What a fabulous weekend for coffee! On Saturday, fifteen baristas created routines with months of practice, innovative ideas, and delicious coffees. We are so proud of you all, the future of Aotearoa coffee is exciting.
Photo credit Andrew Turner @atphoto
Our judging team has also put in a lot of mahi, with online testing, workshops, and a full day of calibrating to hone their palates. Thanks to you all, especially the lead team. In a world-first, the final panel deliberated live on stage with the baristas, who were allowed to listen in with complete transparency.
Thanks to our sponsors. They bring palettes of goodies, equipment, and knowledge. There would be no Champs without them.
Or our volunteers who go above and beyond to truly give back to our community.
Congratulations to Yuqi (Max) Cui Representing: Mojo, Wellington. Max will take the laser Kiwi flag and represent Aotearoa as our Barista Champion in Milan, Italy next October 2025.
Runner Up: Bonnie Lam Representing: The Coffee Dojo Wanaka – Supported by: Flight Coffee in the Otago region.
Third Place: Hanna Teramoto Representing: Coffee Tech, Auckland.
Rounding out the top six are:
Fourth place: Tom Dixon Representing: Zephyr Coffee Co, Auckland.
Fifth place: Matt Ross Representing: Mt Zion Cafe, Tauranga
Sixth Place: Agnese Sokolovska Representing: Eighthirty Coffee Roasters, Auckland.
Your People’s Champion is Gareth Wilson Representing: Brewed As, Northland with hundreds of beautiful comments from his community.
See you all soon. Mā te wā.
Final round scores:
- Yuqi (Max) Cui: 601.5
- Bonnie Lam: 576.5
- Hanna Teramoto: 575
- Tom Dixon: 549.5
- Matt Ross: 514.5
- Agnese Sokolovska: 481 with 3 seconds overtime
Scores first round:
- Hanna Teramoto: 621
- Agnese Sokolovska: 582 overtime 14 seconds
- Yuqi (Max) Cui: 561.5 overtime 42 seconds
- Tom Dixon: 545
- Bonnie Lam: 544
- Matt Ross: 529
- Kyle Cabangun: 496
- Wayne Burrows: 489 overtime 11 seconds
- Isaac Jones:481
- Tanner Hunt: 463
- Eve Zhang: 451 overtime 35 seconds
- Joshua Peacocke: 446
- Jordan Reid: 405
- Gareth Wilson: 387.5 overtime 2:11 DQ
- Jay Marshall-Makaea: 216 overtime 1:58 DQ
Running order Saturday 5 October
- 9:30am Jordan Reid Representing: Strictly Coffee Roasters, Dunedin.
- 9:50am Hanna Teramoto Representing: Coffee Tech, Auckland.
- 10:10am Yuqi (Max) Cui Representing: Mojo, Wellington.
- 10:30am Agnese Sokolovska Representing: Eighthirty Coffee Roasters, Auckland.
- 10:50am Eve Zhang Representing: Ebony Coffee Roasters, Palmerston North.
- 11:10am Matt Ross Representing: Mt Zion Cafe, Tauranga
- 11:30am Gareth Wilson Representing: Brewed As, Northland.
- 11:50am Kyle Cabangun Representing: C4 Coffee Co, Christchurch.
- 12:10pm Tanner Hunt Representing: Hummingbird Coffee Roasters, Christchurch.
- 12:30pm Tom Dixon Representing: Zephyr Coffee Co, Auckland.
- 12:50pm Jay Marshall-Makaea Representing: McDonald’s Parry Group of Restaurants from the Hamilton and Rotorua regions.
- 1:10pm Joshua Peacocke Representing: Independent/Coffeesoc, Christchurch.
- 1:30pm Isaac Jones Representing: Sentinel Cafe, Hamilton.
- 1:50pm Bonnie Lam Representing: The Coffee Dojo Wanaka – Supported by: Flight Coffee in the Otago region.
- 2:10pm Wayne Burrows Representing: Zephyr Coffee Co Auckland.
FINAL CALL Volunteers: We need you and couldn’t do this without you.
Spectators: Come along and support Aotearoa’s finest Baristas in Action. Grab your free ticket here>
Everyone: We encourage you to book all your flights, accommodation, and ticketing now. Wellington sells out fast, folks!
Vote: The People’s Champion>
Sensory Scoresheet> Technical Scoresheet> Head Judge Scoresheet>
Congratulations to our competitors:
Jay Marshall-Makaea Representing: McDonald’s Parry Group of Restaurants from the Hamilton and Rotorua regions.
Bio: I want to compete to continue expanding my coffee understanding. I see competing as a thrilling and valuable opportunity to grow my barista skills and to go all out to showcase the coffee knowledge I’ve already hungrily consumed and showcase my ambition for more! Mauri ora!
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Wayne Burrows Representing: Zephyr Coffee Co in the Auckland region.
Bio: Coffee has allowed me to be a part of it for 18 years, and I have always tried to give it the best possible voice I can. Competitions allow us to showcase a journey we, as baristas, take with the coffee. From meeting for the first time on a farm or cupping table and then allowing it to blossom while exploring its flavour potential. As a competitor, you are then able to share this journey with not only judges but like-minded coffee people. The culmination of competitions is twofold: attempting to show the rest of the world the New Zealand roasted coffee is excellent and filled with passion, as well as representing the NZ industry as a whole.
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Joshua Peacocke Representing: Independent/Coffeesoc, from the Christchurch region.
Bio: I am a really passionate coffee hobbyist! I founded Coffeesoc in 2022 after discovering a love for speciality coffee as a whole. Coffeesoc gave me an entry into volunteering, and now competing! I am competing to represent other coffee hobbyists like myself who want to be able be in this community, but for one reason or another cannot.
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Bonnie Lam Representing: The Coffee Dojo Wanaka – Supported by: Flight Coffee in the Otago region.
Bio: My age seems to have outrun me. I’m 37 but definitely run around like I’m in my 20s, especially now that I have a child. Apart from owning 2 businesses and being mum, I enjoy a lot of outdoor activities – snowboarding, skating, biking. Love a good laugh and only ‘adult’ when necessary!
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Hanna Teramoto Representing: Coffee Tech in the Auckland region.
Bio: Hi my name is Hanna. I enjoy competing because it pushes me to grow as better coffee person and as human being. Competition is part of my coffee journey and a place to express myself through coffee.
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Agnese Sokolovska Representing: Eighthirty Coffee Roasters in the Auckland region.
Bio: I’ve been enjoying a cup of coffee for 25 years but worked in the industry for around 10. Coffee has brought me all over the world and the industry has given me the chance to connect with the most incredible people. New Zealand is the place that sparked my passion as a barista, it feels like a full circle bringing the coffee of my friends in Colombia to and representing it here- where it all started.
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Tanner Hunt Representing: Hummingbird Coffee Roasters in the Christchurch region.
Bio: I have always wanted to be in the hospitality/coffee industry but didn’t take the plunge till I came to New Zealand in 2020. Since starting with Hummingbird in late 2022, my coffee knowledge & industry experience has grown exponentially. Coming in 4th place for the NZSCA regionals, I’m excited to be representing HB in the nationals competing alongside some of NZ’s best.
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Yuqi (Max) Cui Representing: Mojo in the Wellington region.
Bio: I am competing because I want to keep getting better and I just love to explore the endless possibilities in coffees. I am from Mojo Wellington and I hope I make Mojo proud which is where everything started for me.
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Tom Dixon Representing: Zephyr in the Auckland region.
Bio: Having had a long interest in coffee and now spending a number of years within the industry Auckland was my first competition. What I found competition enabled was the opportunity to work with and learn from some of the countries best industry professionals. The learning personally is then something I can begin to share with others.
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Matt Ross Representing: Mt Zion Cafe, Tauranga
Bio: I love competing. Not just the competition of it, but the spirit of it. The people you meet, and the things you learn. It is the best! The NZ coffee community is the greatest there is. And I love being a part of it. Winning would be nice too…
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Kyle Cabangun Representing: C4 Coffee Co, Christchurch
Bio: Coffee is an incredible industry with so much to explore and learn. Coffee is something that I’ve been passionate about since joining the industry straight out of school. I feel that competitions are a great way to further my own knowledge, skills and build connections in the coffee community.
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Eve Zhang Representing: Ebony Coffee Roasters, Palmerston North
Bio: to follow
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Gareth Wilson Representing: Brewed As, Northland
Bio: Competing in the barista championship isn’t just about the coffee (although a big part of it). It’s a chance to share my love for the craft, connect with others, tell my story, and have a bit of fun along the way. I had no idea how much there was to learn about coffee, and I want to share all I can about this amazing culture.
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Isaac Jones Representing: Sentinel Cafe, Hamilton
Bio: Hi I’m Isaac. I work as a Barista at Sentinel Cafe in Hamilton. My love and appreciation for coffee has grown significantly over my time working in the industry. In particular I’ve come to love coffee as part of good hospitality, I love the way good coffee makes people feel. I want to compete to showcase the very best of coffee that represents this.
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Jordan Reid Representing: Strictly Coffee Roasters, Dunedin
Bio: Although there’s not a lot of years on my belt I have a continuously growing passion for coffee. Competing pushes me further and gives me a platform to share my love and passion for coffee. I got my first cafe job at 15 and all I wanted to do was make coffee. Fast forward 3 years I took the leap to commit to being a full time Barista. I got a job as the Head Barista at the cafe I started at fresh out of high school. After a couple years I started at Strictly Coffee Roasters, here I’ve been able to grow further in my skills and knowledge then I would’ve ever imagined.
