text: Barista gives Mojo boost | Scoop News
  Barista gives Mojo boost
  Tuesday, 8 April 2008, 10:01 am
  Press Release: the New Zealand Barista Championships
  Mojo Coffee's top barista Faatafa Liufau knows how to make a good cuppa.
  The 27-year-old Westmere resident took out the Auckland regional final of the New Zealand Barista Championships held at Allpress Roastery on Saturday.
  Faatafa impressed both the technical and sensory judges with his interpretation of coffee and will now compete against other regional finalists at the New Zealand Barista Championships final to be held in Wellington in May.
  The New Zealand champion will then travel to Copenhagen in June 2008 to represent New Zealand at the World Barista Championships (WBC) International Final.
  Kiwis have historically done well at the WBC, three-time NZ Barista Champion Carl Sara placed 3rd in Tokyo last August.
  The Auckland regional final featured 24 top baristas from Auckland, Hamilton, Cambridge, Morrinsville, Whitianga and Tauranga.
  Each competitor had 15 minutes to produce four espressos, four cappuccinos, and four signature coffees.
  Chris Dillon, President of the New Zealand Coffee Roasters Association, was impressed with the standard of the Auckland competitors.
  "It was great to see the next generation of keen young baristas working to a really high standard, making excellent coffee and operating with great professionalism. The future of kiwi coffee is in safe hands," says Chris.
  This is the first year the New Zealand Coffee Roasters Association is running the New Zealand Barista Championships. This brings it in line with World Barista Championships regulations, which state that it must be run by an independent association or body, and also encourages support for the event from a broader range of coffee-roasting companies.