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Canberra’s ‘world’s best’ barista uses wine in coffee

Canberran barista Sasa Sestic has been crowned World’s Best Barista in Seattle on Monday on his seventh attempt at the title.

His signature brew has a unique addition: briefly fermented shiraz viognier juice from one of Australia’s best vineyards, Clonakilla.

Sestic went to Clonakilla looking for a coffee additive which would bring out sympathetic flavours in coffee, Fairfax reported.

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“For the signature drinks, coffee obviously needs to be a star, but we would add ingredients, not to mask coffee but to highlight the qualities of the coffee as well,” he told the ABC.

And the win has raised hopes among Sestic’s colleague that the national capital could become known as a coffee capital.

“It would be great if this led people to start recognising Canberra as one of the coffee capitals of Australia or at the very least a city with an established speciality coffee scene,” Caity Reynolds, Canberra’s The Cupping Room head barista said.

Sestic, who founded ONA coffee which includes The Cupping Room was named Australian barista champion in mid-March after six attempts, Fairfax reports.

He told the ABC that he drafted a calendar of coffee ripening times so that he could choose the right beans for the Seattle contest.

He began planning 12 months ago for the four espresso, four cappuccino and four signature coffees he would prepare in Seattle, he said.

“Seasonality is very important and we knew that the season would finish in Colombia from September to October,” he said.

 

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