On The Up: Tauranga barista Matt Ross to compete in Aotearoa Barista Champs 2025

Tauranga barista Matt Ross will be competing at the Aotearoa Barista Champs 2025 later this month in Upper Hutt. Photo / Kaitlyn Morrell

As the owner of a specialty coffee shop, Tauranga barista Matt Ross is passionate about a good brew.

Now he is preparing to test his skills against the best brewers in the business, as he returns to the Aotearoa Barista Champs.

Ross spends his days making cuppas, chatting to customers and honing his latte art skills at his business Mt Zion Coffee, soon to be Kindred Coffee, in Red Square.

Originally hailing from Auckland, he said he joined the industry 10 years ago after landing a job at coffee roastery Coffee Lab.

“They hired me with no experience, which in hindsight was probably not the smartest move.”

Ross said he was trained by a latte art champion, and discovered the competition side of the coffee industry.

“His passion and love for it just kind of flowed out into me.”

Ross takes his coffee black and said he drinks a lot of filter coffee.

“You can taste more of the flavours, so I generally drink it black, but I just enjoy all coffee.”

Ross competed in last year’s Aotearoa Barista Champs, placing fifth.

He said he learnt a lot from some of the mistakes he made.

“I was able to take those on board and tweak things to not make the same mistakes going into this year.”

The competition requires baristas to present three coffees: a short black, a white coffee and a signature drink.

This flat white topped with a seahorse is an example of Ross' latte art. Photo / Kaitlyn Morrell

Entries are scored by technical judges, who examine how each coffee is made, and sensory judges, who focus on flavour.

“It’s all based on what you say and how things flow, but you get the most points for the coffee itself and the flavour.”

He said this year he had a big focus on his signature drink.

“I’m working a lot with molecules and how they tie together with other flavours that you wouldn’t think cross over.”

Matt Ross’ signature coffee for the Barista Champs will be a cold beverage using a variety known as geisha coffee. Photo / Kaitlyn Morrell

Ross’s signature coffee is a cold beverage using a high-quality geisha coffee.

“I‘m working with chrysanthemum flowers and turning them into a cold brew, and a rose cold brew, so it’s quite floral.

“Then I bring things in like cacao nibs, and so that brings a bit of depth and earthiness to it.”

The competition winner will represent New Zealand at next year’s World Barista Championship at the World of Coffee Panama event.

Ross said that would be an amazing opportunity for a “little old shop” from Tauranga.

“No one around here has done that in the coffee industry so it would be pretty special.”

Ross said “loving what you do” was the key to being a good barista.

“That then stems into everything else because they care about making their palate better.”

His top tip for home baristas was simply to put a little bit of extra time into their brew.

“It’s focusing on extraction and the timings to get out a better product than just whacking in it and not really caring.”

Kaitlyn Morrell is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.