The Team
steve_247 Managing Editor – Steve Agi will head BeanScene’s editorial team. Steve is well known for his reviews, café journalism, industry insight and dedication to intra-industry promotion. He is the Editor in Chief of the iconic Melbourne Coffee Review and hosts his own caffeine fuelled radio show, ‘The Devil’s Cup’. His highly regarded reviews can be found in the nation’s top newspapers and specialist publications. Committed to the cause of well-brewed coffee, Steve brings a high-level of passion and dedication to BeanScene, an undying commitment to the humble coffee bean and the vision to take this industry to the next level. Steve’s experience in this diverse and often factional industry makes him well placed to lead our team of baristas, roasters, cuppers and contributors in this dynamic and unique publication.
gary-try-11 Gary Try is a coffee industry veteran who's experience and knowledge covers the breadth of the globe. He has personally worked in just about every sector of the industry from plantation to roast, from cafes to sales. As one of Australia's early coffee educators and presenters, Gary is highly regarded in the world of coffee and is constantly in demand for insights and advice on topics ranging from café to domestic markets. Gary is currently the director of the Coffee Industry Exchange, based in Sydney.
instaurator Instaurator is world-renowned for coffee tasting and management expertise. He has established roasting businesses in Vancouver, Tokyo and Sydney (including Danes Gourmet Coffee and Michels Espresso). He has been a judge at the World Barista Championships (WBC) in Monte Carlo 2000, Miami 2001, Oslo 2002, Boston 2003 and Trieste 2004, where he was appointed the Executive Director of the WBC based in London. Instaurator outbid international buyers for the world’s best Guatemalan and Brazilian coffees and created the blend used by Paul Bassett when he won the WBC. He is currently serving as the President of the Australasian Specialty Coffee Association.
andyfreeman-2 Andy Freeman is the iconic face and name behind the global phenomenon that is CoffeeSnobs. He started this journey just enjoying slightly better than average coffee, discovered the fun and challenge of home roasting. In a very short time the backyard hobby became a life changing obsession that today occupies every waking minute of his caffeine-fuelled life. Originally coffeesnobs.com.au was created to facilitate the sourcing and distribution of wholesale specialty green coffee beans to people that wanted to roast coffee at home. In no time the website became a fun community of people that shared a similar passion for great coffee and were looking for a helping hand to improve their coffee experience. Coffee nirvana is a life long journey of learning and sharing, you can never know it all so enjoy the ride that Andy will guide you on with his regular contribution to BeanScene Magazine.
emily Emily Oak has over 10 years’ experience in coffee retailing, sales and education. She began her coffee career as a barista while at university and in 2001, Emily competed at the World Barista Championship (WBC) in Miami. Just one year later she began her international judging career. Since 2004, she has been the Asia Pacific Regional Coordinator for the WBC and in 2008 Emily was invited to join the WBC Board of Directors on behalf of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, the first time this position has been held outside of the USA. In the same year she won the Australian Cup Tasting Open Championship. Emily has worked with Australian Independent Roasters since 2005 and it is with such a distinguished track record and background that we welcome Emily to BeanScene magazine and look forward to her regular contributions.
david_makin_wbc1 David Makin has been a professional barista for more than 10 years. After owning and operating several of his own cafés he began work within the coffee roasting industry. David is the five times Victorian Barista of the Year, current Australian Barista of the Year and recently finished second at the World Barista Championships held in Copenhagen this year. David opened Makin Espresso as a barista studio aimed at training the very best baristas. David’s passion and focus is unparalleled within the industry, his insight and knowledge giving him a keen awareness of all aspects of the coffee industry globally.
lance-2812 Lance Brown After a varied and diverse career in the Australian and international hospitality industry, Lance Brown spent just under a decade with a multinational coffee company helping to shape the Victorian coffee industry into what it is today. Three years ago Lance moved into the role of National Account Manager for National Foods Australia. In this role he is responsible for supplying the Pura milk range to national coffee chain accounts across Australia. He is passionate about coffee and is a regular judge at AASCA events.
maria Maria Paoli is one of the best known and most well respected names in Melbourne’s and Australia’s vibrant coffee scene. She began her career as a barista 17 years ago travelling around the world in search of Espresso nirvana. Not only is she an accredited barista judge and host of the iconic Melbourne Historical Coffee Trek, she is also a teacher, trainer and industry consultant It is this level of insight and knowledge that she brings with her to BeanScene as well as her high profile and celebrity persona. Her commentary and observations within the industry are Gospel.
con_1354 Con Haralambopoulos is the proud owner of 7 Grams Café in Richmond and boasts a career in coffee that spans more than two decades. Back in June, Con was also crowned World Latte Art Champion in Copenhagen after competing against 25 of the world’s best baristas. He has recently received a bronze award for his blend at the Golden Bean Roaster Championships. Con has enjoyed competing for the last four years. His free pouring skills and coffee knowledge have expanded through these experiences and it is this sort of passion, knowledge and skill that he brings with him to BeanScene. Con is passionate about his work and he continues to experiment with new coffee blends.
tina_0926 Tina Partsioglou World-renowned Master Chocolatier Christos Partsioglou and his daughter, le petit chocolatier Tina, are the creators behind the eclectic and highly valued Xocolatl Artisan Chocolates. In their passion-driven quest to create unique artisan chocolates the duo have turned an area of their kitchen into a laboratory where they explore and experiment with new flavours and processes. This has been recognised by the industry by their accumulating awards in the Australian chocolate competition, Chocolate Rush, in innovative and moulded chocolates. It is this sort of reputation, experience and passion that Tina brings to BeanScene’s Chocolate Corner, a new and fresh addition to the café industry.
ian Ian Callahan has been a professional barista in Adelaide for 8 years, and is the 2008 state barista champion for South Australia. His career has entwined many roles as a trainer, consultant, sales director and manager, and currently is at the helm of Five Senses South Australian operations and Bar Nine 9 – Specialist Coffee Boutique, set to open mid January 2009.
His main passion for coffee comes from his extensive roles working with some of Adelaide’s finest restaurants and chefs. This has given him a unique view on coffee as a culinary spice, and a depth of understanding that he will share with BeanScene readers.
luca_1431 Luca Costanzo Lucas’s love for coffee is unquestionable. A barista since 1999, he has been involved in sourcing and roasting single origin beans, barista competition training and machine set-up. This engagement and experience across the various facets of coffee delivery positions him well to identify and share informative industry insights with BeanScene’s readers. One of Australia’s finest cuppers, a finalist in the Victorian (2008, 2009) and Australian (2007, 2008) cupping competitions, the moderator of coffeegeek.com and a member of the Australasian Specialty Coffee Association since 2006, Luca will bring readers informative reviews of coffee from around world, various blending styles and all the news in cupping.
bruno Bruno Maiolo “If coffee isn’t a memorable experience, it’s not worth the journey.” Bruno Maiolo creates exclusive custom made blends for cafés. He passionately explores single origins in order to come up with the flavour, strength, body and aftertaste profiles for Signature Coffee Blends. Bruno’s motto is: “With coffee, it’s personal. Life is too short – don’t compromise!” Bruno will bring this passion and expertise to the table in communicating with readers the wonders and possibilities of coffee.
rosss Ross Quail The Master Roaster at Jasper Coffee started his coffee career as a teenager barista, then as a Roaster since 1999. Ross has pursued coffee on many levels, studying BA in Applied Science at RMIT opened his eyes to the myriad of variables that affect one simple cup of coffee. On an industry level, Ross Heads the National Roasters Guild for AASCA and participates as an organiser and judge in State and National Barista and Cup Tasting Competitions. Coffee is his religion, and we welcome him to the BeanScene Magazine, where he can illuminate us all with his enlightening views and opinions.
jesse_ Jesse Hyde is the Victorian Barista Champion for 2009. In 2008 he placed third in the Queensland Barista Competition and was the runner up in the national open heat. He also placed second in the Danes Grand Barista Championship. It was working at Pioneer Roastery that Jesse was first exposed to specialty coffee. Later he was to work and train with David Makin (two time Australian Barista Champion). Jesse is currently working at Dancing Goat Cafe in Melbourne and preparing for the finals of the Australian Barista Championships, as well as lending his expertise to BeanScene Magazine.
grendel Michael Carroll, known to many as ‘Grendel’, has been passionate about finding great coffee since a coffee epiphany in Armenia in 1993. Following a move to the West in 2000, Michael’s next challenge was locating a really good cup of coffee in Perth. Discovering the local roasters was the key and from that point on his involvement in the specialty coffee scene has grown each year. Passionate about ethical issues as well as quality, Michael is keen to contribute in whatever way he can not only to ensuring that coffee growers receive a fair price, but also to developing relationships between the grower, roaster and consumer of the coffee bean – not to mention informing and educating the general public, both through his hugely popular blog, www.cafe-grendel.blogspot.com and now with BeanScene magazine.
scottcallaghan Scottie Callaghan is known all over the café world for winning the World Latte Art Championship in 2006 and taking out the Australian Barista Championship in 2007. Nowadays, Scottie works full time for Belaroma Coffee as their Head Trainer and Coffee Ambassador, as a consultant to cafés, baristas and coffee companies teaching people the finer points of espresso preparation and as a contributor to BeanScene Magazine to share his wealth of knowledge and experience with us all.
tom Tom Beaumont began his coffee obsession as a barista in an Elwood cafe in the mid 1990s. Since then he has worked as a training manager and café proprietor and is the current coffee cupping champion for Victoria. Tom brings a training focus to Bean Scene and has developed, designed and implemented state of the art coffee training centres and programs for baristas of all levels. Quality lies in the five senses of the barista and the consumer. Tom will share the latest developments in coffee training, technology, trends and methods for effective on-site and in-house education.