In practice to make perfect

HOT SHOT: Raj Arora is aiming to be NZ's Barista of the Year.

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The next New Zealand Barista of the Year awards are still over six months away but Raj Arora of Hot Shot Espresso is already hard at work as he aims for the top prize.

Arora was runner up South Island barista of the year in last year's competition and missed out on a spot to travel to the world championships by just one place. He wants a top-three placing in the March competition although he knows the competition will be stiff.

"Christchurch regularly produces the country's best baristas. But I want to get to the championships in the UK next year so I am already practicing."

His practicing sessions involve playing around with the ratio of beans - "sorry can't say which, it's a secret" - in the blend he's chosen, until he gets the flavour just right.

"I believe in the purity of taste. You know you've got it straight away because when you're passionate about something, you'll feel it in your heart" he says.

Twenty-five-year-old Arora has been running his own espresso bar, Hot Shot Espresso in Manchester St, for over three years. Although he was born in India, Arora says he has never been much of a tea drinker, "except for my mum's homemade chai", but developed a passion for coffee while working at Ground Floor in Riccarton.

When the cafe changed owners, Arora decided it was time to gather up his courage and go into business for himself.

"I wanted to put in a simple good espresso bar with a focus on coffee and for it to be a place where people could come and relax."

He found the perfect site in Manchester St in the central city and opened Hot Shot Espresso Bar. The self-trained barista says he hasn't looked back.

"The formula works well. Don't try and be everything to everybody, but choose something you love and do it with a passion."

With flat whites, mochas and lattes the preferred drinks of his inner city clientele, Arora goes through 12 kilograms to 15kg of coffee beans and over 70 litres of milk a week.

Arora says while he has never had any formal training, he has learnt a great deal from the coffee "masters" in Christchurch and he is continually striving to create the perfect espresso. He believes the key to a great coffee flavour is simplicity. In his cafe, he serves a single origin supplied by Supreme called Brazil. He is working on creating his own signature blend that will contain beans from both Brazil and Kenya.

"Brazilian origins have a nice chocolatey flavour that complement the slight acidity of the Kenyan beans. If you mix too many origins into one blend the taste can become incredibly complex and you lose the pure flavour of the coffee. You also want something that has good body, which the Kenyan beans have."

Arora says that although Christchurch is getting really serious about coffee there is still a lot of bad coffee around. "Learning to spot the good stuff is a matter of trial and error although generally small espresso bars are the place to go. Look for somewhere that focuses on quality rather than quantity. Although not everybody likes the same things. Some people like their coffee stronger while others prefer it sweet or even bitter. It's a matter of finding one you like. Also keep in mind that the beans are only one of three elements to a good coffee. The machine has to work well and the barista has to do a good job, consistently."

Raj Arora's tips for making the perfect coffee at home (this only works if you have your own home espresso machine).

1. Start by tasting single origins as each has its own distinctive flavour. Buy small packets of roasted beans and grind only as much as you need. Make sure you buy from a local roastery as imported beans could be stale by the time you get to use them. Also try different roasts of one origin.

2. Pick the origins you like and then start playing around with flavours. Try using different ratios from different origins although initially don't mix too many together. Learn to differentiate the different flavour profiles first.

3. Don't be afraid to experiment.

- © Fairfax NZ News