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(left-right) President of the 2017 Specialty Coffee Brewers K.O.
Tournament Albert Lou, Lightbox, Lightgrey Creative Director JJ How, First
prize winner Jeffrey Ang, Head Judge Yip Leong Sum and Vice President of the
2017 Specialty Coffee Brewers K.O. Tournament Junior Lee
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A 16-year old Chief
Barista from Bukit Mertajam, Penang was crowned champion at the 2017 Specialty Coffee Brewers K.O. Tournament
recently. Organised by The
Storyz at Lightbox, Sungai Buloh, Jeffrey Ang scored 50 out of 72 points,
earning himself the First Prize of RM6,000 in cash and a unique 3D trophy in
the 2017 Specialty Coffee Brewers K.O. Tournament.
Having chalked up
experience at his family owned Coffee Story café as the Chief Barista, Ang had
some anxious moments when he accidentally broke his glass V60 dripper, an essential
coffee-brewing equipment but the cool teen managed to borrow his friend’s
ceramic V60 dripper. Banking on his own experience, Ang went on to brew the
best coffee and claim the big prize.
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A group of 3
sensory judges carrying out a blind test
to assess coffee based on flavour, sweetness, acidity and overall
experience.
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Chief Judge and
coffee bean sponsor for the tournament Yip Leong Sum from Beans Depot said Ang
managed to bring out the highest intensity of flavour, acidity and sweetness of
the coffee. “I am impressed and amazed the contestants were able to handle the
coffee after 30 minutes of practice and to showcase the unique characteristics
of the Panama Geisha coffee. This proves the brewing skills of this generation
of coffee brewers shouldn’t be ignored.”
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Lightbox, Lightgrey Creative Director JJ How with 2nd
prize winner Cecillia Lau Zhi Yan, Vice President of the 2017 Specialty Coffee
Brewers K.O. Tournament Junior Lee and President Albert Lou.
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JWC’s Cecillia Lau
Zhi Yan nabbed the second prize with just 7 marks short of the champion. Munirah
Shafee from Didie’s Kitchen and Coffee in Setapak only had 3-month experience but
emerged admirably in third place with 39 marks.
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Vice President of the 2017 Specialty Coffee Brewers
K.O. Tournament Junior Lee and President Albert Lou, Lightbox, Lightgrey Creative
Director JJ How, 3rd prize winner Munirah Shafee and Head Judge Yip Leong
Sum.
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Another home brewer Khairul
Anuar Alias was the fourth prize winner with 1 mark behind her, a testament to
the ability of amateurs who can brew good coffee. Kelvin Toh Wei Kang from
Tipsy Brew O’Coffee and Wong Jo Ying from Littlepeople Café came in fifth and
sixth respectively. All winners received cash prizes and a special 3D trophy each
while 12 consolation prize winners received a gift sponsored by Dankoff Coffee
Specialist.
The objective of the
competition is to promote the culture of specialty coffee brewing and to enable
coffee brewers to interact and share knowledge. There were 72 competitors, mostly
from Malaysia (69), one from Australia and two from Myanmar.
Besides Barista
Guild Asia sponsoring the lucky draw prizes, the event sponsors include official
radio stations CITYPlus FM and Kupikupi FM, official online media Cari.com.my
and the local media fraternity for their collaboration.
