Hany Ezzat of Ona Coffee has won the 2024 ASCA Brewers Cup National Qualifiers, which took place from 24 to 26 November at Seven Miles Coffee Roasters in New South Wales.
“[I’m] really happy to make it through alongside many other brewers that inspire me, and our industry. It’s a pleasure to stand with you all,” Hany says.
Tom Hutchinson of Code Black Coffee placed second and Devin Loong of Ona Coffee came in third.
Hany’s performance concept was based on his morning routine, in which he aimed to showcase how much work goes into training for competitions.
“I want people to understand that a lot of this skill comes from practicing at home,” he says. “I learned how to brew my recipe by making two coffees side by side, changing one variable in one coffee and blind tasting the brews each morning to build my understanding of the variables to make the best cup I possibly could. This became a part of my morning routine.”
Hany used a Geisha varietal from Colombia, courtesy of Paul Doyle from Mikava Coffee. He says the brew had flavour notes of guava, pineapple and artificial juice.
“I used an Origami Dripper and Hario V60 filter paper in my Ni Wares brewing cups made with dual-lipped technology that changes the way coffee hits the palate,” he says.
Hany gave himself 24 hours to celebrate the win with Ona Coffee before he turned his attention to how he could better his recipe for the national competition, taking place in February 2024 in Melbourne, Victoria.
“My brain is already focused on what I need to do in the next round. Before I’d even found out I’d won, I knew what I wanted to prepare better for next time,” he says. “I’ll likely use the same or a similar coffee but will continue to improve on the one per cent details that add up to a better overall brew.”
Hany expresses his gratitude to all volunteers and people involved to make the competition possible.
“Thanks to Paul from Mikava Coffee for the beautiful Geisha variety, thanks to the team at Ona Coffee, and special thanks to Mitchell Lee for believing in me, even when I wanted to give up the most,” Hany says.
“Weekends like this, connecting with others, and sharing is some of my truest inspiration of why I love coffee.”
Rounding out the remaining Top 12 Brewers Cup baristas to compete in the 2024 National compulsory service round are Pirada Tungbenjaphol, Julijan Marcovic, Kirk Pearson, Jibbi Little, Jamie Thomson, Daniel Zelkjo, Jiun Loong Lee, Harry Ko and Alex Wang.
Haoyu Huang won the 2024 ASCA Cup Tasters National Qualifiers. Ning Chi Cheng came in second and Sinwu Nam placed third.
The remaining Top 12 Cup Tasters baristas to compete in the 2024 National Cup Tasters competition include Morris Yu, Frankie Shi, Karl Lee, Viona Yohana, Ohkyung Kwon, Thuan Phu Lam, Chenhao Pan, Sihao Cheng and Daisy Yu.
