DAVID Huang has taken out the New Zealand regional barista championships to land himself the number-one position in Auckland for coffee making.
The 28-year-old from Howick will compete in Christchurch later this month in a harista battle for the country ’s best coffee connoisseur.
Mr Huang, a part-time lecturer at Manukau Institute of Technology, helps budding young coffee makers to gain certificates of barista operations.
"Coffee culture in New Zealand is growing strong," says Mr Huang. "A lot of people recognise a barista as someone who makes coffee. The way we see it is it ’s someone who understands the process of making coffee, from the history to the services and techniques." Mr Huang ’s passion for the grind began eight years ago when he started experimenting with making coffee in his garage.
"I wanted to learn more about coffee because I drank it all the time, so I started practising and enjoyed the research behind it." His research extends from the more than 40 books he has read from the history of coffee beans to New Zealand ’s dairy industry.
"This is the hardest time of year to perfect coffee because it ’s so dry," he says. "Instead of gTass, cows eat hay and that has a huge effect on the milk." In between running a caf and lecturing at MIT, Mr Huang helps students refine their coffee making and judges national junior competitions.
This will be the fifth barista championship he has competed in in 2005 and 2006 he was placed second in New Zealand.
Owning a coffee shop in Epsom, Espresso Workshop, has added to his expertise, and he gives lessons to staff about the art of coffee making, combined with a history of the bean. "I want people to know I ’m not just a business owner but I ’m a barista at heart."
By Amanda King
Howick Pakuranga Times,
Auckland, New Zealand
David’s best in the city with beans
