GETTING TO KNOW ASCA
The Australian Specialty Coffee Association (ASCA) is one of the driving forces behind the Australian specialty coffee industry. Formed in 2001, ASCA began with a group of people passionate about specialty coffee, at a time when the Australian specialty coffee industry was not as prevalent as it is today.
ASCA is dedicated to the development and promotion of the specialty coffee industry all over the country. Education plays a large role in this development, with ASCA running various events throughout the year including the Symposium and the Barista Guild Camp.
Of course, you likely recognise ASCA from the competitions they hold each year at MICE, including the PURA, Dairy Farmers and Vitasoy Barista Championship, TCX Cup Tasting Championship, AMC Roasting Championship, Brewers Cup and Latte Art Championship.
ASCA’s Coffee Championships are the only sanctioned Australian events that feed into the world’s most prestigious coffee competitions, organised by World Coffee Events and supported by specialty coffee associations across the planet.
Putting on these events each year is a huge undertaking, especially when your organisation is completely run by volunteers. Everyone on the ASCA Board and Competitions Committee is from the specialty coffee industry, and all work full-time while contributing their unpaid spare time to advancing the quality of specialty coffee in Australia.
MICE is committed to supporting ASCA’s Australian Coffee Championships and so leading up to MICE2019, we’ll be bringing you some more info about the individuals who work hard behind-the-scenes – including the Competitions Committee who dedicate their time to fulfilling the vision of the ASCA Board, and the additional volunteers who help out on site to make sure everything runs to plan.
If you want to check out some of the action up-close (before you get your MICE fix!) you can check out the ASCA Regional Championships currently taking place around the country. The Southern Region Championship is on this weekend in Port Melbourne and the winners will be representing Victoria and Tasmania at MICE next February. Check out the ASCA website to find out more information.
