2:38:02 Thursday 23 October 2025

Bay barista’s winning taste

Tauranga barista Charlie Self says a good coffee shouldn't make the drinker wince – it should have the perfect balance of sugars, bitters, acidity and tannins.

And as the winner of the 2014 Huhtamaki New Zealand Cup Tasters Championships, as part of the Huhtamaki NZ Barista Championships 2014 in Wellington at the weekend, he should know.

Tauranga barista Charlie Self. Photo: Facebook.

In Wellington as a judge, Charlie also entered in the cup taster category, and as the winner he will head to the World Cup Tasting Championships later this year.

Charlie, who works at Tauranga roaster Excelso Coffee, says the secret to making a good coffee is understanding the tools, the customer and the product.

'A properly made espresso shouldn't be something that's astringent at all, it should be sweet and it does have a little bit of acid. It's a balance between sugars, acidity, bitters and tannins.

'If you're having something that makes you wince, then it's been made badly.”

Charlie worked as a chef in Cambridge in the United Kingdom before moving to NZ to become a barista.

'I've always enjoyed cooking and making coffees. It's alchemy of producing something with your hands,” says Charlie.

'It's very much a scientific art form really at the end of the day. You have to be aware of all your variables to achieve a good cup.”

But the real reason for his love of coffee is the people.

'The real reason why I love coffee is actually the interaction with people more than anything else,” says Charlie, who teaches specialty coffees through Excelso Coffee's barista training courses.

'I love teaching people about coffee…making them aware of the difference between commodity coffee and culinary coffee.”

Excelso Coffee is a soft brew coffee bar using a special technique where the coffee is brewed with the soft brew movement.

Charlie would like to thank Excelso Coffee owners Jeff and Carrie Evans and New Zealand Specialty Coffee Association for their support.

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