Queensland barista and master roaster Anne Cooper from Di Bella Coffee has added another award to her cabinet after roasting her opposition at the CSR Sugar Golden Bean Roaster Competition.

More than 700 entries from some 330 Australian coffee roasters in what is one of the biggest coffee roasting competitions in the world.

Now in its fourth year the competition puts the spotlight on coffee roasters, an integral part of the $8.5bn dollar coffee industry in Australia.

The winners spend months in preparation, researching and sourcing quality beans from all corners of the globe, with innumerable hours spent blending, roasting, and tasting to fine-tune the perfect cup, to submit an original blend.

The winners receive gold, silver and bronze medals across seven categories with the overall winners derived from the highest score between the milk-based and espresso categories.

Coffees are taste-tested over the day-long competition period. Judging this year was overseen by Justin Metcalf, Head Judge for the World Barista Championships and Head Roaster for Daily Roast Coffee in Melbourne. He was joined on the judging panel by other champion baristas including Tim Adams (2009 Australian Champion), and David Makin (2007 Australian Champion) as well as coffee roasters, international green bean brokers and coffee growers.

Cooper said that her team at Di Bella used the competition as a part of our research and development. “It demands that we be creative,” she said.

“We go off and find coffee we want to use and create some great blends. Importantly, it is judged by our peers, some of the best and most discerning palates you could hope for. It’s a real chance for us to show off what we’ve got.”

All the winners:

Overall Golden Bean:

Gold—Anne Cooper, Di Bella Coffee (QLD)

Silver—Vladamir Kazionov/Kailah, Coffee Secret (QLD)

Bronze—Bernie Scotford, Arabica Coffee (QLD)

Gold medal winners:

Espresso—Jack Hanna, Jack And The Bean (NSW)

Milk based—Anne Cooper, Di Bella Coffee (QLD)

Australian—Elizabeth Lajos/Bernie Scotford, Prestige Organic Coffee (QLD)

Filter—Dan Ainslie, Fiori Coffee (WA)

Organic—Susan Castle, Bean Alliance (VIC)

Retail—Richard St John, North Coast Coffee Roasters (NSW)

Café chain—Scott Lindsay, Coffee Roasters, Veneziano (VIC)