2017 Australian Aeropress Championship Poster, Artwork by Kentara Yoshida

The Australian AeroPress National Championship, hosted in our Botany roastworks, is hurtling toward us Saturday September 9th.

Between the competitors battling it out on stage, the Australian camel & picked cactus burgers that Rising Sun will be flipping, the Cow and The Moon Black Tyrant Ant Guava gelato and the 4Pines going down, there probably won’t be a dull moment in this all-Australian line up. And if there is, MC Sean McManus of Bad Hombres and Neighbourhood, will fix that.

To get you into competition mode, ready to cheer your peer to victory, we share a few words from each State AeroPress Championship winner; their brewing style, their comp bitch, even a run in they’ve had with an Aussie nasty…like encounters with sharks, and fairy bread.

Thanks competitors & good luck! Cheers also to the legends at LaMarzocco Australia for the grand Linea Mini prize, to Café Imports for the delicious Muwa Estate Kenya comp coffee, to WAC Tim Varney and to judges Brydon Price, Joe Tynan and Wendy De Jong

See you September 9 all!

IAN MERRIGAN (TAS)
Yellow Bernard

WEIRDEST PLACE YOU’VE BREWED AN AEROPRESS?
Maybe not the weirdest, but definitely the most necessary – the airport. Much to my wifes embarrassment, whenever we travel I usually whip out the AeroPress, run away to haggle with nearby restaurants for their hot water, then return to brew delicious coffee in my space tube.

SECRET WAY OF COAXING THE BEST OUT OF YOUR BREW?
The key to the perfect AeroPress brew is timing. Twenty seconds into my brew I whisper a joke to the coffee. It may take more time in preparation but you will literally taste the joy in the cup.

WHO’S YOUR COMP BITCH? YOU KNOW, TO CARRY YOUR EK, OPEN BEER ETC.
Comp bitch? I open my own beer! Really though, I’ve got a lot of amazing people back in Hobart cheering me on. Shout out to my dad for buying me my first AeroPress 4 years ago though!

ANY PREVIOUS COMP WINS OR NEW WINS?
This is my first spin in competition!

TELL US ABOUT A RUN IN YOU’VE HAD WITH A NASTY AUSSIE CREATURE…
It’s hard to narrow it down to one… I mean, I’ve had run ins with Vegemite, fairy bread, sand, angry possums, sunburn and dagwood dogs. All terrifying.

CELESTE DIXON (SA)
Laneway Espresso House

WEIRDEST PLACE YOU’VE BREWED AN AEROPRESS?
Weirdest place I’ve brewed an AeroPress would be outside work doing a handstand because I love being upside down, it seemed natural. If there’s enough room at the comp; watch out you never know what you might see!

SECRET WAY OF COAXING THE BEST OUT OF YOUR BREW?
My littleAeroPress secret is I don’t like the taste of a standardAeroPress so I try and make it as much like a v60 as I can.

WHO’S YOUR COMP BITCH? YOU KNOW, TO CARRY YOUR EK, OPEN BEER ETC.
My comp bitch would have to be Hyemi who’s usually always my right hand man! Making sure I have everything I need and don’t slice my head open pre-comp like I have done before.

ANY PREVIOUS COMP WINS OR NEW WINS?
I usually enter latte art comps. I’ve won a few of them and actually entered theAeroPress one as a joke. So I was VERY surprised I won that one considering I’d only ever made 2 aero’s previous to that.

TELL US ABOUT A RUN IN YOU’VE HAD WITH A NASTY AUSSIE CREATURE…
A nasty Aussie creature, well there was this one customer……… no seriously I hate spiders. Any size doesn’t matter can’t stand them always have to get someone to come and squash it for me.

YUTARO MITSUYOSHI (VIC)
Addict Food and Coffee

WEIRDEST PLACE YOU’VE BREWED AN AEROPRESS?
I have never brewed an AeroPress at weird place except the balcony of my house. Even though, I am planning a camp in this summer, then I will brew it in the nature.

SECRET WAY OF COAXING THE BEST OUT OF YOUR BREW?
Oh yeah it’s nothing secret actually. It’s very classic. Maybe anyone can brew same way as mine.

WHO’S YOUR COMP BITCH? YOU KNOW, TO CARRY YOUR EK, OPEN BEER ETC.
My partner.

HANY EZZAT (ACT)
ONA

WEIRDEST PLACE YOU’VE BREWED AN AEROPRESS?
Weirdest place I’ve brewed an AeroPress is on an aeroplane. 🤙

SECRET WAY OF COAXING THE BEST OUT OF YOUR BREW?
My secret is K.I.S.S – Keep it simple stupid.

WHO’S YOUR COMP BITCH? YOU KNOW, TO CARRY YOUR EK, OPEN BEER ETC.
Gin and Gus are my comp bitches counting my beans and removing Quakers.

ANY PREVIOUS COMP WINS OR NEW WINS?
This is my first ever comp win and first ever filter competition!!!

TELL US ABOUT A RUN IN YOU’VE HAD WITH A NASTY AUSSIE CREATURE…
My nasty experience with an Aussie creature was probably the time when I was surfing down the coast and had a shark knock me off my board. 👁

PHILIP POLLEN (NSW)
Pablo & Rusty’s

WEIRDEST PLACE YOU’VE BREWED AN AEROPRESS?
In a cave on Vancouver Island using water straight from the waterfall.

SECRET WAY OF COAXING THE BEST OUT OF YOUR BREW?
Using a bypass method where I’m able to manage TDS each time.

WHO’S YOUR COMP BITCH? YOU KNOW, TO CARRY YOUR EK, OPEN BEER ETC.
Paul Thompson.

ANY PREVIOUS COMP WINS OR NEW WINS?
Placed at the last 3 AeroPress state comps. Placed at the last 2 cup tasters state comps.

TELL US ABOUT A RUN IN YOU’VE HAD WITH A NASTY AUSSIE CREATURE…
Once served Tony Abbott a large skim Mocha….

JENNIFER ARGYLE (WA)
Blackbox Coffee Brewers

WEIRDEST PLACE YOU’VE BREWED AN AEROPRESS?
Brewing on a bench in front of spectators, judges and cameras is pretty weird for me.

SECRET WAY OF COAXING THE BEST OUT OF YOUR BREW?
Poetry by moonlight.

WHO’S YOUR COMP BITCH? YOU KNOW, TO CARRY YOUR EK, OPEN BEER ETC.
There’s no need for that.

ANY PREVIOUS COMP WINS OR NEW WINS?
This is the first time I’ve entered a comp.

TELL US ABOUT A RUN IN YOU’VE HAD WITH A NASTY AUSSIE CREATURE…
I grew up with an outside toilet that was always full of spiders so I’m not too bothered by them, but the sight of a huntsman marching across a wall is enough to unnerve anyone!

FRASER SINGLETON (QLD)
Camp Albion

WEIRDEST PLACE YOU’VE BREWED AN AEROPRESS?
Middle of an international flight from Dubai to London – 10/10 would not recommend. Took ages getting the hot water and tasted terrible.

SECRET WAY OF COAXING THE BEST OUT OF YOUR BREW?
Double filtering is a favourite fall-back of mine. Paper and metal combo – usually a standard paper aero filter and an able metal disk filter. I find it really helps clean up the brew and gives it a slightly softer body.

WHO’S YOUR COMP BITCH? YOU KNOW, TO CARRY YOUR EK, OPEN BEER ETC.
Steph Burrows and Tiff Teo brought their EK to the regionals and ended up lending me pretty much everything, so if they were coming down to Sydney I’d definitely be recruiting them. Otherwise, probably Nick Maschke, one of the owners of Camp Albion – the only time he’ll carry my shit for me.

ANY PREVIOUS COMP WINS OR NEW WINS?
No wins, came runner up last week in Veneziano’s smackdown though. I lost to a friend and former co-worker, Sam Lin, of Coffee Anthology which was the best possible outcome short of winning.

TELL US ABOUT A RUN IN YOU’VE HAD WITH A NASTY AUSSIE CREATURE…
Too many run ins with nasty customers to recall.

Come see the finalists & wildcards battle it out September 9th at our Botany roastworks. May the best presser win!