Monday 20th june saw sea circus host its very first barista jam. In attendance were an army of roasters [from five senses] and baristas [from some of australia’s best venues].

To set the vibe and get the monday morning pumping we invited our favourite musician to play – the lovely [and english] Andy.

Jen murray [canada] ran a public cupping session. Jen is a highly reputed ‘cupper’ and actively part of the global ‘cup of excellence’ scheme, so we were extremely privileged and excited to have her guiding us through 4 bean varieties: balinese, sumatran, ethiopian and colombian.

Befitting the five senses moniker, Jen first guided us through the look and feel of the unground beans. each varietal was given 3 cups. then we ceremonially poured the water in…

It was left to stand for a minute before the boys got started on sinking the grinds. Next we all took a spitoon and plunged a teaspoon in to start the tasting. Jen and Shaughan led the way showing us the technique [which was slightly scary to begin with]! It involved loud slurping and sucking up coffee without choking on it, but soon we got the hang of it and could start to really taste the subtleties in notes.

The conoisseur’s favourite was the ethiopian nekisse which was described by jen as the following: ‘distinct berry fruit and citrus character that can border on grapefruity. Vibrant acidity, caramelised mouthfeel and floral aromas are common to Nekisse’

After the cupping it was on to the latte art smackdown. The Melbourne baristas couldn’t help themselves and soon all the roasters and baristas got on the machine to try and claim the latte art crown.

Results are coming soon… so stay tuned!