beanscenemag.com.au 87New Zealand Latte Art Champion Hoony Chae relives his World
Coffee Championship experience and why reality can bite.
O
ften, the journey is
as important as the
destination. Especially
when it takes 26 hours
and four flights to get
from New Zealand to Berlin for the
World Coffee Championships. I talked
to Hoony Chae about his experience
representing NZ at the World Latte Art
Championship (WLAC) in June.
Hoony has entered the Meadow
Fresh NZ Latte Art Championship
(MFNZLAC) three times. When he
describes standing with the top six
finalists in 2019, he says: “I was very
nervous and excited to hear the results. It
reached the point where only the top two
were left. It was when emcee Alan Bruce
called out the name for runner-up, I
realised I’d just become the champion of
MFNZLAC 2019.”
Hoony “teared up” as he remembered
all the time that he had spent preparing
for the competition and was pleased to
have persisted. His next thoughts were of
being “extremely happy and honoured
to be a champion”. He also knew he
had a lot of work to do to reach the
WLAC level.
“Luckily, I had Team Mojo and Team
New Zealand on my back. I could never
fit it in without their help,” he says.
One of the concerns Hoony faced
was knowing that other competitors had
at least three months’ preparation time,
some as much as eight. He finalised his
patterns just one week before Berlin.
He had also never poured with a
600-millilitre jug and was not confident
with a bigger 300-millilitre cup.
Watching at home online, a big groupof the NZ coffee community gathered to
cheer on their champion. However, on
reflection, Hoony says his time on stage
was not perfect.
“I was super nervous but did my
best to calm down and pretend to
be confident,” he says. “I can’t really
remember what I did on the stage.”
Backstage however, Hoony enjoyed
helping and getting to know other
barista competitors. He says the WLAC
experience was a big learning opportunity
and next time, with his goal to be a
WLAC finalist, he wants to improve his
time management and preparation skills.
“I don’t think I prepared enough
for the world stage. If I’d started
practicing for the WLAC while
I was preparing for the national
[championship], I think the resultin Berlin might have been different.”
For newcomers, Hoony recommends
that artists “read the rules and regulations
and really study and analyse how to gain
scores for each category”.
Hoony hopes to defend his title at the
NZLAC on 1 March 2020 in Auckland.
“I really wish to have another
opportunity on the world stage,”
Hoony says. “I would love to try
again, with a better performance and
even better signature patterns and use
all things that I have learnt from the
world stage experience.”Hoony hits new
heights
Emma McDougall is the Communications and Administration Co-ordinator of the NZSCA.For more information on the
New Zealand Specialty Coffee
Association, or to join, visit
http://www.nzsca.orgHooHooHooHooHooooooooooooooooooooonynnynynnnyny yyyyCChaChaCCCChChaChaCChaCChaCChahefle fle fle fle fleflflfliiesieiesieseseesssthththtttttththtttththhhhhhhhe fle fle flee fle fle fle fle fle flflflflflflflagagag agforororororororrrrrrrrrrrrrrNeNeNeNeNeNNNeNeNNNeNeNeNeNeNNNNeNeNeNeNeNeNeeeeeeeeww ZwZwZwZwZwZwZwZww ZwwwZw ZwwwZw ZwZwZwwZZZealeaealealealealeealealealeaeaeaeaealaaaaalllllllandandandandandaandandandandandandandndndndndndndndddddatatatataatatatatatataaaaaaat
thetthetththhheheheeeeeeWWoWWWoWWWWWWWoWoWWrldrldrldrldrldldlddddddddLaLaLaLaLattttettetteteteteeeeeAArArArArArArArAArAArAArAAtCt Ct Ctt CtCt Ct Ct Ct Ct CCCCCCChamhampppiopiopiopiopioppipiopiopiopiopionshnshnshnshnshnshnshnshnnshnshnshnshshhhipiip ipip ip ipipipipipppppppiiin iiiiiinin ininiinnnnBBerBBBBerBBerBerBBerBBerBeBBeBBererlinlinlinlinlinlinlinlininnnnnnnnnnnn.Imamage:ge:RoRoRoRsasFriendNZSCA
beanscenemag.com.au 87New Zealand Latte Art Champion HoonyChae relives his World
Coffee Championship experience and why reality can bite.
O
ften, the journey is
as important as the
destination. Especially
when it takes 26 hours
and four flights to get
from New Zealand to Berlin for the
World Coffee Championships. I talked
to Hoony Chae about his experience
representing NZ at the World Latte Art
Championship (WLAC) in June.
Hoony has entered the Meadow
Fresh NZ Latte Art Championship
(MFNZLAC) three times. When he
describes standing with the top six
finalists in 2019, he says: “I was very
nervous and excited to hear the results. It
reached the point where only the top two
were left. It was when emcee Alan Bruce
called out the name for runner-up, I
realised I’d just become the champion of
MFNZLAC 2019.”
Hoony “teared up” as he remembered
all the time that he had spent preparing
for the competition and was pleased to
have persisted. His next thoughts were of
being “extremely happy and honoured
to be a champion”. He also knew he
had a lot of work to do to reach the
WLAC level.
“Luckily, I had Team Mojo and Team
New Zealand on my back. I could never
fit it in without their help,” he says.
One of the concerns Hoony faced
was knowing that other competitors had
at least three months’ preparation time,
some as much as eight. He finalised his
patterns just one week before Berlin.
He had also never poured with a
600-millilitre jug and was not confident
with a bigger 300-millilitre cup.
Watching at home online, a big group
of the NZ coffee community gathered to
cheer on their champion. However, on
reflection, Hoony says his time on stage
was not perfect.
“I was super nervous but did my
best to calm down and pretend to
be confident,” he says. “I can’t really
remember what I did on the stage.”
Backstage however, Hoony enjoyed
helping and getting to know other
barista competitors. He says the WLAC
experience was a big learning opportunity
and next time, with his goal to be a
WLAC finalist, he wants to improve his
time management and preparation skills.
“I don’t think I prepared enough
for the world stage. If I’d started
practicing for the WLAC while
I was preparing for the national
[championship], I think the resultin Berlin might have been different.”
For newcomers, Hoony recommends
that artists “read the rules and regulations
and really study and analyse how to gain
scores for each category”.
Hoony hopes to defend his title at the
NZLAC on 1 March 2020 in Auckland.
“I really wish to have another
opportunity on the world stage,”
Hoony says. “I would love to try
again, with a better performance and
even better signature patterns and use
all things that I have learnt from the
world stage experience.”Hoony hits new
heights
Emma McDougall is the Communications and Administration Co-ordinator of the NZSCA.Formoreinformationonthe
NewZealandSpecialtyCoffee
Association,or to join,visit
http://www.nzsca.orge flflfle ag o ZZ
tt t a.maRsaFriendNZSCA