The World's Best Barista for 2022 Is Coming to Brisbane to Pour Top-Notch Coffees

2022 was a huge year for Melbourne's Axil Coffee, and for barista Anthony Douglas. First, he did his notoriously coffee-obsessed city proud, taking out the title of Australia's National Barista Champion for 2022 at the Australian Specialty Coffee Association (ASCA) National Coffee Championships. Then, he smashed the international competition to emerge victorious at the World Barista Championship, too.

In 2023, Douglas and Axil now have their sights set on Brisbane — not for awards and accolades, but to bring top-notch brews and someone globally acclaimed for making them to the River City for a five-day pop-up.

Axil is making the trip north from Wednesday, May 24–Sunday, May 28, setting up shop at InterSection Project (also known as Coffee Anthology) in the Brisbane CBD. During its stay, it'll be pouring caffeine-heavy sips, obviously, and Douglas will be making them. If you fancy learning more about quality cuppas, that's on the agenda as well.

Anthony Douglas

Axil will take over the Mary Street cafe's guest coffee bar from 7.30am–3.30pm on weekdays and 7.30am–2pm on weekends; however, head by from 4–7pm on Thursday, May 25 and Douglas will be doing a meet-and-greet session. Yes, there'll be coffee samples at that event, focusing on Axil's signature series.

Then, from 4–7pm on Friday, May 26, there'll also be a latte art smackdown to give all that coffee-sipping an extra buzz.

James Butler

"We are really excited to bring Axil to Brisbane and showcase our coffee with this vibrant city. It's also fantastic to partner with Coffee Anthology, who share a similar philosophy and passion for coffee," said Axil's Managing Director Dave Makin.

"We're thrilled to welcome the team at Axil Coffee Roasters to our venue and look forward to properly introducing our customers to their range of specialty coffee." added Adam Wang of Coffee Anthology and the Maillard Project.

2023 is shaping up to be another big year for Axil, after it just became the envy of caffeine-slinging joints around the country — again. For a second consecutive year, it took out Australia's National Barista Champion, with barista Jack Simpson following in Douglas' footsteps.

Image: Axil, Melbourne Central

Axil Coffee is popping up at InterSection Project, 150 Mary Street, Brisbane, from Wednesday, May 24–Sunday, May 28.

Images: James Butler.