By Jessica Rowe
A Christchurch coffee maker has just won the 'New Zealand Barista Championship and is now off to test his espresso against the best in the world.
Hideyuki Kono realised the importance of making good coffee early on in his career.
“I can make someone happy by making coffee,” says Mr Kono. “‘Okay let’s just make sure I do that better’, so that started to motivate me.”
That motivation has driven him to a certain realisation.
“I just came up with this crazy idea, that actually coffee is a fruit and this fruit is quite different from the other fruits.”
His signature drink is a fruit concoction. He extracts the aroma from nectarine stones to infuse his espresso.
“It creates a nice aroma - a really quick good sweet thick smell coming out.”
He will test his skills at the World Barista Championship in Columbia.
His boss at the Crafted Coffee Company in Christchurch, who has won the New Zealand nationals four times and also competed on the world stage, says he has got a high chance of winning.
This is just a sort of evolution of other drinks that he’s done over the years and it is a really unique look at it,” says Carl Sara. “It's a beautiful tasting drink, but it really shows his understanding and thought that has gone into the whole process.”
Watch the full video.
3 News