Australia's best barista for 2026 has been crowned: 'I'm still trying to digest it'
Aussie barista Gabrel Tan's first coffee of the day is always a filtered coffee, because it's "nice and easy to drink" and "not to heavy".
His second coffee of the day is a flat white. Later in the day, he may opt for a magic, a Melbourne creation using a concentrated, sweeter espresso shot topped with steamed milk.
Tan, 27, learned about magics and Melbourne coffee culture during his time living in the coffee-centric city after moving to Australia from Malaysia.
Aussie barista Gabrel Tan's first coffee of the day is always a filtered coffee. Instagram @gabrel.tan
And now, Tan has achieved an extraordinary feat. He has finally taken out the Australia Barista Championships after five years of competing, to be named 2026 Australian Barista Champion.
"It was fabulous to win. I'm still trying to digest it," Tan told nine.com.au.
Competitors prepare 12 coffees in 15 minutes in the competition: four espressos, four milk-based drinks, and four unique signature beverages, to showcase their technical skills and creativity.
The highest quality coffee beans are used.
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Tan has finally taken out the Australia Barista Championships after five years of competing. Instagram @gabrel.tan
For his espresso, Tan chose Panamanian coffee from Janson Estate. His milk coffee and signature drink he chose coffees from Indonesia.
Tan began training as a barista fresh out of high school, after landing his first job in hospitality.
"I did not like school at all so after I finished high school, I went to my first hospitality job," he said.
He started out working in a kitchen, but his first employer saw he wasn't the right for the pressure-filled environment, so sent him to their cafe.
"And that's how I started."
When Tan first moved from Malaysia to Melbourne, he said he was "amazed" by the coffee culture and his career went from strength to strength. Soon he became brand ambassador for Veneziano Coffee Roasters.
Tan began training as a barista fresh out of high school, after landing his first job in hospitality. Instagram @gabrel.tan
In Malaysia coffee is typically dark roasted coffee served with condensed milk, and that's about the extent of the coffee culture there. Strong and sweet, similar to other warm climate countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia.
"Once I was part of the specialty coffee scene, I got to taste coffee in a different way, knowing it's more than just a taste of coffee," he explained.
Tan's first barista competition came in 2022 at the Australian Barista Championship after he had partnered with Veneziano Coffee Roasters, at the urging of CEO and mentor Craig Dickson.
Tan first began competing at the urging of Veneziano Coffee Roasters CEO and mentor Craig Nixon. Instagram @gabrel.tan
"He's a very competitive person and he supported me to do my first competition," Tan said.
He said every year of not winning was a "year of good learning".
Tan also credits previous champion barista Jack Simpson for inspiring him to achieve his dream.
"I got to be part of his preparation for the 2025 World Barista Championship in Milan, and that really inspired me to be a better competitor, to work harder, to be more disciplined," Tan told Bean Scene Magazine.
Simpson won in Milan, and now Tan has also achieved victory.
Both train meticulously for each competition.
For the Australian Barista Championship, Tan made two coffees each day to "polish my skills properly".
The judges observed each contestant to gage their skills and each espresso made has to be exact, or they lose points.
Tan trained meticulously for the competition. Instagram @gabrel.tan
"I try and keep it as accurate as possible. Especially at competition level. I weigh everything and measure everything. Consistency is important," he said.
"Because you have four judges in front of you. You have to make sure they have the same experience.
"We train up for it. We'll have the same table set up at our training room. You have to do a 15 minutes routine in front of four judges. It's quite stressful when you're on stage.
"You have to do a 15 minutes routine in front of four judges." Instagram @gabrel.tan
"It's quite stressful when you're on stage." Instagram @gabrel.tan
"So you basically have spend hours and hours to remember the scenes, go through the workflow, have people come in and watch you to make you feel nervous, so that when you're on stage, you're able to get that feeling.
"And you know, when the crowd's cheering for you. It's just a lot of practice, a lot of repetition, tasting and fine tuning."
Tan's next competition will be the the World Barista Championships in Panama in October.
Australia has produced more winners at the competition than any other nation apart from Denmark, including Jack Simpson's most recent win, Anthony Douglas in 2022, Sasa Sestic in 2015, and Paul Bassett in 2003.
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