We are the champions

Matthew Lewin

2019 ASCA AUSTRALIAN BARISTA CHAMPION

It’s taken six years for Ona Coffee’s Matthew Lewin to declare himself the Australian Barista Champion, and now he can.

After competing in the Australian Specialty Coffee Association (ASCA) Vitasoy Australian Barista Championship finals since 2014, the one trophy lacking from the Ona Coffee Barista Trainer’s cabinet was the big one, first place.

“This is an incredible achievement for me. It doesn’t feel real. When Hugh Kelly’s name was called in second place, I was stunned,” Matthew says. “I’ve finished in every possible position from second to sixth place, so to do it the hard way is so much more rewarding. You have the opportunity to think ‘OK, I’m not going to try anymore’, but every year I’ve improved, and grown as a person.”

Matthew’s finals presentation focused on two coffees from the Santa Barbara region of Honduras – Finca Beti (Ona Coffee Founder Sasa Sestic’s farm) and La Montañita.

Matthew used these coffees to explore the ways in which specialty coffee can be shared with everyday coffee drinkers, and how to bring them into the ‘specialty