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Back-to-back Australian Brewers Cup Champion Thomas Hutchins will compete on the international stage from April 12 to 14 at the 2024 World Brewers Cup in Chicago, United States.
The Head Trainer of Code Black Coffee in Melbourne is no stranger to international competitions, competing in the World Brewers Cup in Athens, Greece, in 2023. Ahead of this year’s event, he shared his training regime and game plan with BeanScene.
“Preparation has been constant,” says Thomas. “There are so many different elements to the Brewers Cup. We’ve been taking very calculated steps at key points leading up to our time in Chicago, and so far we’re happy with where we are.”
Thomas has worked with his team at Code Black Coffee to select the finest coffees for the competition, saying that it’s very much a collaborative effort between key members of the roaster.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to have many options at Code Black Coffee, considering we source and purchase many top shelf competition lots throughout the year,” he says.
Working alongside Allan Yeh, Head of Coffee at Code Black Coffee, and Patrick Dann of Constant Coffee, Thomas’ mindset in the run up to the event has been “what is world class?”.
“We have been looking at where or what we have made compromises on, and then allowed ourselves to take those further steps to bring something better – whether that is in equipment, preparations, or effort,” says Tom.
“Allan, Pat and I have a constant open dialogue in person and within online worksheets, and this has allowed us to keep in tune with one another and continuously follow up and refine all parts relating to competition. Running a very lean team lets us remain agile and requires a very high level of trust and understanding with each other.”
Thomas and team arrived in Chicago six days before showtime in order to acclimatise, source water, replace anything that broke on the journey, and source equipment such as kettles, grinders, samples roasters that are compatible with American power sockets.
“We’ve been grateful that the coffee community worldwide has been extremely accommodating with helping us with equipment,” he says.
“There has been a lot of trust given to me to do everything possible to reach my goals and we have put an incredible amount of planning and forethought into my journey.”
View the Chicago World Coffee Championships schedule here.
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