Macquarie, and they also catered for 200 guests over the four days of the competition. The event saw some of Australia’s/NZ’s best Coffee Roasters compete for the prestigious rights of being the Grand Champion Roaster of Australia/NZ.
A major feature of the event was the access to high end equipment that was used during the judging phase of the competition. Equipment used was Rancilio RS1 espresso machines, Optipure filtration, Puqpress tampers, Mahlkonig EK43’s Grinders. Behmor Brewers were used for the Filter category which had over 250 coffees entered. The success of the event would not have been possible without the support of our machine sponsors and the high number of volunteers behind the scenes, brewing the coffees.
This year we invited expert industry speakers who discussed numerous topics that roasters had requested in last year’s industry survey. We see this format of conference speakers growing at future Golden Bean events.
We all judged 1,500 coffees over three days with the largest category being Milk Based which ran for the full three days of the competition. There was a special finals round for the Filter coffees that were tasted by all four Head Judges in a blind knock out round to find the winner.
This year’s Green Bean Zone excited ten Green Bean companies and suppliers showcasing their products from around the globe. We observed priceless business being conducted during these special cupping sessions between Roasters and Green Bean companies. This part of the Conference is very important to connect roasters to new supply chains.
To wrap up this year’s Golden Bean Awards night the theme was Country and Western at the Slim Dusty Centre where we showcased the winning roasters of Australia/NZ with a medal presentation. The attendees cheered on their fellow roasters and were entertained by MC Steve Foye who also did a fabulous duet “Islands in the Stream” at the opening of the awards with local singer Roxy Montgomery.
Winning trophies were presented for the Small Franchise category which was awarded to Canberra based roaster ONA Coffee, then followed by Large Franchise Category award which went to Victorian roaster Black Bag Roasters.
The overall winner was Glee Coffee Roasters from the Central Coast awarded to Ben and Chris Gleeson who were both there to accept the Reg Barber designed Trophy.
Second Overall went to Alan Zuo of Coffee Tech Roasters in New Zealand.
Greg Gibbs from Boema was also in attendance and he received this years’ prestigious Hall of Fame Award. It was a proud industry moment seeing Greg receive this award for his outstanding achievement in the Australian Coffee Industry. Boema has been a coffee machine manufacturer for over 60 years and has recently had to shut the doors.
A big congratulations to all our Australia/NZ Roasters who participated this year and helped us create such a successful competition with an avenue for coffee roasters to showcase their unique skills. If you did not place well in this years’ competition, please keep trying because as this event grows so does the challenge to perform better. The feedback you get should be a good indication on where your coffee sits in the national marketplace. Golden Bean Judges are your peers and all the feedback is honest and accurate. We have watched the growth of many roasters since we started the Golden Bean in Australia/NZ and competition is a great way to improve your skills and your business knowledge.
We will be moving to a new city next year, so we are very excited to welcome more new roasters into our Golden Bean Family and show you the process of the world’s largest coffee roasters competition, so stay tuned.
A big thanks goes out to all the North American coffee roasters who attended this year’s Golden Bean Australia/NZ. I would also like to thank all the Cafe Culture team who helped out with the operations of the competition.
Thank You
Head Bean, Sean Edwards
Quick Facts
1580 coffees entered
615 Australia/NZ Roasters entered
Milk – 479
Espresso – 356
Filter – 250
Single Origin – 102
Medals for each Category (including tied points receiving medals) 1 – Gold, 5 – Silver, 15 – Bronze
Overall winner – Glee Coffee Roasters
Franchise winner Small – ONA Coffee
Franchise winner Large – Black Bag Roasters
All your results can be viewed on each individual portal, along with your certificates.
Medals will be sent out in the next 3 weeks (back order).
Stickers for medal winners are on sale!
Media Pictures of the event contact tilly@cafeculture.com
Low res art work for social media on Golden Bean website
Sponsorship opportunities contact sean@cafeculture.com
Any information or questions about the Golden Bean contact info@goldenbean.com
